Ewen Fields (Hyde)

Ewen Fields in Hyde, Greater Manchester, England, is the home ground of Hyde United F.C. and has also hosted Manchester City Reserves, Manchester United F.C. Reserves, Stockport County Reserves and Oldham Curzon Ladies. The stadium holds 4,250 people, with 530 seats.

General information

Arena capacity: 4,250 spectators

Address: Walker Ln, Hyde SK14 5PL, UK

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 53.4510° N, 2.0673° W

Year of construction: 1885

Field: artificial 4G lawn with dimensions of 114 x 70 yards

Seating plan of Ewen Fields

Main Stand

The main stand houses the boardroom, club office, dressing rooms, the Peter O’Brien lounge, the press box and, most importantly, 530 seats for supporters to watch the action.

The best seat in the ground can be found by sitting level with the halfway line on the back row, but even the front row of the main stand offers excellent views of the match.

At Hyde games, entrance to the main stand is on payment of a £2 supplement once you’ve entered through the main turnstile block (and you’ll find the main stand straight ahead of you). Seats are unreserved and fans are free to leave the stand to use the facilities in the rest of the stadium.

Shed End

The Scrattin’ Shed, more commonly known as “the Shed End” (despite being in a corner, rather than at an end, of the ground), is where the most vociferous Hyde fans choose to stand. It’s the ideal choice if you like a sing, to enjoy some banter with the away supporters (who are usually housed in the adjacent Tinker’s Passage end) and don’t mind hearing the odd bit of choice language.

It’s a 13 step terrace with plenty of character and offers good views (as long as you avoid the floodlight pylon), especially of the nearest half of the pitch.

Its proximity to the social club is another of its attractions, as fans are just a set of steps away from a half-time pint.

Ewen Fields only has one turnstile block for home supporters so, like the rest of the home areas, entrance to the shed is through the main turnstile block.

Leigh Street Stand

The busiest of the stands at Ewen Fields, the Leigh Street side offers unobstructed views of the pitch from its 8-step terrace.

Although the acoustics in the Leigh Street can’t rival those of the shed, there’s usually a decent atmosphere with the diverse mix of old, young, quiet and vociferous fans who stand there often joining in with the banter with the home and away dugouts.

Please note that the Leigh Street side is sometimes given to away supporters with a sizeable following (such as Luton Town and Stockport County). Entry arrangements on occasions such as these are subject to change on police advice, so please follow instructions on arrival at the stadium.

Walker Lane End

The Walker Lane end, or “the baths end”, had its roof added in the early 2000s, making every stand at Ewen Fields covered.

It’s a basic terrace, which offers good and unobstructed views of the pitch, especially of the attacking action at that end of the ground.

Please note that the Leigh Street side is sometimes given to away supporters with a sizeable following (such as Luton Town and Stockport County). Entry arrangements on occasions such as these are subject to change on police advice, so please follow instructions on arrival at the stadium.

Tinker’s Passage End

Usually allocated to away fans when games are segregated, the Tinker’s Passage end has plenty of character and, due to its low roof, is a particular favourite of noisier sets of travelling supporters. Its proximity to the shed end often helps both sides create an atmosphere too.

Most of the Tinker’s Passage end stand’s character comes from its unusual angle to the goal line (due to the old artificial pitch being anything but a perfect rectangle) and the large 80s-style netting, which prevents wayward shots from ending up in residents’ gardens behind the ginnel that the end is named after.

With just 7 steps, the terracing is lower than in the rest of the ground, but supporters are free to stand behind the perimeter fence at the very front in order to be as close to the action as possible.

Entry to the Tinker’s Passage end can be found behind the social club, and supporters have access to toilets and the Leigh Street refreshments bar once they’ve passed through the turnstiles.

Visiting Supporters

If segregation is in force then away fans are housed in the Tinkers Passage End, where around 1.200 fans can be accommodated. This small covered terrace is set back from the pitch having a flat hard standing area in front. It also has a number of supporting pillars.

