Guide for Munster v Saracens Game in Allianz Park

The London Branch have put together a handy guide to visiting London and getting to the Saracens game in Allianz Park.

This information has been split into 3 sections:

• Travel options from Central London to Allianz Park
• Arriving in London
• Accommodation in London

Firstly, the Branch would like to say they are really looking forward to welcoming everyone back to the London area for the game in January. They are already busy planning some exciting events for that weekend for travelling Munster fans to be announced closer to the game. The main central base will be Rudds bar, 148 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4BY (beside Blackfriars rail/tube station) which will act as the centre of the weekends activities. Allianz Park is poorly situated for planning anything significant locally, but there are talks in place with a local rugby club to use their facilities for fans in the area on the day.

• Travel options from Central London to Allianz Park

There are two viable public transport options to get to Watford from London:
1: By Train (Over Ground).
Mill Hill Broadway, on the Thameslink, is the nearest overground station. It’s about 1.6 miles, so 30 minutes’ walk or a 10 minute taxi journey from Allianz Park.
2: By Tube (Underground)
Mill Hill East tube station on the Northern Line provides an alternative and is also a 30 minute walk or 10 minute taxi journey to Allianz Park.
*At the moment there is no planned engineering works affecting any of the above for the weekend. Updated information will be provided closer to the time.
**Saracens often run buses on match days from both stations but we have no details for the Munster game yet.
*** To plan your journey to Allianz Park from anywhere in London, go to www.tfl.gov.uk and select your travel points within the Journey Planner.

• Arriving in London

London now has 6 airports: City, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Stansted and the newly opened Southend. All have rail and bus connections to central London. As a rule of thumb, it probably takes about 1 hour by rail back into central London from all the airports, apart from City, which is located centrally. You can also add about 30 minutes to get from your plane to the relevant train platform. Please note any arrivals from Ireland should keep hold of boarding passes for inspection to allow fast tracking past UK immigration. If you do not have this, you will have to clear normal immigration which can sometimes be one to two hours during busy periods.
There are normally discounts available via your airline or online for pre-purchasing rail tickets.
Pre- booked taxi hire often works out much cheaper than rail or bus tickets if traveling in a group of three or more. Please note this does not include just hailing the regular black cabs. Black taxis are expensive and uncomfortable for airport trips and indeed any trip over 15 minutes long while in London will be cheaper in a pre-boked cab. Pre-paid companies charge fixed fares and use good quality vehicles.

• Accommodation in London

Members are advised to stay centrally in London Zone 1 or 2 (tube zones) and within 5 minutes’ walk of a tube station. You should then be within 30-40 minutes max of anywhere you could want to go to London.
For good value on a weekend, try looking at options in the "city". The "city" (the financial part of London as opposed to the city centre) is quieter on the weekends with the offices closed and hence hotels can be cheaper. Depending on your budget the Grange hotels at St Pauls, Tower Hill, and at the city often offer good value on the weekends (higher end hotels). You can also try the new Double Tree by Hilton hotel in Tower Hill, or the Novotels in Tower Hill or Southwark Bridge Road. The Hilton at London Bridge also does good deals from time to time. With all of these you are 5 minutes’ walk to the nearest tubes. They are all also within 10 minutes of Rudds, the main central London base for Munster exiles.

Travel Zoo (http://www.travelzoo.com/uk/hotels/london/) is a good website for keeping up to date on special hotel offers in London and is updated quite often.