On another thread others have talked about the National Football Museum and I’d certainly recommend a visit too. As I work in the centre of Manchester I have already made a few short lunchtime visits, as well as an extended one. As already reported it is free admission, but there is quite a nice little Visitor Guide available at £1 and the Football Plus + ticket which allows you to join in various activities (two examples being the Penalty Shoot-Out and the Match Of The Day Commentary Challenge). I’m really enjoying the museum and, on the extended visit, my wife came along (a Mancunian, but not really a footy fan) and she enjoyed it too. She spotted the Ilkeston v BUFC ticket stub before I did – and brought up Boston United on one of the interactive gadgets which has details of every club that has been a member of the Football League. Our section includes a picture of Bazza as the holder of the record number of appearances.
So if you're coming up to Droylsden on Saturday why not include a visit to the museum? The best way would be to drive to Droylsden, park your car and then take the bus into the city centre. From Droylsden’s ground to the bus stops on the main road is less than a 5 minute walk and buses are every 10 minutes. Look for the No. 216 service as this takes the most direct route and is just a 20 minute ride to Piccadilly Gardens in the city centre. The route passes through sportscity and the Ethihad Stadium. Ask for a DayRider ticket which is the cheapest option for the return journey – it costs £3-90.
On arrival at Piccadilly Gardens head for Market Street – look for and go between Primark and Debenhams and then keep going straight along Market Street passing, amongst others, HMV & Tesco Metro on your left and Aldi and the Man City Store on your right. Just after the Man City Store you’ll reach Marks & Spencer. Turn right here onto Corporation Street towards The Printworks (bars, restaurants & cinema complex) and the oddly shaped Urbis Building (the home of the museum) – you’ll pass the iconic Post Box that survived the 1996 IRA bomb, the Corn Exchange (shopping) and the big screen in Exchange Square on your left and then the Museum is directly infront of you. From leaving the bus to getting to the museum is only a walk of 10 minutes or so.
If you’ve not driven towards Newark recently be aware that there are roadworks which can result in long queues near Newark Golf Club and, if you’re planning to use the M62, also be aware there is a fairly long stretch of 50mph speed limit. I use this route and can normally drive from Kearsley (a few miles further on than Droylsden) to Boston in 2 hours 30 minutes, a week last Saturday though it was 2 hours 50 minutes. But, by leaving Boston around 8-00am, you could feasibly make a 2 hour visit to the museum – with Man City not playing at home on Saturday you can leave it as late as 2-00pm before getting a bus back from Manchester to Droylsden. If you’ve plenty of time on your hands you can grab something to eat and drink in The Printworks or there’s a handful of pubs just the other side of the Exchange Square big screen facing Selfridges. A 2-00pm bus will get you into the ground by around 2-30pm and so, if you’ve not had time to eat elsewhere, you'll have have time for a pie & pint before taking your position to, hopefully, see us reverse recent fortunes in Tameside and open the season with a win. See you there!!
