Away-day guide

Birmingham City

Small Heath, big day out.

awaydayhubReviewed 2 weeks ago

Quick takeaways

Walkable from the city centre
Choose secure parking for peace of mind
Digbeth is the best pre-match area if you've got time
There's a standout food truck near the ground (see Food & Drink)
Local roads get very busy after the game — park further out for a quicker exit

About the place

If you've got the time, Birmingham's a cracking day out. There's loads to do and it's well worth making a proper day of it.

St Andrew's is in Small Heath, 1.5 miles south-east of Birmingham city centre. It takes about 30 minutes to walk from town. A lot of people choose to do this, and when the weather's good, it's an easy walk.

One side of the ground backs directly onto a railway line, which means you can't walk a full loop around the ground like you can at many stadiums. Most of the activity happens around the main entrance on Cattell Road — this is where you'll find the club shop, food stalls and the away end. Due to the elevation, you also get a good view of the Birmingham skyline.

The stadium itself has a traditional feel, with three enclosed sides and a capacity of just under 30,000. Away supporters are housed in the Gil Merrick stand.

Birmingham City have recently unveiled ambitious plans to build a new 62,000-capacity stadium as part of the proposed Birmingham City Powerhouse development in nearby Bordesley Green. If approved, it won't happen until around 2031 at the earliest — so for a good while yet, away days still mean a trip to St Andrew's.

Club info

Website: bcfc.com
Phone: 0121 772 0101
Email: fans@bcfc.com
what3words: ///tamed.relate.caves
Address: St. Andrew's Stadium, Cattell Road, Small Heath, Birmingham B9 4RL

Section 02

Getting in & out

By train

Train

The stadium is walkable from Birmingham's main stations:

Birmingham New Street30 min walk· 1.7 mi
Birmingham Moor Street30 min walk· 1.6 mi
Bordesley12 min walk· 0.7 miMatchday only

Section 03

Parking

Parking options

The club states that there is no car parking at the stadium, but that on-street parking is available in the area.

The club has 5 disabled parking spaces for visiting supporters. More information can be found on the club website.

Near the stadium

15· 0.6 mi

Min walk

To the away end

Bordesley Green Girls' School & Sixth Form

Near the stadium. Secure parking. Decent getaway.

Bordesley Green Road, Birmingham

Pricing: About £10 cash
Payment: Cash payment (we can't remember how much it was, but a £10 note covered it).

Notes

Matchday car park, staffed by volunteers with profits supporting the school. There are limited spaces, so it will fill up — but it's a great option if you arrive in good time. We've parked here for an evening game before.

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Get directions

Further out

30· 1.4 mi

Min walk

To the away end

Arcadian Car Park

24-hour car park on the outskirts of the city centre. Easy walk through Digbeth to the ground.

The Arcadian Centre, Bromsgrove Street, Birmingham B5 4TD

Spaces: 500
EV chargers: 10
Pricing: 3-5 hrs: £9 / 5-8 hrs: £12.50
Payment: Managed by Your Parking Space. Download the app before you go.

Notes

Location code: 11727

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Get directions

45· 2.5 mi

Min walk

To the away end

Q-Park Brindleyplace

Solid option if you want a proper day out in town first.

Brunswick Street, Birmingham, B1 2JF

Spaces: 890
EV chargers: 18
Pricing: 4 hrs: £12 / 5 hrs: £15 / 8 hrs: £17

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Get directions

Other options

Search in the JustPark app for Birmingham City parking options, including private driveway parking, local supermarkets etc. Rates vary.

Matchday road closures

Cattell Road is closed on matchdays, from the junction with Coventry Road, continuing all the way up to the junction with Garrison Lane. The pre-match closure starts one hour before kick-off. The post-match closure starts 15 minutes before the final whistle and lasts up to an hour.

Post-match traffic

Given the local road closures in place, the streets around the stadium get very congested after a game. Expect delays on Coventry Road, Garrison Lane, Bordesley Green and the Middleway ring road.

It probably goes without saying, but parking a little further out gives you the trade-off of missing some of the traffic.

Worth considering

Secure parking

There have been numerous reports of organised car crime affecting fans attending games at St Andrews. Specifically, cars being 'stripped' for parts. From our visits, we've seen a lot of home fans parking on the streets around the stadium — so while the headline story sounds grim, there's something to be said about watching how the locals behave.

While car crime can occur anywhere, being aware of this risk means it's worth taking extra care when choosing where to park. We'd suggest steering clear of streets that have:

Poor or inadequate lighting
Areas not covered by CCTV or overlooked by residential properties
Low levels of passing traffic

Fortunately, there are some good secure parking options in the area. The larger, more secure car parks are closer to the city centre (with a slightly longer walk to the stadium), but this is a worthwhile trade-off for the peace of mind you'll have.

Birmingham Clean Air Zone

Birmingham operates a Clean Air Zone covering the city centre within the A4540 Middleway (excluding the Middleway itself), running 24/7 year-round. The daily charge is £8, payable up to 6 days in advance or by 23:59 on the 6th day after driving in the zone, via the GOV.UK payment portal.

To check if your vehicle is exempt or to view a map of the zone, search for Brumbreathes.

Bike

There is limited cycle parking at the stadium, with a bike rack available next to Gate 8A, to the left of the ticket office on the Kop side (Cattell Rd).

Lime bikes are coming to Birmingham in 2026, so this could become an option that replaces the walk out of town.

Section 04

Food & drink

If you've got the time, it's well worth adding some food or drink stops into your day alongside the football.

