It pays to do a tiny bit of internet research...I looked on the football ground guide which is really helpful when us rugger fans have to put up with them, it tells you where to park and where to drink/eat etc., from this I found the Priory & ? pub, I phoned on Saturday evening to find out what time they opened and whether I could park there; the landlord was extremely helpful, and we were there at 9.50am (first there!); they made me a big mug of hot chocolate for 50p (cheapest ever!) and I was happy to pay the £2 parking for a very good cause (they're trying to send a little girl, who lost her limbs to menigitis, to Disney). Beer was good, food was good (all locally sourced, v.nice), very large crowd but plenty of room and quick service. Had a drink afterwards (entertained by the male voice choir again) before hitting the road so didn't encounter any traffic problems.
Inside the ground the stewards were extremely helpful and finding seat was no problem, although there seemed to have been an almighty cock-up in that seats had been sold twice but as there was room nobody was left stranded. Only complaint would be the extortionate £3.80 for a can of beer which wasn't even a full pint.
I too was puzzled to see all the empty seats in the South Stand to the left of the halfway line, as when I tried to buy there, there was no availability! Maybe those that had duplicate tickets had been put in the wrong stand??
Oh well it's another ground crossed off the list
