Away-day guide

Blackburn Rovers

Ewood Park, a proper football town.

awaydayhubReviewed 2 weeks ago

Quick takeaways

Outside town centre — 30 minutes’ walk
Decent parking options for a quick getaway to the M65
Limited food options near the stadium

About the place

Ewood Park sits in the south of the town, about 30 minutes' walk from the centre. Blackburn is a proper football town. It’s a grand old stadium that has seen glory days, although average attendances have fallen in recent years.

Away fans are housed behind the goal in the Bryan Douglas Darwen End (south side of the stadium). Allocations here tend to be generous — in the region of 4,300. If your club travels well (and plays well), the atmosphere can be brilliant, putting Blackburn on many away fans' favourite fixtures list.

Club info

Website: rovers.co.uk
Phone: 01254 372 001
Email: enquiries@rovers.co.uk
Address: Ewood Park, Nuttall Street, Blackburn, Lancashire BB2 4JF

Section 02

Getting in & out

By train

Train

The stadium is walkable from Blackburn’s two stations:

Blackburn30 min walk· 1.5 mi
Mill Hill20 min walk· 1 mi

Section 03

Parking

Parking options

The club has two official car parks — Car Park H (at the Blackburn End) and Car Park B (at the Darwen End). Managed by Hozah, these car parks cost approximately £15 for stays over two hours. Supporters are advised to pre-book. It probably goes without saying, but while parking at the stadium is convenient, the trade-off will be a far slower getaway.

The club has 6 dedicated accessible parking spots for away fans, priced at £15. Email ticketoffice@rovers.co.uk for enquiries.

Near the stadium

15· 0.7 mi

Min walk

To the away end

Jack Walker Way

On-street parking — near enough to be walkable, but far enough to avoid the worst of the traffic.

Jack Walker Way, Blackburn — what3words: ///ties.mugs.usage

Notes

We've parked here twice — in exactly the same spot, next to a pylon. One of those strange habits that forms without you noticing. Head for the pylon. Jack Walker Way is a long, curved residential street, well-lit and popular with away fans on matchday. We park at the southern end, which puts you in a good position for the M65 afterwards. The trade-off is a 15-minute walk down Bolton Road to the ground. Check the forecast before you commit — we got soaked on our last visit, but then we do have a habit of learning things the hard way. The northern end of the road joins Bolton Road right by the stadium. If you park at this end, you won't be able to get out onto Bolton Road until after the post-match road closure, so it's quicker to turn around and head out along Jack Walker Way.

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Get directions

10· 0.4 mi

Min walk

To the away end

Slater Street businesses matchday parking

Pricing: £5

Notes

We've not parked here before, but fans online suggest it's £5, park at least an hour before kick-off, and a 5-10 minute walk to the stadium.

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Get directions

Further out

30· 1.4 mi

Min walk

To the away end

Feilden Street multi-storey car park

Council car park in town.

Feilden Street, Blackburn, BB2 1LQ

Spaces: 472
EV chargers: 3
Pricing: All day £6.90 (shorter/cheaper options available)
Payment: Cash (coin only) and card/contactless payments.

Notes

Opening hours: 7am-midnight.

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Get directions

30· 1.4 mi

Min walk

To the away end

Weir Street Car Park

Council car park in town — 24 hours, charges from 8am-6pm.

Weir Street, Blackburn BB2 2AX

Spaces: 30
EV chargers: 2
Pricing: Up to 5 hours: £4.70
Payment: Coin and card payments.

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Get directions

30· 1.4 mi

Min walk

To the away end

Mill Lane Car Park

Council car park in town — 24 hours, charges from 8am-6pm.

Mill Lane, Blackburn, BB2 2AA

Spaces: 36
Pricing: Up to 5 hours: £4.70
Payment: Coin and card payments. No EV charging.

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Get directions

28· 1.2 mi

Min walk

To the away end

Asda Blackburn

Managed by JustPark.

Lower Audley Retail Park, Grimshaw Park, Blackburn BB2 3DY

Pricing: From £4

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Get directions

35· 1.6 mi

Min walk

To the away end

Blackburn College Car Park 1

Managed by JustPark.

Feilden Street, Blackburn BB2 1LH

Pricing: £5
Payment: Pay on the day via the JustPark app — location ID: 804327.

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Get directions

20· 1 mi

Min walk

To the away end

Premier Inn Blackburn South (M65 Junction 4)

Non-reservable private car park.

Off Eccleshill Road, Riversway Drive, Lower Darwen, BB3 0SN — what3words: ///stroke.river.glad

Pricing: £7
Payment: Pay on the day via the JustPark app — location ID: 626453.

Notes

This one is a bit further out, but it does put you near a recommended away pub — the Golden Cup.

Reviewed 2 weeks ago

Get directions

Matchday road closures

Official information says that traffic is held for 15 minutes after the final whistle to allow fans to disperse. If you’ve ever sat through a post-match road closure, you’ll know that "15 minutes" sounds like a generous interpretation.

