The Energy Check Stadium at Gigg Lane
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Last Update:
November 23, 2023
The Gigg Lane football ground was completely rebuilt in the 1990’s with the Cemetery End being the last stand to be completed in 1999. The new stands which are all covered, have vastly improved the overall look of the ground, whilst at the same time making it an all seated one. The only real disappointment is three of the stands contain a number of supporting pillars. On one side is the Main Stand. This all seated stand has its spectators area raised up above pitch level meaning that supporters have to climb a small set of steps to enter it. Part of the front has a small box-like structure, with a number of windows running along the front. It particularly caught my eye, as with the windows being almost at pitch level, I wondered just how many broken windows they get each season? Oddly the players tunnel and team dugouts are set to one side of the halfway line, suggesting that at some point the pitch has been moved from its original position.
Opposite is the Les Hart Stand, a single-tiered affair which extends around to meet the Cemetery End, enclosing that corner of the stadium. In this corner, there is a small Police control box suspended beneath the roof plus an electronic scoreboard. The Les Hart Stand also has a small TV gantry, plus there are a number of supporting pillars running across the stand that may impede your view.
The Cemetery End itself is a fairly simple covered seated stand. At the Manchester Road End is a larger covered seated stand that is given to away fans. It is a fair size however, it does not run the full width of the pitch, with one side ending with the edge of the penalty box. There is also an electric scoreboard at this end. The stadium is completed with a set of modern looking floodlights.
During 2017 the ground was renamed ‘The Energy Check Stadium at Gigg Lane’ in a corporate sponsorship deal.
Away fans are housed in the Ratio Law Stand at one end of the stadium, where just over 2,000 away supporters can be accommodated. Normally fans enjoy a good view of the action. However, there is a row of supporting pillars about a third of the way up the stand, which could cause problems if your team has a large following. The stand is also situated quite well back from the pitch and is slightly below pitch level. The catering is your standard football fayre of Cheeseburgers (£3.50), Hot Dogs (£3.80), Sausage Rolls (£2.80) and a range of Pukka Pies including Chicken Balti (£3.20). My only grumble was the archaic looking toilets in this relatively modern stand. On the whole, however, it was a relaxed and normally a good day out, although sometimes lacking in atmosphere. Keep a lookout for the unusual looking team mascot, it is not often the Police are represented, albeit as a furry dog.
The Club have announced that they are exploring with landowners and the local council, possible sites for a new stadium, with a capacity around 20,000 to be built. We shall wait and see what happens next!
There are a few pubs around the ground and along Manchester Road in particular. There is also a supporters club at the ground, which normally allows in small numbers of away fans, for a small fee (£1). Geoff Blanthorne a visiting Tranmere Rovers fan adds; ‘The Bury set-up is a very friendly one, with a nice supporters club where I enjoyed a pre-match drink together with a reasonably priced lunch whilst watching the early match on a big screen.’
My pick of the pubs on Manchester Road, is the Swan & Cemetery, around a ten minute walk from the ground. This Thwaites pub, is quite comfortable, serves good hand pulled beer and has a separate restaurant area. Nearer to the ground is the Staff Of Life pub, which is a basic pub serving hand pulled Lee’s. Neil Le Milliere a visiting Exeter City supporter recommends the Rose & Crown on Manchester Old Road. ‘It’s not the biggest pub but it was very friendly; served a variety of real ales and is only a ten minute walk away from the ground.’ Otherwise, Bury town centre is around a 15 minute walk away where there are plenty of pubs to be found including a Wetherspoons pub called the ‘Art Picture House’ on Haymarket Street. Alcohol is available to away fans inside the ground albeit in plastic bottles or cans of Carlsberg Lager, a Bitter and Kingstone Press Cider (all £3.70).
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Leave the M66 at Junction 3. Take the left hand exit at the junction and follow this road until you come to the junction with the A56 Manchester Road. At this T-junction which has traffic lights, turn right towards Bury. You will pass the Swan & Cemetery pub on your left and then some playing fields. At the end of the playing fields just before the traffic lights and a couple of pubs, turn right into Gigg Lane for the ground. However please note that Gigg Lane is normally closed on match days and the ground itself is not easily seen from the A56.
