1. Why you were looking forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be):
 
A friend and I had been hoping to get to Ewood Park for some time as part of our seemingly endless quest to 'do the 92'! We'd been intending to get to Ewood for a couple of seasons and thought we'd bite the bullet early on in 2008/09 and get to Blackburn's game against newly-promoted Hull. We were hoping to have a good day out - as I'd heard that a trip to Blackburn is pretty relaxed and enjoyable - and we were also hoping to see an open game of football.

2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?
 
Our journey from Lincoln took about 2.5 hours and was generally ok. As we travelled over the M62, we saw lots of Hull fans making the trip, and they eventually took around 5,000 supporters to the game - an amazing turnout. The ground must be one of the easiest to find in the country and is on the A666, a main road into Blackburn from the south and only a mile from the M65 junction 4. There wasn't a lot of street parking to be had and I'd discourage this because some of the roads around the ground are closed of for around 30 minutes after the final whistle. We parked at a pub for around £4, which wasn't too bad. 

3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly?
 
Being neutrals, we didn't mind where we drank pre-match, and ended up having a swift pint in the Fernhurst, a Hull fans-only pub right outside the ground. We then made our way along the A666 for some chips - there's an amazing chippy just along from the Ewood social club which I'd strongly recommend - and then went for another quick drink in the Fox & Hounds pub, just up the road. After watching what remained of Charlton's victory over Reading, we made our way to Ewood and had a look at the quite outstanding Jack Walker statue behind the Blackburn End stand before entering the stadium.

4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground?
 
Ewood isn't one of the bigger grounds in the top-flight but is certainly up there in terms of quality of facilities. We were situated in the Fraser Eagle Riverside Stand, which is a relatively small structure and a relic to the 'old Ewood'. While it has a few supporting pillars to the rear, they don't impeded the view too badly and the club really have done a good job of making sure the facilities in this stand are fairly modern. The legroom was excellent and Blackburn deserve high praise for keeping prices in this stand fairly low (only £17!). The rest of the ground looked extremely impressive, all of the stands looking of high quality and all being two-tiered and symmetrical. Once the Riverside stand is replaced, as is the club's long-term goal, Ewood should look very impressive indeed. It should be noted that leg room in this stand is excellent!

5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc..
 
The atmosphere was a bit lacking at times and the home fans seemed to have a distinct lack of songs to sing! There were, however, a few moments of singing, and the massed ranks of Hull fans managed to raise the roof on a good number of occasions. The food was fairly standard fare for the Premier League and the toilets were - amazingly these days - really clean, spacious and smelt really clean! The stewards seemed to be both well-drilled and friendly, even with away fans, who at many grounds seem to be dealt with contempt!

6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:
 
A word of warning: we parked at the Bear Hotel, on the right of the A666 as you come into Blackburn, and paid £4 for the privilege of parking at the bottom of what looked like an old quarry! On the way out, we had to drive up a stony hill and none of the cars parked in this area made it back on to the main road without a push from some of the friendly Hull fans who'd also had the misfortune to park in this area! The A666 was closed for 20 minutes or so after the game to allow fans to get away, so don't expect a quick getaway!

7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:
 
Blackburn is probably the friendliest Premier League ground to visit - nice and knowledgeable fans and a fairly decent stadium. Away fans will find this to be one of the more relaxed days out of the season, while I'd say that neutrals in attendance who have any preconceptions about the Premier League being awash with clubs that only care about your wallet will be completely thrown away when they visit Ewood.