By Road
99% of those visiting the Crown Oil Arena by car will do so by leaving the M62 at Junction 20. We know many of our friends from Oldham will be going a different way, but I doubt they’ll need directions to get here. For the rest of you, its incredibly straight forward once you get off the motorway.
Follow the sign posts for Rochdale. After about half a mile, you’ll come to some traffic lights at which you bear left at the end of the A627M near Williams Mini/BMW, you go under the ‘Rochdale Home of the Co-op’ railway bridge, which is a prominent marker, easy to pick out and confirms you have made the correct turn.
You want to bear left, and from here on in, its straight on. You’ll pass a Tesco on the left as you approach the traffic lights. Straight on there through these lights.
A mile later, you’ll come to another set of traffic lights with the Cemetery Pub facing you. Straight on through these lights and the ground will be on your right hand side after around half a mile
Getting away afterwards
If you do come by car, and its a busier game than normal, traffic can get busy queuing down Roch Valley Way towards the motorway. If you got a half decent Sat Nav system, if you’re heading to the East, aim for Junction 21 (Milnrow), and if you’re heading West, aim for Junction 19 (Heywood)
By Train
The ground is a fair trek from the Train Station, and will take you roughly half an hour to walk it. There’s a thousand different ways you could follow through the backstreets to get to the ground. Your best bet is to come straight out of the Train Station, proceed around 400 yards onto Drake Street following the road to the right and down into the town centre. At the bottom of the slope (with the Regal Moon facing you), turn left before turning right into Newgate. Keep straight on through the traffic lights (passing Rochdale 6th Form Centre on the left and Town Flats on the right).
At the next lights, turn right into Mellor Street. Keep going down this way and at the second mini roundabout, turn left. Willbutts Lane is the second round on your left hand side.
If you’re getting a taxi from the Train station, and unless you’re stopping off in the town centre, it’s probably your best option. It will typically cost you around £7 in an Uber. If you wish to book a taxi in advance, you can ring Tiger Taxis on 01706 641115.
By the way, if you’re coming from Manchester Victoria, you’ve also got the option of taking the Metrolink. It takes significantly longer than the train does (45 mins), and whilst its advantage is that it will drop you off in the heart of the town centre, you can pick it up at the train station anyway. Some of the trains run directly to Rochdale, whilst others make stops along the way so if you’re in a rush, it’s worth making sure you check the timetables.
By Bus
The 468 Bus runs from Rochdale Interchange to the Football Club. It will take 13 minutes to get here. You can get timetable information about getting to the Club here. There are other buses that head up Edenfield Road that will drop you a minute’s walk from the ground as well.