Post-match traffic

Due to the road closures, the immediate routes around the stadium get congested at full-time. Expect delays on:

Bolton Road
Livesey Branch Road
Alan Shearer Way

Section 04

Food & drink

Due to Ewood Park's location, the options nearby are limited.

On our two visits we've had a burger outside the ground (not memorable) and a pie inside (which was pretty good, to be fair). With a bit of planning, there are some better options though.

Ever heard of a John Bull?

It's a Blackburn chip shop speciality — seasoned minced beef sandwiched between two slices of potato, somewhere between a pie and a fritter. It's on our list for next time.

Closer to the stadium

Bigger Fish to Fry

Two outlets — Shorrock Lane and Crosby Road

For decent chippies in town, a plaice (yes, we did that on purpose) called Bigger Fish to Fry caught our eye — highly rated online, and with two outlets to choose from. 7 Shorrock Lane BB2 4DA is round the corner from Mill Hill station. 45 Crosby Road BB2 3NF is about 15 minutes uphill from Ewood Park, in a residential neighbourhood — a little out of the way unless you're parking over that side.

The Navigation Inn

2 Canal Street, BB2 4DL

Nice spot by the canal. Recommended by BRFC as an away-fan friendly pub.

The Fernhurst

466 Bolton Road, BB2 4JP — 3 minutes from the Darwen End

For many, the default away-friendly pub, 3 minutes from the Darwen End. Serves food, as it’s a Hungry Horse establishment. Greene King pub with accommodation.

Golden Cup

610 Blackburn Road, Darwen, BB3 0AJ — 0.9 miles from Ewood Park

We haven't been here (yet) but have read great things about it. It's literally round the corner from where we usually park on Jack Walker Way. It's a Thwaites pub, it does good food, it welcomes away fans, and it has parking. Ticks all the boxes.

Three B's Brewery at The Black Bull

Brokenstone Road, Darwen, BB3 0LL — 1.3 miles from Ewood Park

A family-run, independent brewery with their own pub on site. Listed #1 pub on TripAdvisor. Opens earlier than usual (midday) on a Saturday if Rovers have a home 3pm kick-off.

Inside the ground

Inside the ground it's the usual concourse fare. The pie we had was decent — if you have to settle for a pie in the ground, this is better than most.

Section 05

The away end

The away end offers a good view of the pitch, though Ewood Park's four distinct, unenclosed stands mean it's an exposed place to watch football in the colder months. And we only ever seem to visit in the colder months. Wrap up warm.

View across the pitch from the away seats at Ewood Park — View from the away end — Away Day Hub

The Bryan Douglas Darwen End at Ewood Park on a wet evening, with team coaches parked outside — The Darwen End — Away Day Hub

Section 06

Our visits

Our first visit to Ewood Park. We went for on-street parking on Jack Walker Way. A few other fans were parking up around us, and we saw people selling poppies at the junction with Bolton Road, so it felt like we were leaving the car in a popular spot.

We walked down Bolton Road for about 15 minutes. We passed The Fernhurst, already full of away fans, before deciding to do a loop of the stadium. We stumbled upon a small kids’ activity zone with a shooting target. Then grabbed a burger near the Darwen End entrance. It was a stadium burger — and it kept us alive for a few hours.

We stopped for a photo by the Welcome to Ewood Park sign. One of the stewards, a lovely older gent, was brilliant with the kids, quizzing them on football and sharing a few Blackburn Rovers stories.

Inside, we were seated down near the front. The view was ok, but I’d definitely sit higher up next time (for warmth and a better view of the game).

The walk back to the car was a steady uphill climb. We walked past queuing cars waiting for post-match road closures to end, confirming we'd probably parked in the right spot. Leaving Jack Walker Way means turning right onto Bolton Road, which is busy at the best of times — it took a few cycles of the traffic lights to get out. Once we did, though, we were on the M65 within minutes.

Fans walking past the Welcome to Ewood Park sign next to the Jack Walker Stand — The Welcome to Ewood Park sign — Away Day Hub

View of the pitch and stands from low in the away end at Ewood Park — View from our seats, down near the front — Away Day Hub

By the time we revisited Ewood Park, we'd started thinking seriously about building awaydayhub. This was the first away day with real potential for proper local field research.

We parked in exactly the same spot on Jack Walker Way.

"We'll walk around, try the local food places, explore the area."

It was hammering down with rain. We didn't have an umbrella — not that you can take a decent-sized one into a ground anyway — and we weren't particularly waterproofed either. Within ten minutes, the mission was cancelled. We were soaked. Not caught-in-a-shower soaked; actually-standing-in-a-shower soaked. We won't make that mistake again.

We headed to the concourse to grab something to eat. The staff we met were friendly. The pie was decent. For our next trip to Blackburn, we’ve got a better plan for food and drink, but if we had to settle for a pie in the ground, this is better than most.

Getting out of Jack Walker Way was noticeably quicker after an evening game.

If you've got more time

Convince your designated driver to stop at the 3 B’s Brewery before or after the game
Taking the kids? Head to Witton Country Park to burn off some energy — it’s got play areas for different ages, and woodland trails

Take a punt

Blackburn Rovers 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