Matchday Information for Carlisle United (A) - 23rd December 2023

— 9 minute read

Details on buying tickets from CTFC and the Club travel arrangements are available here: https://www.ctfc.com/news/2023/november/tickets-and-travel-for-carlisle-united/

Carlisle have a section on their website containing advice for Visiting Fans: https://www.carlisleunited.co.uk/fans/advice-for-away-fans/

This includes a guide for all visitors here: https://www.carlisleunited.co.uk/siteassets/documents-2324/visiting-guide-july-23-v2.pdf

We've pulled most of the relevant information below:

Carlisle United Football Club, Brunton Park, Warwick Road, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA1 1LL

Main switchboard and ticket office: 0330 094 5930 or email ticket.printing@carlisleunited.co.uk

Getting There: By Car: Leave the motorway at Junction 43 and take the first exit off the roundabout. The blue roof of the Pioneer Stand can be seen on the right-hand side, almost as soon as you leave the roundabout. Keep going straight ahead along Warwick Road (A69). After passing through the third set of traffic lights the club shop (Blues Store) and Hughie McIlmoyle statue marks the main entrance to the ground.

Car Parking: Main Car Park (home and away supporters) - from the M6 turn right at the third set of traffic lights and drive through the gates and behind the Pioneer Stand to enter the car park. Supporters travelling from the west can enter the car park from St Aidan’s Road, via Victoria Place. Due to the location of our car park, we advise fans to check the availability of car parking facilities when the weather is bad. Fans are charged £5 to park their car. Please note – after the game, cars will only be allowed to exit the car park after all supporters have cleared the area and any away coaches have left the stadium.

Coach Parking: From Junction 43 take the first exit off the roundabout. At the third set of traffic lights turn right. Stewards will allow the bus through, behind the Pioneer Stand, for passengers to disembark at the away turnstiles; the bus will then be directed to the car park and allowed back after the game to pick up passengers from the away end.

All coaches, other than the official team coach, are charged £20, with minibuses charged £15.

By Rail: Brunton Park is 1.2 miles from Carlisle Railway Station. Head out of the station, cross the road, and locate Nando's Restaurant on the crescent shaped corner adjacent to the first set of traffic lights. Walk down Warwick Road for about 1 mile and you will reach Brunton Park, situated on the left-hand side. A taxi rank is located just outside the Railway Station.

By Bus: Take the number 63 bus from the city centre. Alight at the Lakeland Gate Inn. Head back a short distance from the direction you travelled on the bus and Brunton Park is on your right-hand side.

By Foot: From the city centre we are approximately 0.8 miles from the Lanes Shopping Centre. Exit onto Lowther Street and turn right. Take the next left onto Lonsdale Street and carry straight on across the road at the traffic lights, until you get to Hartington Place. Take a right, at the end of the road head left, and you are now on Warwick Road. Brunton Park is located on the left-hand side as you walkalong.

Ticket Information

Tickets: Tickets for away supporters should be purchased through their own club. The away club will receive an allocation of tickets to sell, and the seating details will be shown on the ticket. If the away supporters ticket allocation has not been sold out before the day of the game, tickets will be on sale for visiting supporters on match day (unless stated otherwise) at the Away Ticket Office located at the back of the Pioneer Stand, which is next to the visitor turnstiles. There will be a £3 increase in price on match day (excluding juniors, U11s and U7s). Supporters under the age of 14 MUST be accompanied by an adult, senior, or U18.

Ticket Collections: Visiting supporters who have chosen to collect their tickets at Brunton Park will be able to pick their tickets up on the day of the game from the Away Ticket Office from 1:30pm or 6:15pm on an evening fixture until kick-off. With regards to any duplicate ticket requests, Carlisle United ticket office must be informed by the visiting club’s Ticket Office Manager. If a supporter misplaces a ticket they must contact their own club, who will authorise Carlisle United to assist.

Map of Brunton Park showing entrances and amenities
Map of Brunton Park showing entrances and amenities

The above map can be found on page 7 of the guide here: https://www.carlisleunited.co.uk/siteassets/documents-2324/visiting-guide-july-23-v2.pdf

Duplicate tickets will not be issued without authorisation from a representative of the visiting club. Duplicate tickets will be available from the Away Ticket Office. Any visiting supporter that attempts to use a match ticket that has been cancelled will be refused entry to Brunton Park. For any further information on ticketing queries, we recommend that you call the Carlisle United Ticket Office on 0330 094 5930.

Stadium Information

On entry to the stadium: Supporters may be searched prior to entering the stadium. Thorough searches will be carried out by Carlisle United stewards at the turnstiles. In the event of any supporters being found with prohibited items in their possession, police will be alerted, and an arrest may be actioned.