Adam Hodson provides some alternative directions from Junction 2 of the M66, from where the ground is signposted; ‘Take the A58 towards Bury and at the second set of traffic Lights, turn left onto Heywood Street (B6219). Â Go Straight over a mini roundabout and at the next roundabout, turn right onto Wellington Road (still the B6219). Â Follow this road to the end, where you will come to a T-junction. Turn left onto the A56 (signposted Manchester). After passing through a set of traffic lights, turn Left into Gigg Lane for the ground’.
Car Parking
There is no parking available at the ground itself for visiting fans. Nearby at Phoenix House on Brierley Street (BL9 9HN) there is parking at a cost of £5. Please note that this car park closes one hour after the game has ended. Access at this time is via the pedestrian gate as the main gates are closed (these gates are automatic and will open as you drive towards them to exit the car park) Otherwise, street parking, although beware of a residents only parking scheme in operation in the nearby streets, which operates on both matchdays end evenings, with wardens patrolling the area. There is also the option of renting a private driveway near in the local area via YourParkingSpace.co.uk.
Post Code for SAT NAV: BL9 9HR
There is no railway station in Bury itself, so most fans travelling by train are likely to end up at one of the Manchester stations. Bury Metrolink is served by trams from Manchester Victoria & Piccadilly railway stations. Bury Metrolink Station is about a 10-15 minute walk from the ground.
Head up the escalator from the platform and then left proceeding through the Bus Station. On exiting the bus station turn left and go across the the traffic lights signposted (A58) onto Knowsley Street. At the end  of Knowsley Street, turn left onto Manchester Road signposted A56 Manchester. On reaching set of traffic lights with the Pack Horse Hotel, then on just passing the hotel bear left onto a small narrow street called Heaton Fold. At the bottom of this street turn left onto Gigg Lane and the ground is a short distance down on the right. Thanks to Adam Hodson for supplying the directions.
Jon Hall adds; ‘Alternatively bus numbers; 90, 92, 135 and 137 run every ten minutes down Manchester Road past the end of Gigg Lane’.
Booking train tickets in advance will normally save you money! Find train times, prices and book tickets with Trainline. Visit the website below to see how much you can save on the price of your tickets:
Remember if travelling by train then you can normally save on the cost of fares by booking in advance.
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The Club operate a category system (A, B & C) for matchday pricing, whereby the most popular games (Category A) cost more to watch. Category A prices are shown below with other categories in brackets:
All areas of the Gigg Lane Ground:
Adults £20
Over 64’s/Under 23’s £14
Under 18’s £10
Under 12’s £5, (Must be accompanied by an adult)
Under 5’s Free
Family Tickets: Adult + 1 Under 16 £20 (Additional Under 17’s £5)
Official Programme: £2
Bolton Wanderers and Rochdale.
Bury FC fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website)
If you require hotel accommodation in Bury or Manchester then first try a hotel booking service provided by Booking.com. They offer all types of accommodation to suit all tastes and pockets from; Budget Hotels, Traditional Bed & Breakfast establishments to Five Star Hotels and Serviced Apartments. Plus their booking system is straightforward and easy to use. Just input the dates below that you wish to stay and then select from the map the hotel of interest to get more information. The map is centered to the football ground. However, you can drag the map around or click on +/- to reveal more hotels in Manchester City Centre or further afield.
For details of disabled facilities and club contact at the ground please visit the relevant page on the Level Playing Field website.
Record Attendance
35,000 v Bolton Wanderers
FA Cup 3rd Round, 9th January 1960.
Modern All Seated Attendance Record
9,115 v Burnley, 26th December 1999
Average Attendance
2018-2019: 4,044 (League Two)
2017-2018: 3,931Â (League One)
2016-2017: 3,845Â (League One)
Official Web Site: www.buryfc.co.uk
Unofficial Web Site:Â Bury Mad (Footy Mad Network)
If anything is incorrect or you have something to add, please e-mail me at: [email protected] and I’ll update the guide.
Bury v Mansfield Town
League 2
Saturday 6th October 2018, 3pm
Jack Richardson (Mansfield Town)
Bury v Oxford United
League One
Tuesday 26th September 2017, 7..45pm
Rob Pickett (Oxford United fan)
Bury v Fleetwood Town
Football League One
Saturday 25th March 2017, 3pm
Christopher (Fleetwood Town fan)
Why were you looking forward to this game and visiting the JD Stadium?
