Vying for Villa tickets

Anyone who applied for tickets for United's match at Aston Villa on Saturday November 22, kick off 5.30pm, can now find out if they were successful.

Call 0161 868 8000 or check you online booking history

Meanwhile, United are charging £20 for coach places to the game, Coaches leave Old Trafford N2 car park at 11.30am Book here.

Bitter blues application due

United travel to Eastlands for a derby match against massive rivals City on Sunday November 30, for a 1.30pm kick off.

The reds have been given 2,700 tickets, costing £36 adults, £22 for over 65s and £10 for under 16s.

Execs can apply for tickets now until 8pm on Friday.

Season-ticket holders who are in the automatic cup scheme can apply from 8am on Monday to 8am on Wednesday (November 12). Results will be out on Thursday, November 13.

Apply online or call 0161 868 8000 and choose option 1.

Readers' questions - Celtic

Q. We're going to be in Glasgow on the night of the Celtic game but can't get home after the match. Any advice on where to stay?

A. Here are options for three budgets.

Cheap as chips - £10 pp pn

The Bluesky Hostel (pictured) at 65 Berkeley Street, Charing Cross, Glasgow has beds available in a 10-bed dorm for £10 pp pn. Beware though, the dorms are called Trainspotting, though standards are pretty high there.

Or there's the Bunkum Hostel at 26 Hillhead St., Glasgow, which has beds available in a six-bed dorm for £12.50pp pn. The chances of each dorm being full are slim as it's not the tourist season.

Book both these hotels using Hostel Bookers DON'T book hostels via expedia, as they will add £79 on top in some cases. Arf!

Middle budget - £34.50 pp pn

Most Premier Travel Inn rooms are sold out. You won't get a room there for under £90 pr pn. Ibis and Travelodge have completely sold out.

The three-star Ewington City Hotel (pictured), at 132 Queens Drive might be three miles out of town to the south (a fiver in a taxi), but it's right next to the Scottish Football Museum and double rooms are £68.99 pr pn (so £34.50 each) and that includes breakfast. Book via expedia.

Champagne Charlie - £56.25pp pn

If you want a bit o' class, try the five-star Glasgow Hilton (pictured) at 1 William Street.

A two-person room costs £205 a night. Breakfast isn't included. It sounds a lot, but you can pay £10 extra per person to have an extra person staying.

So, in theory at least, you could have four people staying in it for £56.25pp pn.

Best to check exactly how this works by giving the expedia a call on 0871 226 7762. Again, book this via the expedia website.

Celtic travel guide (pub guide coming tomorrow)

Celtic

Celtic Park, Parkhead

Wednesday November 5, kick off 7,45pm

TV

Live on Sky Sports 2, programme begins at 6pm

MUST is running a Chubb Club screening of the match at Walkabout on Quay Street in Manchester city centre for those who can't make it up to Glasgow.

Tickets

Parkhead holds 60,857. United have been given an allocation of 3,000 tickets, about 500 of which went to customers of MU Travel.
All tickets are sold and applicants should have by now found out if they were successful through the usual channels.
Internet touts are selling away-end tickets for £230.10.

Travel

Train - £51.50

Journey time is typically three hours 40 minutes.

There are three important things to consider:

1. There's no realistic way of getting back by train until Thursday morning.

2. Don't leave before 10am on a weekday, as train-ticket prices are extortionate.

3. You can't go direct from Manchester to Glasgow (and back) so you have to change at Prestion.

If you buy tickets online in advance, you save £8.

A standard off-peak return from Piccadilly to Glasgow Central bought on the day of travel costs £60 for an adult.

But if you get a single from Manchester to Preston from National Rail or on the day for £5.50 or £6 (depending on which train) and buy a Preston to Glasgow Central return online through Virgin Trains for £40, you save money.