The away end has a football goal net type structure over the entire 18yd box up to, and above roof stand height, giving an 80’s fence type feeling to watching a match. The home end doesn’t have the same.

The more vociferous Hyde fans tend to congregate to the left of the away end in the ‘scratching shed’, allowing plenty of banter to take place. Normally visiting supporters are not allocated any seats in the Main Stand.

Where to buy tickets?

Hyde United don’t categorize their matches, so the ticketing structure is super simple to get your head around. They charge different amounts depending on whether you want to sit in seats or go in the terraced section of the ground, and like all clubs, Hyde also charge different amounts to different age groups, but that’s it.

Remember you can only get cheaper prices in advance, you’ll need an extra £ per ticket if you buy on the day. The cheapest tickets are in the terraced section, whilst the most expensive are seated.

United’s website is the best place to go if you’re hoping to get a ticket to see them play live. You can also call the club’s ticket office if you’d like to buy tickets over the phone.

How to get there?

Leave the M60 at Junction 24 and take the M67 towards Sheffield. Leave the M67 at Junction 3 and at the traffic lights at the top of the slip road; turn right towards Hyde Town Centre. At the second set of traffic lights turn left onto Mottram Road. Pass a Morrisons store on your left and at the first set of lights turn right onto Lumn Road. At the top of the road, there is a T-junction, where you turn left onto Walker Lane. The entrance to the ground is down on the left just past Hyde Leisure Pool.

There is a car park available at the ground, which is free. Additionally, there is parking available at the Leisure Pool, which costs £2 per car. A residents only parking scheme operates in the vicinity of the ground so street parking has to be away from the stadium.

The nearest railway station is Newton for Hyde, which is around half a mile away from the ground. It is served by regular trains from Manchester Piccadilly. It should take around ten minutes to walk. On exiting the station, walk down the hill down the bottom of the road. Cross over Sheffield Road and go straight up Castle Street in front of you (please note that both Sheffield Road and Castle Streets are both back streets in an area of industrial unites). At the top of Castle Street, turn left onto Commercial Brow, which becomes Halton Street, after crossing the motorway bridge. At the end of Halton Street at the T-junction, turn left onto Mottram Road. Then take the first right into Grange Road North. Then take the next right into Miles Street and the ground is down at the bottom of this street.

Where to eat and sleep?

There is a Social Club at the ground, which normally allows in away supporters. Otherwise, five-minutes walk away from the ground is the Gardeners Arms pub on Lumn Road. A little further away on Mottram Road is the Sportsman Inn. It sells beers from the Rossendale Brewery as well as guest ales. Hyde Town Centre is around a ten-minute walk away where there are plenty of pubs to be found. The Cotton Bale on Market Place is a Wetherspoons outlet. Round the corner from the Globe Pub is a handy fish & chip shop.

Facilities

The Hyde United Social Club is available to hire for parties, celebrations, corporate events and any other event that requires a venue for a large number of people.

It has a capacity for around 100 people with seating for around 80.

There is a fully stock bar, reasonably priced.

With access to an outside area should you need space for a bouncy castle for a kids party or an area for a barbecue.

Hire prices are dependant upon the event.

The Peter O’Brien Lounge is situated in the main stand and overlooks the pitch.

It is available for hire for small gatherings and corporate events, it has seating for 50 people.

A bottle and can bar is available if required, also tea and coffee making facilities can be arranged.

The lounge is normally used on match days for hospitality and is mainly available during the daytime from Monday to Friday. But other days and time maybe possible upon request.

History

The stadium formerly used Baspograss, on which Hyde United played Darlington in the 1st Round Proper in 1994, the last non-qualifying FA Cup game on an artificial surface for twenty years, until Maidstone United played Stevenage on their artificial surface in 2014.

It also hosted an American football team, the Manchester Spartans, in the 1980s after a surge in the sport’s popularity in the UK following Channel 4’s coverage of live NFL games. A Rugby league Super League game between Oldham and Sheffield was staged at the stadium in 1997.