A lot of Fleetwood fans were making the effort to go to this one and Gigg Lane was a new ground for me to tick off, despite Bury being local rivals. Also with 5 ,000 Glasgow Rangers fans in Fleetwood for the Rangers Legends match at Highbury, it seemed wise to stay out of Fleetwood for the afternoon.
How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?
Unusually, we took the car rather than a supporters coach. More unusually, we didn't take the usual route to Manchester by going on the M60, instead taking the M65 to Blackburn before going on the A65 and the M66. I`d recommend going on this route if you're traveling South to Bury as the route offers great views of the Pennines and is relatively traffic free, or at least it was for us. We parked outside a college some ten minutes walk from the Gigg Lane ground. With all of the roads surrounding the stadium for residents parking only, this is probably the closest you can get by car.
What you did before the game pub/chippy etc, and were the home fans friendly?
We made for the nearby Swan and Cemetery pub for a quick pint (Or half pint in my case) before going into the ground. The club officials and stewards who we met all seemed very friendly but all the Bury fans we saw weren't very sociable. We didn`t even get a hello or nod of the head walking past them, I`m sure most of the fans are friendly from that neck of the woods but alas we didn't meet any.
What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the JD Stadium?
The Gigg Lane ground is very nice all things considered. A good blend of old and new with good facilities. We were situated in the Cemetery End Stand, a relatively new build that curves round to join on with the equally new Les Hart Stand. The other two grounds are older but both look very nice. There are a couple of complaints though; the elevated pitch really hampers vision for those on the first few rows and the PA speakers were amongst the worst I`ve ever heard. Nevertheless it wasn`t enough to ruin what is a very good stadium.
Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc..
The game itself can be summed up in one word- Dire. Both teams had a couple of good chances but with the exception from one post-shot from us, none looked that troubling. It unsurprisingly finished 0-0 which hasn`t done us any favours in race for automatic promotion. The atmosphere was much better than the game itself, with both sets of fans in good voice. It's a good move to put the home singing section near the away fans as it generates a lot of noise from that area of the ground. The toilets were clean and adequate enough and I didn`t try any food at the ground. The stewards and Police all seemed very friendly, engaging in crowd banter and being patient and tolerant when someone set off a flare in the away section.
Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:
It surely has to be down to bad luck that I`ve encountered some unpleasantness on my last two away trips. Today, as we were walking back to the car, a Bury fan who'd clearly had too much to drink started effing and blinding at us, seemingly determined to get a reaction out of us. To make it worse, he was with two kids who looked about 10 who were swearing in a similar manner. Honestly the most unpleasant people I`ve ever met and I sincerely hope never to see them again. It took a lot for me to keep ignoring them and to not respond as they really made my blood boil with their disgusting rant. After that we got back to the car and made swiftly for the A56 before going back to Fleetwood via Preston rather than the M6. Both journeys to and from the ground were less than 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:
Ultimately this was not an away game that I came from with positive feelings. And unfortunately, that was largely down to the lack of friendliness from the home fans. I hope and expect that I am completely wrong about Bury fans and I'll happily apologise if that's the case but from my experience today most were not very friendly which was a shame because it was a good atmosphere and a nice stadium. Because of this, I may give Gigg Lane a miss for the next few seasons that we`re in the same league. On the whole, it has unfortunately been one of the more disappointing away days I have been on.
Bury v Fleetwood Town
Football League One
Saturday 25th March 2017, 3pm
Ian Bradley (Neutral fan)
Why were you looking forward to this game and visiting the JD Stadium?
I hadn't visited Gigg Lane since around 1977. So as there was an International break and Bury FC had set their ticket prices at just £10 I was tempted sufficiently to make the trip over to Lancashire.
How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?
Parking looked plentiful around the ground and surrounding streets but I decided to travel by train to Manchester Piccadilly and then by tram to Bury Town Centre which is an easy 15/20 minute walk to the JD Stadium.
What you did before the game pub/chippy etc, and were the home fans friendly?
I had a very pleasant meal at a little café in Bury town centre before the walk to the Gigg Lane ground. Inside the stadium it was just the usual overpriced fayre I'm afraid. The home and away supporters I mingled with before the game were friendly enough.
What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the JD Stadium?
