Car park chaos

I’ve been once this season and won’t be there again. Terrible place to park

 

Well after nearly 70 years of coming to Oakwell I’m thinking seriously about not renewing my season ticket. Nothing to do with the football; you should have seen some of the rubbish served up in the 60s. It’s got everything to do with it not being ‘my’ club now. Disregard for loyalty is rampant. Treatment of fans is poor in the extreme. The car park is a major example. In 70 years of walking across it from when it was just a strip of filthy scrub and huge ruts, I’ve never seen anyone injured by the cars. Now the gates are closed for health and safety. Paid up customers locked out. “You’ll have to park somewhere else and walk”. Not an option for me. The management of it in the hands of clueless kids. Safety? Aye, reight.

 

If they were that bothered about safety they'd fix the lights down at the bottom left. Saw a bloke stumble over a grate on Tuesday because it was so dark.. Luckily he didn't do any damage to himself. Its all half hearted lip service to Health and Safety

 

I’ve been going since 1962 and remember very well the rutted rough ground that used to be called a car park. Never caused a problem as far as I remember. Now “managed” by untrained kids who are only doing what someone has told them to do, rightly or wrongly, so we’re stuck with that. I’ve always parked a ten or twenty minute walk away, most recently in Wilby Lane but I find it a real struggle climbing up that hill these days (apart from the fact that Oakwell Lane is a bit dodgy after the match).

A few weeks ago I decided having a ST wasn’t for me any more due to a reluctance to drive a 100 mile round trip for home games and the box office very kindly reimbursed me a decent chunk of the ST price paid in May. I’ll be there only occasionally from now on which is a shame but that’s how I feel having turned 72 last week.

I’ll not be renewing next season and I fear plenty more won’t be

 

I usually park in the John street car park across from Alhambra at least then it’s only a short walk from oakwell up the hill behind the Alhambra and cuts out all the traffic not sure if that would be any easier for you when you do visit.

 

Doubt there’s much in it to be honest. Wherever you go in Barnsley there’s usually a hill to climb!

 

I always joke that I know what people are talking about when they do the ‘Back in my day I had to walk uphill… both ways’. They were clearly going from the bus station to Oakwell and back again.

 

When my mother was alive I used to park on Spencer Street outside her house after doing the pre-match visit every time I travelled up from Wiltshire/Gloucestershire/Bucks which was fairly often in fact. This meant there were THREE hills to climb after the match: Oakwell Lane first then up from Doncaster Rd to The Outpost. Then the steepest and longest bit was from Sheffield Rd past those tower block flats and up to Park Road.

But of course I was younger and fitter then and it wasn’t such an effort. I doubt I could manage that now!

 

THREE HILLS.....Isn't it just all uphill???

 

Mentally, it might be easier to tackle if you divide one long hill into three stages. Probably easier still if you nip into The Dove and then The Outpost at the end of stages one and two. Although possibly not, depending on how much you sup in each of them.

 

For all their talk about safety, there have been lights in the Ponty car park that seem to have been broken for years.

 

I always park in the Dearne Valley car park at Hoyle Mill and walk. Never had a problem there

 

S6 have got 7 hills,but they are massive.

 

Yes apart from the brief respite flat bits. Top of Oakwell Lane turn right for a minute before climbing again. Traffic lights by the outpost always meant you had to stand for a minute before starting the final ascent. Then the blessed relief of Park Road before getting back to the car tired and not looking forward to a journey of over 150 miles, or over 200 when I was near Salisbury.

Ah those were the days. Almost going into auto pilot mode on the M1 South, tuned into Alan Green with his great phone in show on Radio 5. There were usually intelligent football fans calling in from all over the country and it passed the time until I was well into my journey south. Then a cassette tape into the car player to finish the trip.

 

With a long drive ahead of me there would never be any question of pub visits.

 

Sod it, just stay in t'Dove then...