Me and a couple of my Leinster mates are driving up to Ravenhill for the 'A' match tomorrow evening. I've never driven up before, I was on a coach once but that got lost (Leinster tradition - apparantly ).
So can I ask you for some good directions. We'll be heading out of Dublin and will take the M1/A1 up to Belfast. I did a google map search but that left me more confused than anything, so I thought maybe some directions from the locals would be better?
1. Turn off at Stockman's Lane/Kings Hall junction (the one before the end of the motorway)
2. Go up Stockman's Lane, under the bridge and straight ahead onto Balmoral Avenue.
3. Travel to the lights at the end of Balmoral (it's about a mile long) and turn right onto the Upper Malone Road.
4. Stay in the left hand lane and follow this road up to the House of Sport/Upper Malone Road roundabout (if you're in this lane, the road flows through, ie you don't stop at the roundabout)
5. Take the first left (as the lane dictates) turn off down past Shaw's Bridge
6. Follow this road right round, and just after it gets built up again (round Bevoir) you go past two sets of lights (one pedestrian, one at a junction out of the estate) and then there is a filter lane to the left. This is the dual carriageway, take it
7. Take the dual carriageway and follow it straight - there is a major junction at the Forestside shopping centre but keep on the road (the shopping centre will be along your left)
8. After the Shopping Centre, travel another mile or so, and the next major junction is at the Cregagh Road, turn left at these lights down the Cregagh Road
9. About a mile along the Cregagh Road, there is the Ladas Road roundabout. Now you're really near Ravenhill, but I don't know what the traffic will be like. If you're early enough, you can try and park in the Cregagh Estate to the left (although if you're in a Southern reg car, maybe not! Though I could be wrong!)
10. If it was me, go straight across the roundabout (not literally!) and take a first left. This road is the road Ravers is on, so park anywhere you can see a space, watching out for traffic cones.
Hope those instructions are clear. The distances may be a little dodgy (I know Balmoral is a mile, but the others might not be!!) but the general feeling of those is right!
Ok...just thought being a man, you probably want real facts. So, hunted out a street map, here are the road numbers:
1. Turn off at junction 2 of the M1
2. - 8. Stockman's Lane, Balmoral Avenue, and the dual carriageway are all the A55. Oh, and it's actually called the "Outer Ring"
8. The Cregagh Road is number-less on my map, but if it helps, you go down a hill approaching it, and it's only a T junction (no turn to the right) where you turn left onto the Cregagh Road.
The second one made more sense on my road map alright, but it's no harm to have the local street names either. I'll print them both off and hope for the best.
You go girl!! Ult.Ulster Chick! Do you know I arrived same day as a game at Ravenhill (last May) to 'surprise' Justin, and we asked taxi drivers.."if u don't know Ravenhill, in a hurry, u can p..s off"..and we made it in plenty of time to surprise 'the boy', going into dressing shed!!
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