Gigg Lane has been completely rebuilt since my last visit in the 1970's and is a relatively modern all seater stadium. Unfortunately though there are supporting pillars on two of the stands that restricts the view of small areas of the pitch.
Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc..
The game was fairly ordinary if I'm honest & ended in a 0-0 draw. Both sides put in a lot of commitment and there were half chances at both ends but ultimately they cancelled each other out.
Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:
Again a nice 20 minute walk into town and a ten minute wait for the tram home.
Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:
It was a lovely sunny day. Gigg Lane is a pleasant little ground, cheap admission and friendly banter with the locals, what's not to like?
Bury v Bristol Rovers
Football League One
Tuesday 14th March 2017, 7.45pm
Yaz Shah (Bristol Rovers fan)
Why were you looking forward to this game and visiting the JD Stadium?
I have never been to Gigg Lane, although I have been in the area for work visits. I thought this was a key game for both us and them; a win for us and we would be serious contenders for the play offs whereas a win for them would reduce their fears of relegation.
How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?
From where I live in London it was up the M40, M6, and M62 to Junction 17. I then took the A56 North for about 10-15 minutes and reached Gigg Lane on the right hand side after passing the Swan and Cemetery pub. I left London at 11am and got there around 3.30pm with a half hour stop at Keele Services. I left earlier this time than I did two weeks previously for a similar Tuesday game at Bolton and I'm glad that I did as I missed the "rush hour" traffic. As I had arrived early then parking was easy as I parked on a side street opposite the club shop which had no restrictions.
What you did before the game pub/chippy etc, and were the home fans friendly?
I met some Rovers supporters who had come from the Lakes in Cumbria and had also got there early. We walked to the Club Shop and I spent a good part of an hour talking to Ben Miles, the Supporter Services Assistant who was helping out in the shop. Ben is a very nice guy and a very helpful person who seems to love the club. He indicated that he had sent Rovers details to pass on to fans to help them enjoy their visit here, e.g. parking, etc. He had also visited the Memorial Stadium for the first game. Ben also indicated that the club have 90 parking spaces (at a cost of £5?) on Brierley Street available and only a few minutes walk from the ground. The Bury shop is well organised and spacious.
I then visited the Swan and Cemetery pub and had two lovely pints of Peroni on draught. It is a ten minute walk back down the A56 towards Manchester. This was a very nice and clean pub with friendly staff and locals. There were a few Rovers supporters here. Locals were friendly throughout the day; I had a chat with two other stewards, one of whom was a lady behind the goal who also does the same at Preston and comes all the way from Blackpool!
What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the JD Stadium?
Gigg Lane is a nice ground. The Rovers fans were housed in one stand located behind the goal. It was slightly low at the front of the stand but it was okay as we could sit or stand where we wanted. No pillars in my way. We had 350 supporters in a total attendance of 2,500.
Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc..
The game, for us, was one to forget losing the game 3-0. The referee did us no favours throughout the game and it was ruined when one of our players was sent off just before half time, a second yellow card for supposedly diving, which seemed very doubtful. The referee further enraged the Bristol Rovers and management when he gave the home side a very soft penalty early in the second half which was converted. Although we lost 3-0, the scoreline was very complimentary to Bury as even with ten men Rovers had more possession, more corners and had hit the woodwork etc. I brought my own samosas so only bought a coffee which was not too hot but staff friendly. Stewards very relaxed and friendly and I spent some time talking to them before the game. Overall a very nice ground with good staff. I wish them the best with their football.
Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:
Easy because I had parked just outside the ground and I went back down the A56 into Manchester. The M6 was closed at M56 junction so I had to go all the way down the M56 towards Runcorn, turn round and hit M6 South which was then closed between J18/J17 with diversions via Congleton!
Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:
Good weather, good drive there, long drive back, nice ground, nice staff and locals but the game spoilt by a poor referee who has probably now finished our season.
Bury v MK Dons
Football League One
Tuesday 14th February 2017, 7.45pm
Connor Lawson (MK Dons fan)
Why were you looking forward to this game and visiting the JD Stadium?
I decided to go to Bury just a couple of days before the game, I'm not sure why it appealed to me, I just liked the thought of a midweek away game three and a half hours from home, to a normal person that does not sound appealing, but it was for me!
How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?