Wednesday

Leave Piccadilly at: 10:11 11:45 13:11 13:45 15:11

Arrive Preston at: 11:03 12:27 14:04 14:27 16:04

Wait for: 16 mins 17 mins 15 mins 17mins 15mins

Leave Preston at: 11:19 12:44 14.19 14:43 16:19

Arrive Glasgow at: 13:46 14:54 16:55 17:21 18:46

Journey time: 3:35 3:09 3.44 3.36 3.35

Thursday

Leave Glasgow at: 10:10 11:10 12:10 12:49 14:10

Arrive Preston at: 12:31 13:46 14:28 14:59 16:27

Wait for: 10 mins 22 mins 10mins 9 mins 11 mins

Leave Preston at: 12:41 14:08 14:38 15:08 16:38

Arrive Piccadilly at: 13:35 14:57 15:20 15:57 17:20

Journey time: 3:25 3:47 3:10 3:08 3:10

As well as normal services, MU Travel is running a first-class train service from Preston train station, which leaves on Wednesday and returns Thursday.

It costs £417 excluding travel insurance and the price of a room at the Adobe Hotel in Glasgow is included.

On this map, Glasgow Central is the station just to the left of where it says 'A8'. Bridgeton station is the one just right of where it says 'London Road' and the stadium is to right of that on the edge of this map.

View Larger Map

Once at Glasgow Central, there a few ways to get to the stadium:

Walk
It takes 47 minutes and it’s one straight path east on Argyle Street and then London Road.

Taxi
It will cost about £5 and take 13 minutes. Near to kick off, you’re likely to hit traffic at Bridgeton station so get out there.

Train

Get a train east to Dalmarnock. Services leave every 10 minutes, journey time is seven minutes and it costs £1.45 for a single. This station is nearest the away end.

Bus
All services to the stadium will have ‘via Celtic Park’ on the front. Services 43, 61, 62 and 64 will get you there for about £1.20 single.

Car - £47.16

If you're using a Satnav or a routeplanner, use the podcode G40 3RE.
The journey from Manchester is 213 miles, takes three hours and 30 minutes and costs £47.16 in petrol in total.
There is a lot of free on-street car parking available on London Road, about a five-minute walk to the ground and a lot of paid-for car parks within a five-minute walking distance, priced about £5.

Official coach - £49
MU Travel is taking nine coaches to the match, which return right after the game and were £49 per person with a guaranteed match ticket not included in the price.

All are sold out and everyone on them will have, by now, got letters explaining departure times and their itinerary.

Other coach - £23.50

National Express runs regular coaches through the day from Chorlton Street to Killermont Street in Glasgow.

The best thing about the National Express service is that you CAN leave for home on the night of the game, though you won’t be back until 3.45am. It will set you back £32.50 for a return ticket, but that’s pretty reasonable.

Wednesday
Leave Chorlton Street: 09:00 11:15 12:40
Arrive Glasgow: 13:55 15:30 18:00
Journey time 04:55 04:15 05:20

Wednesday
Leave Glasgow 23:00 23:30
Arrive Manchester 03:55 03:45
Journey time 04:55 04:15



Megabus runs three coaches a day between Chorlton Street and Glasgow Buchanan Street bus station.

Like the train, you won’t be able to get back on the night of the game.

Wednesday
Leave Chorlton Street: 04:58 12:40
Arrive Glasgow: 08:58 17:15
Journey time 04:00 4:35
Cost £9* £13.50*

Thursday
Leave Glasgow: 08:30 11:00
Arrive Manchester: 12:55 15:45
Journey time: 04:25 04:45
Cost: £14.50*£25*
* add a 50p booking fee

After arriving at Buchanan Street, walk round the corner to Glasgow Central train station via St Vincent Street and left onto Hope Street) and follow the instructions above to get to the ground.


View Larger Map

Fly - £174.98

Before we start, there are no flights back to Manchester on the night of the game and even if you do decide to go for the 6.50am flight home, you’re still looking at £174.98 return from Manchester to Glasgow International.

Flight time each way is 70 minutes. Look here for options if you’re loaded.