If you're walking via the city centre, Digbeth is the obvious place to aim for. It's on the way to the ground, and has a mix of independent spots, street food and pubs, so it's easy to find something. Luna Springs on Lower Trinity Street is a decent option for food and drink outside (or under cover).

Closer to the stadium, options are more limited — but this is where we've had one of our best finds.

Closer to the stadium

Butter chicken loaded fries served in a tray outside St Andrew's

We've been here

The Cattell Road food truck

On Cattell Road, just past the club shop

A street food truck a short walk from St Andrew's serving burgers, fries and Indian-inspired dishes. We've ended up there more than once, and the butter chicken loaded fries have become a bit of a ritual.

Luna Springs

Lower Trinity Street, Digbeth — on the walk in from town

Outdoor food and drink space in Digbeth. Plenty of options, covered seating if the weather turns.

Inside the ground

Inside the ground, it's the usual — pies, burgers, hot dogs and drinks on the concourse. It does the job, but if you've got the time beforehand, you can eat far better elsewhere.

In the stadium, pies, burgers, hot dogs and the usual range of alcoholic and soft drinks are all available on the away concourse — though if you're relying on a matchday pie for sustenance in Birmingham, we'll assume you simply ran out of time to sample everything else the city has to offer. No judgement.

Section 05

The away end

Away fans are housed in the Gil Merrick Stand, accessed from the far-left side of the main car park (closest to the city centre). Once you're through the turnstiles, you're directed upstairs towards the concourse.

Away supporters entrance at the Gil Merrick Stand at St Andrew's — The away entrance — Away Day Hub

View across the pitch from the away end at St Andrew's — View from the away end — Away Day Hub

Supporters outside the main entrance at St Andrew's on Cattell Road — Main entrance on Cattell Road — Away Day Hub

Section 06

Our visits

We drove to this one, as it was an evening cup game on a school night. We couldn't make the train work — it was twice the price of the petrol and would've got us home later.

I looked up parking near the ground in the week before. Found a car park that looked good near the stadium but then read the reviews — so many 1-star reviews about people being fined despite paying cash. I don't like uncertainty so even though the décor was cool, move on.

We found matchday parking at Bordesley Green Girls' and Sixth Form on Bordesley Green Road (B4145). The site is staffed by volunteer stewards, with profits going back to the school. We paid cash — it was about £7 I think. It's always worth having a couple of £10 notes on you (see our first trip to Portsmouth when we didn't carry cash).

It took about 15 minutes to get to the stadium. On the way down Cattell Road we got talking to a group of home fans. Found a street food stall outside the ground by accident — it was absolutely belting. Having had a proper feed, we went straight to our seats and didn't need to queue up inside the ground.

The walk back to the car was busy but fine, and it didn't take long to exit the matchday car park. We turned left onto Bordesley Road and were away from the main traffic within a few minutes. We'd definitely do this again for an evening fixture, as getting home in good time is one of our priorities.

Street food truck serving fans on Cattell Road near St Andrew's — The Cattell Road food truck — Away Day Hub

Saturday, 3pm kick-off. This time, we decided to make a proper day of it.

We arrived at around half eleven, giving us a couple of hours to play with before the match — enough time for some sightseeing and lunch. We parked at the Q-Park at Brindleyplace.

The plan: a walk along the canals down to the basin, followed by a quick stop at the library's rooftop viewing platform — the best free view in the city.

The boys were buzzing to do something different, and it went down a treat. Birmingham famously has more miles of canal than Venice, and the walk along the basin never disappoints — there's always plenty to take in along the way. The library is equally worth the stop, and the beauty of it is you can be in and out in fifteen minutes. Take the lift up to the secret garden on the seventh floor, then ride the escalator back down through the stunning interior — you'll feel ever so slightly more intelligent just for having been there.

After lunch in town, we made our way to Birmingham New Street and walked through the Bullring shopping centre. It's got everything if retail is your thing, and would be the ideal spot for anyone who wants in on the day out but not the football — a perfect escape hatch for loved ones.

From the Bullring, we headed down to Digbeth. This is where you know it's a matchday — fans all flowing in the same direction, a shared sense of purpose in the air. We took a detour down a few side streets to check out the area's renowned street art. The stretch around the Custard Factory is especially worth a look if you have the time.

Then it was on to the stadium, and our obligatory pilgrimage to the food truck for butter chicken loaded fries. Yes, we had already eaten lunch. But enough time had passed that sharing a portion three ways felt entirely justified. 10/10. Again.

After the final whistle, I'd booked a table at Manzil's curry house in Digbeth — an institution that's been serving up great food since the 1960s. It ticked two boxes neatly: sorted the post-match hunger and let the traffic clear before we headed back to the car. The food was excellent.

We were back at the car by seven, home by nine. A proper day out — a bit of culture, a bit of sightseeing, a bit of local history, and great food from start to finish. Highly recommended.

Canalside walk through Birmingham city centre on the way to the match — Canalside walk — Away Day Hub

View from the Library of Birmingham secret garden overlooking the city — View from the top — Away Day Hub

Gateway to Digbeth outside the Bullring with St Martin's church nearby — Gateway to Digbeth, outside the Bullring — Away Day Hub

Evening canal-side walk back through Birmingham after the match — The way back to the car park — Away Day Hub

If you've got more time

Park in the city centre and head to the stadium via the canals
Zoom up to the viewing platform at the Library of Birmingham for amazing views of the city
Get down to the Balti Triangle for post-match curry
Check out the street art in the side streets of Digbeth

Take a punt

Birmingham City quiz.

5questions, multigenerational. Some you'll know, some only a long-time fan would. No timer, no leaderboard — just for the fun of it.

Reviewed by Andy · 2 weeks ago