We took the supporters coach up to Greater Manchester and, for the majority of the journey we cruised along quite well, that was until we hit rush hour traffic around Manchester, and there was a collision on the M60. We left Milton Keynes at 2:15pm and arrived at Gigg Lane at 7pm, which also included a half hour break.
What you did before the game pub/chippy etc, and were the home fans friendly?
There wasn't too long until kick off, and I had been informed there was absolutely nothing to do in Bury, so we went straight into the ground.
What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the JD Stadium?
Because we had a small away following, a section of the Main Stand was allocated to the away fans and it had quite basic facilities, but a nice feel. There were a few pillars impairing our view slightly, though. Bury closed off the two stands behind each goal, which was probably as a result of the attendance being just 2,005 with 113 away fans.
Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc..
The game was fairly dire, and both sides had few chances throughout. Bury had a few decent opportunities in the first half and Stuart O'Keefe should've scored for us with probably the best chance of the game. Youngster Ben Tilney did well for us at left back, and he almost scored too. The game finished 0-0. The atmosphere was fairly poor, around 20-30 Bury fans in the opposite stand made a fair amount of noise, whilst there were around 20 of us singing at the top of the away section. Now the food, absolutely awful. A cheeseburger for £3.20 was presented to me with a soggy bun and suspected slightly undercooked meat, not great.
Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:
We got away from the ground fairly easily as there had not been many people in attendance. We prepared ourselves for the long journey home to Milton Keynes after seeing a fairly average game of football.
Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:
The evening itself at Gigg Lane was good. It was spent in good company and there were some good laughs on the coach and at the ground, helped by our fantastic coach driver. Although I really didn't like the Gigg Lane ground, it was another one ticked off. We got back to Milton Keynes around 2am and, whilst waiting for the taxi home, we saw MK Dons right back and captain for the night George Williams, who stopped for a picture, it wasn't too bad after all!
Bury v Bolton Wanderers
Football League One
Monday 24th October 2016, 7.45pm
Tom (Bolton Wanderers fan)
Why were you looking forward to this game and visiting the JD Stadium?
Another new ground and a local one that I've yet to visit. What better way to do this than on a derby day?
How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?
The journey there was pretty terrible – we decided not to drive (we'd heard parking was pretty tough in that part of town) and instead opted for the supporters bus from the Macron Stadium. Although Bury is only ten miles away, roadworks on the Manchester Road meant we were in stop-start traffic for a good 30 minutes. I hate bus journeys at the best of times, but I was getting pretty tetchy by the time we left the coach.
What you did before the game pub/chippy etc, and were the home fans friendly?
We didn't really do much as we were more or less escorted off the bus to the ground by the Police. We were there a good hour and a half before kick off, so we had a lot of hanging around to do.
What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the JD Stadium?
The JD Stadium is clean and quite tidy. It's a proper traditional northern ground which has been modernised over the years. I felt very appreciative that there are still grounds like this which owners don't feel the need to replace.
Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc..
Bury refused to sell alcohol today to away fans (which I kind of understand), but that didn't detract from the atmosphere, which was absolutely magical as far as Bolton were concerned. We sold out one and a half stands which were allocated to us, plus we were coming off the back of a four game winning run (with clean sheets), so naturally everyone was up for a good sing song. Carrying on that run against our rivals boosted the volume by a good few decibels. I'm certain you'd have been able to hear us from the Macron on a quiet night!
Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:
As this was a local derby, we were kept behind at the end for 20 minutes – the Police blocked the exits to the concourse which riled a few people who either needed the train, or needed to relieve themselves (god only knows what would have happened had they served us beer!). It got a bit angry, and actually a bit dangerous because there was a big surge of fans pushing to get out. The Police got a lot of abuse (which I really didn't think they deserved), but we were out eventually. The Police almost outnumbered our fans on the way out – I'm convinced someone could have looted Bury town centre and gotten away with it!
Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:
Great day out. On a personal level, it was the first time I'd seen Bolton win since 26th April 2014 (when we beat Sheffield Wednesday) so naturally I'm on a complete high right now!
Bury v Bolton Wanderers
Football League One
Monday 24th October 2016, 7.45pm
Matthew Bowling (Bolton Wanderers fan)
Why were you looking forward to this game and visiting the JD Stadium?
Gigg Lane was a new ground for me and a very feisty local Derby was on offer so I could not miss this game at all.
How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?
