Football Travel: Bristol City

“Who comes to football in a suit?” the security guard asked as she checked us through. We’d come straight from work to Ashton Gate, the 27,000-capacity home of Bristol City. Great swathes of red seats with two minutes to go to kick-off was an ominous sign, especially given the full house against table-topping Leeds United the week before.

High winds and a numbing chill could have contributed to a disappointing gate of 18,411, 2,500 less than last season’s average attendance. I can image that with a full house and a home team in form Ashton Gate could be absolutely pumping.

The club has explored plans to build a new stadium in recent years but have come to nothing. The club instead refurbished Ashton Gate and has played an active role in pushing the safe standing debate.

I’ve seen Bristol City fans travel and they come in good numbers and great voice. There was a good effort from the southeast corner throughout. Ashton Gate itself reminds me of Charlton Athletic’s The Valley ground – a horseshoe of red seats with a stand-alone away end. The Valley’s capacity is almost identical, too.

I paid £33 via the club’s online ticketing site to sit in the Dolman Stand on the halfway line. At 190.5 cms (6’ 3”), I struggled for leg room but the view was great. The game I attended was an absolutely turgid 1-1 draw with bottom club, Ipswich, who brought a couple of hundred fans.

About Bristol City

Bristol is the UK’s fifth largest city with 617,000 inhabitants, yet neither of Bristol’s two league football clubs, Bristol City and Bristol Rovers, have troubled the top flight for decades. According to my season ticket-holding friend, it’s very much a north-south city divide over which team you support; north of the Avon is Rovers’ turf, south is City. I’m sure there’s plenty of overlap, especially as City has been the higher-ranked club in recent decades.

Bristol City’s heyday was in the first decade of the twentieth century; their best finish was second in Division One in 1906-07 season and they finished FA Cup runners-up in 1909. Bristol deserves a top-flight club, and City have been knocking on the play-off door.

How to get to Ashton Gate, Bristol City

Bristol’s a very walkable city. Ashton Gate is about 30 minutes’ walk from the city centre, taking in the historic docklands on the way. Bristol has some great pubs, especially in King Street.