Nottingham Forest play their biggest match of the century this weekend. The Reds take on Huddersfield Town at Wembley Stadium on Sunday (May 29) in the Championship play-off final.
The game is widely known as the richest game in football, with the game estimated to be worth around £170m to the winner. It's Forest's first time playing at the new Wembley, which reopened in 2007.
Read more: East Midlands Railway advice for Nottingham Forest and Mansfield Town fans travelling to London
If you missed out on getting a ticket to the big game, do not worry, there are loads of pubs and bars across Nottinghamshire showing the game. But if you are one of the lucky ones to have grabbed a ticket, here's everything you need to know.
Travelling by train and / or tube
Trains are running between Nottingham and London St Pancras throughout Sunday (May 29), and also to and from Newark. East Midlands Railway has advised people travelling via train to Wembley Stadium from Nottingham to allow plenty of time for their journey and to plan ahead because of how busy the service is expected to be.
The cheapest option is to buy a super off-peak return ticket, priced at £71.50 for standard which includes travel there and back, or £80 for a ticket that includes train travel as well as unlimited public transport use around London. A full timetable is being operated on both days, extra staff will be on duty and some trains will have extra carriages where possible.
The journey to Wembley Stadium can then be completed on the tube, and the easiest route from London St Pancras is to head westbound on the Metropolitan line to the Wembley Park stop, which is in zone 4. These trains run regularly every few minutes, journeys can be paid for using an Oyster card, or contactless bank cards, and a day travelcard costs £9.40.
Departing train times from Nottingham to London St Pancras on Sunday (May 29)
- 7.24am
- 8.21am
- 8.25am*
- 9.26am
- 9.50am**
- 10.16am
- 11.10am
- 12.09pm
- 1.10pm
- 1.30pm*
- 2.10pm
* these routes are not direct
** this route has sold out
Returning train times from London St Pancras to Nottingham on Sunday (May 29)
- 7.05pm
- 7.35pm
- 7.36pm*
- 8.05pm
- 8.35pm
- 9.19pm**
- 9.35pm
- 10.02pm*
- 10.32pm
- 11.22pm
* these routes are not direct
** this route is not direct and has sold out
Travelling by car
The fastest way to travel, unless there are any incidents on the roads, to Wembley Stadium by car is to get on the M1 southbound, all the way down to J1 at Brent Cross. Then follow signs for A406 North Circular Road, and then signs for Wembley Stadium, on the B4557.
Where to park
Wembley Stadium advises to pre-book car parking at the stadium in advance, and to do so as early as possible as places can fill up. You will be fined if you park on nearby streets, because it's reserved for local residents through permits, and this area is then widened on matchdays, where only local residents can buy a permit for their car.
Car parking is charged at £90 per coach and £30 per car if booked in advance. There may be some pop-up car parks on the day, but Wembley Stadium advises you not to park in one of these.
This is because, according to Wembley, they probably don't have the correct insurance in place, so you're not covered if something happens to your car and they’re at fault, they're not patrolled, so car crime can happen, and poor lighting means they're difficult to navigate for cars and people.
Blue badge holders can book to park at the ground for a discounted price of £15. Further details for booking car parking can be found on the check their website website.
Travelling by coach
National Express coaches are still available to book from Nottingham Station Street to different sections of London, but some have sold out, so check their website for details. The journey times differ depending on what part of London is travelled to, but this ranges from around two hours and 30 minutes, to three hours and 30 minutes.
An outbound coach costs between £21.90 and £23.50. A return coach costs between £23.50 and £28.
The journey to Wembley Stadium can then be completed by using public transport links, such as the tube or by bus, or via taxi. The reverse journey can then be done to get home.
Some coaches for the return journey from London Victoria Coach Station and London Golders Green are still available to book from 7.30pm onwards, which travel to Nottingham Station Street, Nottingham Trent University or University of Nottingham, but some later coaches are fully booked. The latest direct return coach departs at 12.25am the following morning.
Further details are available on the National Express website. At the time of writing, there are just two seats left on the last remaining bus on Sunday that travels directly to Wembley Stadium from Nottingham Station Street at 11.45am, and four seats on the last remaining return which departs the stadium at 7.30pm.
Travelling by bus
Wembley Stadium is served by a number of local buses, if you need to complete the rest of your journey via public transport. According to their website, the 18/N18, 83/N83, 92, 182, 206, 223, 297 and 483 serve routes across North West London and to and from Central London.
These can be paid for in a similar way to the tube - either through an Oyster card, or contactless bank cards. Touch the reader with them as you get on to the bus.
Pubs and drinks nearby
It is known that Nottingham Forest fans have been allocated BoxPark Wembley as a pre-match fan park, along with The Green Man pub on Dagmar Avenue. The following pubs are within a 30 minute walk of the stadium, and have not been allocated to Huddersfield Town:
- The Balkan, Ealing Road
- Barrel & Corner, High Road
- The Corner House, Harrow Road
- JJ Moon's (Wetherspoon), High Road
- The Liquor Station, High Road
- Mirage Sports Bar, Empire Way
- Parish Bar, Wembley Park Drive
- Signature Brew Wembley, Ealing Road
- Sky Bar 9, Lakeside Way
Costa and Starbucks can be found at London Designer Outlet off Wembley Park Boulevard to the northwest of the stadium for soft and hot drinks.
Food nearby
There are a number of places to eat at London Designer Outlet off Wembley Park Boulevard to the northwest of the stadium. Restaurants and takeaways here include Wagamama, Zizzi, Prezzo, Pizza Express, Subway, and Pret A Manger.
Price of drinks in the stadium
According to eatoutinwembley.co.uk, the prices inside the stadium for drinks, updated for 2022, are as follows:
- Pint of real ale, Budweiser or cider - £5.90
- Beer - £4-£6.50
- Coffee - £2.50
- Bottle of water - £2.50
Price of food in the stadium
According to eatoutinwembley.co.uk, the prices inside the stadium for food, updated for 2022, are as follows:
- Pulled pork hot dog - £7
- Pizza, half slice - £6-£6.50
- Hot dog - £5.70
- Sausage roll - £3.50
- Crisps - £1.60