Copies of the Ground Regulations are displayed at the turnstiles and can be found online at https://www.carlisleunited.co.uk/news/2023/november/club-202324-ground-regulations/

Emergency Procedures: In the event of an emergency occurring at the stadium, the Public Address system will be used to broadcast information and directions to spectators. Such broadcasts will be preceded by a three-tone chime. When the chimes are heard, please be silent, pay attention to what is said and obey any instructions. An example of this alert will be carried out just before kick-off and at half-time, and it will be clearly stated that the announcement is for instructive purposes only.

Supporters with Impairments

Parking for Blue Badge holders is free and is situated at the away end of Brunton Park, next to the Pioneer Stand - spaces are limited and are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

The away end has a limited number of tickets available for wheelchair users – two covered areas are available. Wheelchair spaces can be booked through the away club. If you find that the weather is affecting your viewing enjoyment (Cumbria has a thing for rain!) please speak to our stewards, and they will guide you to the Pioneer Stand to a covered area in front of your own supporters, in the first instance. If that area is also weather affected, and if spaces are available in the covered home disabled section, we will relocate you to this area, with your consent.

Ambulant disabled supporters can book a ticket in the away end of the Pioneer Stand through your own club. For any specific requirements or for any further information please contact Louise Banks, Disability Liaison Officer, on 0330 094 5930 or email enquiries@carlisleunited.co.uk

Food and Drink

In the away concourse: situated in the Pioneer Stand we have a bar serving hot food and drinks, with cold beverages available to visiting supporters - until 15 minutes into the second half of the game. Please note - payments are now cashless in the away areas of the stadium. We also have local catering partners who are providing a range of quality foods and beverages for your enjoyment on the west side of the stadium, in the main car park, including two container bars, The Chippie Van, a burger outlet, Fellwater coffees and teas and Shake, Waffle and Roll. You’ll find these facilities in our clearly identifiable Fan Zone – and you are most welcome to join us!

Match day hospitality packages are available for visiting supporters by contacting Carlisle United’s Commercial team on 0330 094 5930 (option 3) or by emailing commercial@carlisleunited.co.uk

In the area: Local restaurants include Stonyholme Golf Course, which has access to and from the supporters' car park, and the Beehive which is opposite Brunton Park along Warwick Road. You can buy meals and drinks at both of these local businesses. Warwick Road also hosts many other restaurants and places to buy food - including a Nando’s, Casa Romana Italian restaurant, Alexandros Greek restaurant, Claire’s Bakery, The Post Office, Lakeland Gate Inn, Toby Carvery and Tesco. All are within walking distance of Brunton Park. Carlisle Rugby Club is a two-minute walk from Brunton Park and can be accessed from the main car park, via a footpath. They host home and away fans and serve drinks and a small selection of food.

Pubs in Carlisle for Away Fans:

The below text is taken from the excellent Football Ground Guide – the Robins Trust take no responsibility for the recommendations or their accuracy: https://footballgroundguide.com/leagues/england/league-two/brunton-park-carlisle-united.html

The Carlisle Rugby Club next to Brunton Park on the Warwick Road, has a club bar which allows in away supporters and is family friendly. Also near to the ground on Warwick Road is the Beehive, which serves a real ale. The pub does employ doormen on matchdays and for certain games away fans may not be allowed entrance. Barrie Mossop recommends the Howard Arms, which is on Lowther Street. This is just off Warwick Road, towards the Town Centre, down from the White House. It serves a good pint of Theakstons. Simon Tunstall adds; ‘At the back of the main football club car park there is the Stoneyholme Golf Club, which has a bar, serves food and welcomes fans on matchdays’. Paul Sawyers adds; ‘I would recommend the Lakeland Gate for a drink on match days, which is a family friendly pub and part of the Brewers Fayre chain’. Around ten minutes walk away on Victoria Road is the Magpie Inn as Adrian Hurst a visiting Sheffield Wednesday fan tells me; ‘The Magpie Inn is a brilliant pub with a mixture of home and away supporters, cheap beer and very tasty homemade burgers priced at just £2.50. There is also plenty of street parking available nearby’. Also if you leave the M6 at Junction 43 and take the A69 towards Carlisle, then you will pass a recently opened Toby pub/carvery, which is not that far from the ground.

If arriving by train then on Platform 4 then there is the recently opened ‘301 Miles From London’ bar that offers a range of real ales.

Steve Ellis a visiting Exeter City fan adds; ‘You can get a beer inside the ground at a cost of around £3.80 a pint. Also a bit like a theatre you can also pay and pre-order half time drinks before the game starts. At half time the drinks are already poured and there is no need to queue. Just go to end of bar and hand over your receipt’