We parked around a mile from the ground because all around the stadium was residents only parking so we parked the closest we could. There was plenty of signage for the Gigg Lane ground as you leave the motorway so it's fairly easy to find.
What you did before the game pub/chippy etc, and were the home fans friendly?
Before the game we started to walk down to the Swan & Cemetery pub but in the end we turned round and headed back up to the ground which we entered 45 minutes before kick off. Both fans mingled before the game and there was no sign of trouble. However the majority of Bolton fans were yet to arrive as a large number were being given a Police escort from the town centre.
What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the JD Stadium?
I wasn't overly impressed when I first saw the ground. I was annoyed when I saw that the pitch higher than where the fans were stood. Even though I was on the front row I had difficulty seeing the game because as people stood in front of the stand, with a line of stewards facing the Bolton fans at pitchside. On the whole Gigg Lane is okay but not great.
Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc..
The atmosphere by the Bolton fans was second to none and it was carrying the team along which showed with Bolton picking up a straightforward 2-0 victory. Bury never really got in to the game and could only test our keeper from long range. There was a heavy steward and Police presence to stop any trouble breaking out but this still didn't stop a Bolton pitch invasion when we scored the second goal. Having looked back at the highlights the two penalties given for us were very soft, but I will take them any day.
Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:
The Bolton supporters were kept behind for 15 mins after the game, to let the home fans disperse and for the the car park to be cleared. Once outside the stadium we split away from the majority of Bolton fans. As we walked back to our car we never felt under any threat whatsoever.
Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:
A good away day, great atmosphere, a great result and just a great day out behind enemy lines.
Bury v AFC Wimbledon
Football League One
Tuesday 18th October 2016, 7.45pm
Brian May (AFC Wimbledon fan)
Why were you looking forward to this game and visiting the JD Stadium?
A first-time visit to Gigg Lane. I was hoping for the Dons to extend their recent good run although anticipating a very tough match.
How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?
The ground is very easy to find if going by public transport. We got the tram from Manchester which only took around 25 minutes and after dropping our bag at the Premier Inn (just over the road from the Bury Tram & Bus Interchange) we walked to the ground and this only took us around 15-20 minutes. It's a very straightforward and flat route but we noticed a bus (135) that would have probably took less than 10 minutes to the ground from the Interchange.
What you did before the game pub/chippy etc, and were the home fans friendly?
We didn't really see that many other people heading to the ground! I had my kids with me, so decided against visiting the pub – instead we headed straight for the stadium and got inside as it was tipping down with rain.
What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the JD Stadium?
The away end wasn't signposted at all, but stewards pointed us in the right direction – all of the stewards were friendly and bid us welcome. It's obviously an old ground that has been upgraded recently and while we were in one half of the old Main Stand, the other three stands look quite new with just one corner filled in with seating. There were quite a few pillars and we also found that the roof leaks but with a small crowd, we were able to move around and find a largely unobstructed (and dry) view!
Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc..
Catering was okay pricewise but the pie was nothing to get excited about. Toilet facilities definitely need upgrading as even with a small travelling support, there was still a long queue and a 'cosy' experience once inside the toilet block! The first half was played in torrential rain, and I thought might be abandoned with both teams struggling to keep their feet, but the rain eased off just enough to allow the game to continue. It was a very small crowd of just over 2,000 and both stands behind the goals were closed which meant that the 191 away fans and a small group of noisy home supporters in the stand opposite had a tough job trying to raise atmosphere. Bury took the lead from a penalty but Dons equalised with a well worked goal before half time. I was just thinking that a draw wouldn't be a bad result when Dons stole the points from a corner in injury time – sparking delighted scenes in the away section.
Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:
By the time we left, the ground and surrounding streets were already pretty much empty so we had a quick and hassle-free walk back to the town centre. Although the home fans were obviously frustrated, there was no hint of any trouble.
Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:
Gigg Lane is a decent ground well worth a visit. Easy to get to and within touching distance of everything that Manchester has to offer if staying overnight like we did.
Bury v Exeter City
League Two
Saturday 7 February 2015, 3pm
Steve Ellis (Exeter City)
1. Why were you looking forward to going to the JD Stadium?
After all the times Exeter have played there, I think six times in last eight years, this was to be my first ever journey to Gigg Lane. It was also to be my 45th ground visited of the current 92 Premier and Football League Clubs.
