Advance fares between London and Manchester now available for as little as £12.50 each way.  Oldham Mumps Metro link is now up and running with dayreturns from Manchester Piccadilly costing £6.90. If folk are interested please email travel@carlislelondonbranch.org by 12 noon on Monday the 21st of Jan.

One of the few free houses in the area, the Ashton Arms is Oldham CAMRAs’ pub of the year for 2012.  With 6 hand pumps specialising in micro brewed beers from across the North it easy to see why this has been ever present in the Good Beer Guide for the last 8 years.  It’s a family friendly pub so well behaved children are welcome. On a Saturday scran comes in the form of sandwiches and pies while there is a pay and display car park over the road for those coming by car. The only down side of this pub is that it’s one and a half miles from Boundary Park.  Depending on how well the beer is going down we will either leave about 2.20pm and walk it or share taxis to the ground.  To get to the pub from the city centre take the number 83 bus from Piccadilly Gardens bus station to Oldham Town Square. The service is fairly frequent with busses departing roughly every five minutes.

Old Grey Mare, 331 Oldham Road, Royton, Oldham, Greater Manchester, OL2 6AB, 0161 6242719

Decent pub close to the ground which welcomes both home and away fans.  It’s likely to be very lively with good banter between the two sets of supporters.  There is a conservatory out the back and a decent sized beer garden.  Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to do much or anything in the way of real ale.  Depending on when we leave the Ashton Arms, members might pop in here for a swift pint before heading into the ground.

Rifle Range, 372 Burnley Lane, Chadderton, Oldham, Lancashire,

A former branch meeting pub about a 10 minute walk from Boundary Park with reasonable beer available from the local Lees Brewery.

There are a fair few take away outlets along Oldham Road while alcohol and the usual scran is available inside the ground.

From London frequent trains run to Manchester Piccadilly. Oldham Mumps Station has now been integrated into the Manchester Metro Link tram system which provides frequent services from the city centre. Bus numbers 25, 181 and 182 run regularly past the ground. For more information on public transport in and around Greater Manchester please click here.

Located close to the M62 Boundary Park is one of the easiest grounds to drive to. Come off the M62 at junction 20 and follow the A627(M) towards Oldham. Leave the motorway at the second junction (by PC World) and the ground should be clearly visible on the left. There is a large official car park at the ground which can be accessed from the 1st exit at the roundabout on the A663. Car park prices are: £5 Cars, £10 Mini Busses and £15 Coaches. For more information on getting to Boundary Park please click here.

It would be fair to say that Boundary Park has seen better days. Since 2008 it has been a 3 sided ground following the demolition of the Broadway Stand to make way for a new main stand which sadly never materialised. The club subsequently attempted to move elsewhere but now seem to looking at redeveloping Boundary Park once again. Away fans are located in the fairly modern Rochdale Road End which has a capacity of approximately 4,600 split into two sections of 3,000 and 1,600. Depending on the size of the away support visiting fans can be located in either the larger or smaller section. Dividing the two sections is a small moat to segregate the supporters which can lead to some excellent banter between the fans. Despite the cold wind which invariably seems to be cutting through the ground the acoustics are pretty good so expect a good atmosphere with plenty of Carlisle fans making the trip from Cumbria.

Lost there in the final game of last season when a win would have given us an outside chance of grabbing the final play off spot. Overall we have won 8 times at Boundary Park in 38 attempts.

Boundary Park is generally considered to be amongst the coldest grounds in the football league. As a result former manager Joe Royle nicknamed the place ‘Ice Station Zebra’. At 155 meters above sea level it is the third highest football ground in England with only Vale Park (160 meters) and The Hawthorns (168 meters) being higher. Paul Scholes is rumoured to be a fan but for some reason chose to play for a different team on the other side of Manchester.