The game may not be Massive for some...

But it's a League Cup awayday at Staines!

A game that would be classed as ‘one-for-the-diehards’ by many, tomorrow night we travel to Staines Town in the Velocity Trophy, which is the latest name for the Isthmian League Cup.

The Swans play at Wheatsheaf Park, Wheatsheaf Lane, Staines, Middlesex with the all important postcode to tap into the SatNav being TW18 2PD

Note the address of 'Staines', as it's actually Staines-upon-Thames, and has been since 2012, after some local residents thought their most famous 'local resident' was bringing down the tone of the town!

The nearest station is Staines, which is about a mile from the ground. It’s not the most exciting of walks, very much commuter belt, but it’s practically flat, at least. Leave the station on the side of the platform you arrive on, if coming from central London. Turn right, which is Gresham Road, then left into Laleham Road and carry on walking, finally right into Wheatsheaf Lane 9the ground being signposted on the main road) and the entrance to ground is on left.

Trains are plentiful from central London, starting at Waterloo & going through Clapham Junction. The journey takes between 32 to 36 minutes, depending on which service you get, the last practical one probably being the 18:28 from London Waterloo [ Vauxhall 18:32; Clapham Junction 18:38] arriving at Staines at seven minutes past seven.
When at your stations take care when looking at the indicator boards, as the 22 & 52 past the hour from Waterloo heading to Weybridge takes a much longer route, the journey lasting 54 minutes, so try to avoid those.

After the match, if you're nippy and it doesn't go to penalties, then you could make the 21:59, arriving at Waterloo at 22:34. If you miss that AVOID the 22:03 as that's the slow service, taking 53 minutes. The 22:08 is faster, getting to Waterloo at 22:49. If you're staying in their bar, or a local pub post-match then the last three trains after closing time are the 23:08 (arriving at 23:49); the 23:29 (00:04) & the last possible one is the 23:59 (00:38)

From memory there’s no pubs on this route, though if you come out of the station on the other side, and head into the town centre there’s the local Wetherspoons on the High Street, called The George.
If you carry on along past the ground, there is the 'Wheatsheaf & Pigeon', which has proved popular with some of our fans in the past, and known locally as the 'Wee & Pee'.

Sightseeing wise, off the top of my head-but happy to stand corrected- there's actually not much to see in Staines, but it's got a nice enough high street and sits on the River Thames, so there are certainly worse places to potter about in before matches. There's plenty of eateries in the vicinity, if you want a decent bite pre-match, if coming direct from work & at least one of our fans has recommended the Ancient Raj as 'excellent' in the past, if you like an Indian.

If you don't have to be at work beforehand it might be worth taking the train to Hampton Court from Waterloo and visiting the Royal Palace there. It's relatively pricey to get in, but if you haven't been there before and like history it's worth for a one-off. Alternatively, if cash is at a premium have a gander from outside and mosey around adjacent Bushy Park.

And if you're feeling energetic you could even walk from there to Staines along the Thames Path. If that's too much for you you can catch the 216 bus from there to Staines.