2. How easy was your journey and finding the ground?
As always I travelled up on the Exeter City Supporters Coach. We left Exeter at 7.30am arriving in Bury just before 1pm. The coach dropped us off a short walk from what is now called the JD Stadium.
3. What did you do before the game, pub, chippy….home fans friendly?
Before the game a few of us headed down to the Swan and Cemetery pub. Which was about a 15 minute walk from the coach drop off point and past the ground. It was a nice pub, with a good mix of home and away fans and pints priced at £3.
4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end and then other sides of stadium?
The stadium is nicely designed, alsthough the away end does have a number of supporting pillars which can obstruct the view. The Main Stand is similar. The Les Hart Stand and the Cemetery End opposite, looked more modern with no supporting pillars. These stands were joined enclosing the ground at one corner. The pitch is not the best in the league but seems to suit Bury's style of play.
View From The Away End
5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, refreshments etc.
The game was well played with both teams needing a win, but with the game ending in a 1-1 draw. Atmosphere was good at times with both sets of supporters trying to make themselves heard. With all the stands covered this provided ambiance as well as providing good acoustics. The stewards were very low key and probably the best I have seen all season. I bought an average sausage roll, priced at an expensive £2.80, which I found a bit dry. Alcoholic drinks at £3.50 and can be drunk in an authorised area. Toilets were old but usable and clean and home supporters I spoke to throughout the day were fine.
6. Comments on getting away from the ground after the game.
Getting away was easy with our coach parked outside the main entrance. It was a straight forward journey home, arriving back in Exeter at half past ten.
Attendance: 3,513 (180 Exeter fans)
Bury v Sheffield United
League One
Saturday January 14th 2012, 3pm
Tony Skinner (Sheffield United fan)
Me and my son were looking forward to going to Gigg Lane because we were in really good form and it is a relatively short journey being just over the Pennines. It was a ground I had visited before in 1982 for a Division 4 clash between the same two sides.
We decided to travel on the club coaches which we had used many times and takes away the hassle of parking. Within two hours of leaving Bramall Lane we were at the ground and were dropped off outside the Main Stand. We had time to kill so we walked around the outside of the ground and bought a programme which was great value at £3.
4,000 blades fans had made the journey over so it had the feeling of a home match. We bought souvenirs from the club shop which was really tidy. Gigg Lane is unusual as all the turnstiles are all located on one side of the ground. Entrance was through some pretty old fashioned turnstiles. Once inside, the ground is a tidy all seater stadium.
We were actually housed on the home end of the stadium and away fans also occupied the side stand and behind the opposite goal. We were in the stadium early and the unreserved seating policy allowed us to get good seats. The view was great and the noise created by our fans was superb. The Bury fans were few in numbers but passionate and at times vocal with some good old fashioned banter.
The game itself was a great performance from our point of view. Nip and tuck in the first half with chances few and far between. We then went 1-0 up early in the second half and really there was only going to be one winner after that and we ran out 3-0 winners.
No hassle from the stewards and police, they allowed us to enjoy ourselves and even let one supporter back into the crowd having scaled the barrier when we scored.
On the final whistle we applauded the team off and left the stadium via the way we went in. Just a short walk across the car park and back onto the waiting coaches.
A slow crawl actually leaving Bury on the one road due to the big away following, but once on the motorway no problem.
All in all a great day out at a traditional English football stadium and this time, after my first visit ended in a draw, we had a win.
Bury v Sheffield Wednesday
League One
Tuesday August 16th 2011, 7.45pm
Teresa Jewell (Sheffield Wednesday fan)
This game is really like a local game for me as I live only in Stockport and so I took this opportunity to take my boy friend (a big Manchester United fan), who is really a secret Wednesday fan. The game was a night game and so we chose to use the bus to the ground. This was easy, as the 135 is every 10 minutes from Piccadilly Gardens which is well sign posted from Piccadilly Train Station. The bus stop that is required is within 100 yards of Gigg Lane and right out side of a public house The Swan and Cemetery (again well sign posted – about a 40 minute bus ride).
This is where we had a drink with both sets of fans who were very accommodating. Food is also available and it is advisable to eat before you get to the ground. This is because there is no where to get food except inside the ground, which amounts to 1 catering unit, which costs the earth e.g. 2 burgers 1 chips and 1 drink £12.50. There is also a primitive catering section under the terrace where the toilets are for coffee etc..