Flying from Leeds Bradford is the same situation and costs £374 return at cheapest. Liverpool doesn’t fly direct, so that’s not an option.

At the time of writing, there is one place left on the MU Travel flight trip, priced at £199 excluding insurance. It isn’t clear if you get a guaranteed match ticket when you buy it.

There is also an ‘executive’ first-class flight with four places left at £322 excluding insurance.

Go here for details of both.

Readers' questions - Villareal

Q. We're going to Villareal and are flying back from Barcelona Girona at 5pm the day after the game - Wednesday November 26. We're also hoping to stay in Valencia on Monday night and Tuesday night. Can you tell us how to get to the airport on time?

A. For a start, don't stay in Valencia. Valencia is divided into the beach area and the city, which are an hour apart.

Staying by the beach would mean so much travelling that it'd only be worth it if you hired a car and staying in the city isn't worth it.

I recommend that, you stay in Barcelona on the Monday, book a hotel in Castellon on Tuesday and the make your way up to your airport on Wednesday, using the service I've highlighted in bold.

There are the following trains on Wednesday November 26 from Castellon to Barcelona Sants.

Leave: 06:06 Arrive: 09:27 Cost: e28.30

Leave: 07:17 Arrive: 09:47 Cost: e34.40

Leave: 09:18 Arrive: 11:42 Cost: e34.40

Leave: 10:43 Arrive: 13:41 Cost: e30.90

Leave: 11:44 Arrive: 14:41 Cost: e34.40

Once at Sants, you need to get the Metro across town to Barcelona Estacio Del Nord bus station. It will take you about 20 minutes.

Take the Green Line two stops east to Espanya and then take the Red Line six stops north to Arc de Triomf and walk over the road to the bus station. Here’s a map of the Metro. It costs e1.20 for a single ticket.

From there, get the Segales coach service to the airport. Services are very regular throughout the day.

It takes 70 minutes. Here's the timetable, but I recommend you catch the 14:30 service, getting you into the airport at 15:40.

It's best to check in online and print off your boarding pass in advance, you won't need to check in at the airport and as long as you clear security, you'll be fine.

Ryanair scrap Valencia flights

Reds travelling to Valencia on a Ryanair flight not from London Stansted will have to make other plans to get to the Villareal game after the airline cancelled all flights leaving after November 4.

Passengers travelling on Ryanair from Liverpool Airport or East Midlands after that date will get a full refund, a Ryanair spokesman has said.

It follows a dispute between the company and Valencia's local government officials over how the region should be promoted to tourists.

A Ryanair spokesman said: "Ryanair will continue to operate a limited service to Valencia on a London Stansted-based aircraft.

"Passengers who were due to travel on affected flights to and from London Stansted may be able to transfer to one of our London-based services or can receive a full refund.

"Passengers due to travel on all other cancelled Valencia-based services, will receive a full refund from Ryanair."

Other flights from the UK to Valencia are touching £150 for a return on the week of the match, which takes place on November 25.

Alternative routes to Villareal are from: Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham to Alicante, Reus, Barcelona International and Girona.

See the in-depth travel guide below for the best flights.

All passengers should receive an email giving details of how to get their money back.

If you need to contact Ryanair, you can only do so by mail or fax. Its refunds address is: For Ryanair Refunds Dept, PO Box 11451, Swords, Co Dublin, Ireland. Fax is: +353 1 8121676.

More Villa news - tickets

Following on from yesterday's train tip, United today released ticket application news for the November 22 trip to Villa Park.

We will get 2,800 tickets priced £35 for adults and £15 for under 16s and over 65s.

Execs can apply from 8am on Monday October 27 to 8pm on Friday October 31 by calling 0161 868 8000 and selecting option 1.

Then, season ticket holders who went to home games against Villareal, Middlesbrough and Celtic can apply from 8am on Monday November 3 to 8am on Wednesday November 5 online or using the same telephone number

Applicants can find out if they have been successful through the usual channels on Thursday November 6.