A five-minute walk back to my bus stop and I was back in central Edinburgh just after 6pm.Overall it was okay because Dundee got three desperately needed points at a ground where most teams have got nothing this season.This was my first trip to Livingston's ground, so was looking forward to that.
From the East and the West, exit the M8 at junction 3 (Livingston).
... of the Royals have the chance to gain temporary VIP access to the Madejski when they undertake the fully guided Reading FC stadium tour. The atmosphere matched the game too, Livingston fans were quite simply superb throughout the 90 minutes, while Rangers' support, while big in number, were a long way from what I had expected of them. There had been a competitive match a week earlier when South Shore went up against the 1st South Lancashire Regiment, but the stadium had not officially opened at that point.Bloomfield Road is a strange mix of a classic, ‘English Style’ stadium and a more modern ‘Bowl Style’ that is in fitting with most modern grounds. As a stadium, Almondvale is not the worst, but it's not the best either, and a few minor improvements would make a much better experience for the fans. It’s also, essentially, home to Lytham St. Annes Golf Club, one of the most prestigious courses in the country. Plenty of cocktails and traditional drink options along with entertainment into the night is the order of the day here. There is a fair sized car park at the stadium which costs £5.There are two stations that are in reach of the ground.Concessions apply to Over 65's and Under 18's and Students with valid ID.The Club no longer produces a paper matchday programme. There are two railway stations in reach of the ground; Further on inside the Almondvale Shopping Centre is a pub called the Paraffin Lamp.Livingston is situated approximately 18 miles west of Edinburgh and easily accessible from the M8 motorway. Other than Bloomfield Road, Blackpool have played their games at two other home grounds; between 1896 and 1897 they played at Raikes Hall Gardens before moving to the Athletic Grounds in 1897. It had taken about 15 minutes to walk to the Lime Kiln from the stadium, because I went the long way around, but managed to find a more direct shortcut on the way back which took less than five minutes, which is useful to know for next time.Even though Almondvale is a relatively modern stadium, having opened in the 1990s, from the outside it does now look to be showing a few signs of wear and tear and it could do with having a lick of paint in some places, especially at the entrances. Livingston are a family orientated club and hence you are likely to have an enjoyable and relaxing day out.
The Lime Kiln, the New Year Field which is a Wetherspoons and The Paraffin Lamp. It was high-octane stuff from the hosts who started brightly and could have found themselves ahead before they did finally score with Scott Robinson and Adam Lithgow both missing big opportunities. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Livingston since 1995, and has an all-seater capacity of 9,512. One issue I found was immediately in front of the entrance turnstiles into the stadium was the queue for the catering stand. Blackpool FC’s hotel features a restaurant and bar, a conference centre, a snack bar and deli and a free parking. They’ve made many promises about developments of Bloomfield Road only to later renege on them or else pretend they’d never said anything of the sort in the first place. The stadium has an interesting set of four large floodlights.George Hobb a visiting Hearts supporter adds, 'The club grew from the ashes of the former Meadowbank Thistle who played in Edinburgh until in a move similar to NFL franchises, it was moved lock stock and barrel to Livingston. After getting the train from Edinburgh Haymarket to Livingston North, it was a half an hour walk to the ground and it's not particularly well sign-posted if you don't have a phone on you to show you the way. It was one of three FA Cup finals the club reached in the 1950s, though they only won it once.It hasn’t always been good news for Blackpool, though. The Sir Stanley Matthews West Stand was redeveloped between 2001 and 2002, with executive boxes added as well as the players’ tunnel, which had previously been in The South Stand. There is an open corner on one side of the West Stand and there is also the 5 storey stadium house in the other corner of the ground which is primarily used for conferences and offices. Livi could have in fact doubled their lead when Adam Lithgow's ambitious scorpion-kick attempt went inches wide. The first didn't seem like much, but the second definitely did look like a penalty and the referee took some stick from the Aberdeen fans for not giving it.