Leyton Orient

by **NIGHTMARE** Sat 26 Jun - 5:21:03

How To Get There By Car & Where To Park
Approaching London you will at some point hit the M25. Use this to get to the M11 (unless you're coming from Cambridge, in which case you'll already be on it) take the southbound carriageway for about 6 miles and take the right fork signposted for the North Circular.

At the bottom of the flyover where the roads merge, move into the left-hand lane and turn left at the roundabout on to the A104. After about 1 mile at the next roundabout take the right exit - still the A104 (a landmark here is the quaintly-decorated Lamb's Cafe). Half a mile further on, turn left into Leyton Green Road (signposted to Leyton and Stratford), and left again into a short slip-road past the bus garage entrance and left into Leyton High Road - you'll see the Leyton Leisure Lagoon opposite as you wait to make the turn. Continue until you see the floodlights and then find a side turning to park in the back-streets. Street Parking.

By Tube
The nearest tube station is Leyton (about a 1/4 of a mile away) which is on the Central Line. Come out of the station and turn right down Leyton High Road. Cross over the road to the other side and continue down it. You will come to Coronation Gardens on your left and the floodlights of the ground can be clearly seen behind them. Take the next left past the gardens into Buckingham Road for the ground.

Where To Drink?
There is a supporters club at the ground that does admit visiting supporters at a cost of £1. The supporters club which is located in the West Stand is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. However, it can get uncomfortably full of people. Otherwise the nearest pub to the ground is the Coach & Horses. To get there take a right out of Leyton station and walk down for about half-a-mile. It is on your left, within sight of the floodlights. The Three Blackbirds is a bit further up Leyton High Road, on the right.

What's The Ground Like?
The ground has seen a lot of re-development in recent years, with the construction of three new stands. Finance for this has chiefly come from the proceeds of selling part of the Brisbane Road site to a property developer. In this ground breaking development, the corners of the ground have been filled with blocks of residential apartments, which certainly gives the stadium a unique look. Some other clubs are looking at the scheme with interest and I wouldn't be surprised to see something similar take place at another league ground at some point in the future.

At one end is the single tiered, Tommy Johnston (South) Stand (capacity 1,336 seats), that was opened in 1999. This stand replaced a former open terrace and is named after the club's leading all time goal scorer. An interesting feature of this covered area is that it is raised above pitch level, meaning that you have to climb a small set of steps at the front to reach the seating area. The old Main (East) Stand, which was originally opened in 1956, has been reduced in length, but is still a fair size. This partly covered stand is now all seated after having seating installed on the former front terrace. Unfortunately, it has several supporting pillars and the roof doesn't quite cover all of the front seating. It does though have an interesting gable on its roof which has 'Leyton Orient' proudly emblazoned across it and gives a nice link to the Club's history.
Opposite is the new West Stand which was opened for the 2005/06 season. This all seated stand which has a capacity of 2,872, has an unusual look about it, as above the seating area is a tall vertical structure that houses the Club offices. In fact to be honest it looks more like an office block that has some seats installed on a large viewing gallery, rather than a football stand. It also has some corporate hospitality areas, which look a little precarious, as the outside seating area of these overhang the lower tier. If you carry on with the office theme, then you can almost imagine these being used by the window cleaners to clean the office windows. At the very top of the stand is a fair sized viewing gallery for television cameras and press and the roof of the stand contains a lot of perspex panels to allow more light to reach the pitch.

At the North End is the ground is the most recent addition to the stadium. The North Stand was opened at the beginning of the 2007/08 season and replaced a former open terrace. This simple looking covered all seated stand, has space for 1,351 spectators and looks similar to the Tommy Johnston Stand. The ground also has a set of four modern looking floodlight pylons.

What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters?
Currently away supporters are housed in one side (towards the South End) of the Main Stand, where there are a couple of supporting pillars that may impede your view. Around 1,000 fans can be accommodated in this area. I have been to Orient a number of times and have always been impressed by the state of the pitch. Even in January it is immaculate and at the start of the season you could almost play snooker on it! The Shire Foods Chicken Balti Pie (£2) is available inside.