The ground is old and is in need of investment, seating was ok we took up two sides of the ground, so it looked odd and sounded like we were at home at times. Their noisy fan section were housed near to where we sat and seemed to range from the age group 16-19, but they were soon moved as they were getting a bit giddy.
The game it's self was poor. We didn't do ourselves any favours by going behind on the 7th minute Lowe scored followed by Mozika on the 40th minute. Sedgewick hit one back on the 47nd minute with a screamer into the top corner facing their end. The game was going against Wednesday with their attackers causing problems all over. Saying this we did have two perfectly good goals disallowed.
We are still trying to work out why these goals were disallowed to this day.
The only thing I can say about the stewards is that they were ok, but didn't really know what they were doing.
Getting away from the ground was easy going straight to the bus stop and straight onto the first bus that arrived. Again another 40 minutes ride to the centre of Manchester and then due to the lateness we got a taxi home. Which resulted in a financially costly night. Not to mention a bad result especially as my boy friends son is a Bury fan. I still have not lived it down yet….
Bury v Sheffield Wednesday
League One
Tuesday August 16th 2011, 7.45pm
Dan Brennan (Sheffield Wednesday)
1. Why you were looking forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be):
Gigg Lane isn't a million miles away from Sheffield in all honesty and I try and get to as many games as possible – despite this being a Tuesday night, it was convenient enough so I made the trip to Bury.
2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?
We drove up to Bury which was relatively simple, though finding the ground was a bit of a farce. We stopped and was told that the ground was a matter of metres away, which suprised us as there was no ground/floodlights/fans(!) in sight. It was just down that road, but you have to really 'go round the houses' to get there.
3. What you did before the game pub/chippy…. home fans friendly?
There seemed to be scarce little to do outside the ground. We had a quick look inside the Supporters Club, paying £1 to get as a non-member, but as all the turnstiles are found on the same road you can't really walk around the stadium which I found to be disappointing.
4. What were your thoughts on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground:?
We literally stumbled upon the ground. It looked tidy enough, a bit old but certainly not falling to pieces. We did however have to walk around masses of horse mess , I presume from Police horses, on our way to the turnstiles which didn't create a fantastic first impression to be honest.
Once inside, the ground is nice enough. The stand to our right looked quite old, but steady enough and though the ground as a whole isn't anything to write home about, I've certainly seen worse. It's tidy enough, and the fact that despite the scoreboard being in the corner of the ground that's filled in (between the Cemetery End and Les Hart Stand) which was virtually sidewards to my seat, I could still see it, which I liked as it was a hell of a lot better than the one at Hillsborough!
Upon getting to my seat though, the man next to me went straight through his! Seeing as we were in a normally home stand, I don't assume the person who had a season-ticket in this seat will be too impressed come their next home game.
5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc… :
The food was arguably the worst I've ever had at a football ground. A burger and a bottle of Pepsi cost me £5.70, with the burger being stone cold and the Pepsi tasting watered down and cheap, I wasn't best impressed. The toilets were small, which caused problems with a big following, but the stewards were helpful enough.
The game itself was dire from Wednesday's point of view – a 2-1 defeat that flattered us massively, going 2-0 down before half-time courtesy of Lowe and Mozika (though Reda Johnson had a goal, ridiculously in my view, ruled out on the stroke of half time) and although Chris Sedgwick scored a beauty just after half time and we had another one ruled out for offside, we deserved nothing from the game.
The Bury fans did make a lot of noise – there was a drum to our left which was being used from start to finish, though I must say I never heard ONE original song! Nonetheless, they made a good atmosphere and despite the fact that Wednesday took more fans (2,850 in a 5,600 crowd I think!) they more than matched the Wednesdayites who were, in fairness, less than impressed by our dire surrender.
6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:
Pretty simple, small clusters of traffic around the ground but nothing major, we soon got away heading back down south to Yorkshire with our tails well between our legs.
7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:
Bury was an alright 'night out'. Wednesday's awful performance more than put a dampener on the trip, though I do admit that the atmosphere was good in the ground and though the catering facilities were poor (I would bring my own food in future), the ground is tidy enough. The best two words to sum it up are 'decent enough' – not wonderful, but not bad.