Favorite Away Track-what Is Yours?

[chunky 6,101]

I only got to Cradley once, Leicester once, and Halifax once, but I did enjoy them all, particularly - as has been said - the banking at the Shay. Of the regular away tracks, I used to love going to Hackney (apart from the poxy drive), West Ham, and of course, the old Belle Vue. Hyde Road really was something special.

 

Steve

[mervjankefanclub 48]

i also got to cradley once when as a youngster a real speedway stadium in a real speedway area i was down on an fa coaching course in the midlands and one of our treats was a visit to dudley wood which i thoroughly enjoyed although i spent most of my time at the track shop including being there when when the rest of the boys were out on the centre green when one of them won the half time draw i was gutted this was also the same year my dad took me to plough lane on the tigers supporters bus for the nlrc which had a special mystique about it especially being a youngster who had watched his speedway at the the two blantyre tracks

 

and being a glasgow fan maybe i should whisper this but when i was a boy i used to love going to powderhall wether it was a glorious summers night driving along princess street and smelling the hops from the brewery and the stadium was immaculate and spotless with the manicured centre green or it was a cold dark october night with the fairy lights twinkling in the darkness to be fair the racing wasnt always great and the track lighting was shocking but when youre a young keen collector of old programmes then norries stall under the stand more than made up for this it always puzzzled me why the place never got any of the big bspa events i thought it was a perfect little speedway stadium maybe it was the location up here or the fact that it was a bit of a trick track two meetings that stick in my mind were ivan maugers farewell to scotland and i had never seen the place so packed and the 94 ko cup final against the tigers where again the place was heaving and the atmosphere was electric great days

 

i was actually working through that way last week and had a wee drive down to see what they put in its place soulless modern flats which look the same all over britain and a few industrial units very sad to see

Edited April 1, 2008 by mervjankefanclub

[Tigerblade 221]

Sorry no the bakery is not there anymore, use to love the smell of bread baking just before you got to smell the bikes.

Exactly that! The two undisputed top smells in the world together!!! A precious childhood memory :-)

 

Holds head up in "Aaahhh Bisto" mode

 

Yes I too have fond memories of that - my mum always liked the smell from the Bassett's factory as well, as she loves liquorice.

 

I too adored Halifax - the stadium was a dump but I loved the track for all the reasons Spin King has already mentioned. I went to see SUFC reserves there in the mid 90's, purely to visit it, as Leeds were playing reserves games there at that time, and to get to the coffee counter I had to walk along part of the old track on the 3rd and 4th bend area, it was brilliant

 

[BOBBATH 467]

I should have mentioned Leicester also-I still think Speedway at night was the most evocative-Sheffield stadium when lit up was beautiful, the lights on the shale etc etc.There was a pub right near Leicester stadium, going from Blacbird Rd I think you went up a little hill, all residential streets and there was a pub a block or so before the main front entrance-anyone remember that? Glad to see CH got a few mentions from others.By the way speaking of smells-there was a street of nasty smells on the way to Hackney-slaughterhouses or something-anyone recall the name of that street??

[Railway End 0]

Talking about smells Bob. Do you remember the smell that came from the Old Kem factory on Corper Road? not to far from Somerton.

[Dietbowers 522]

Talking about smells Bob. Do you remember the smell that came from the Old Kem factory on Corper Road? not to far from Somerton.

Oh yes,thank the Lord they closed down,it was disgusting

 

[Graham 0]

Although I was only there once, the old Belle Vue made a real impression on me.

 

I was taken by the decaying splendour of the place - the old stands, the big pacy track and the mural over the entrance overlooking the second bend. Also the surrounding area which in the 1980s was in serious decline - the old exhibition halls out the back and derelict pubs on Hyde Road itself. It just had something. Thank god I visited it before it closed. I feel genuinely privileged having done so, and it's something no-one under twenty years of age will have experienced. If British speedway had a "mecca" then Hyde Road was surely it.

 

I remember the first think I looked for when I got into the stand was the drains on the inside of the kerb. I'd read that one of them had seriously injured Peter Collins a few years earlier when he rode over it. Sure enough they were still there, but neat and tidy and well away from the edge of the track.

 

What'e there now? A crappy car auction and a boring multiplex. This is progress?

 

Graham.

Edited April 1, 2008 by Graham

[spin king 1,923]

Exactly that! The two undisputed top smells in the world together!!! A precious childhood memory :-)

 

Could not agree more. :approve:

[cityrebel 2,960]

Although I was only there once, the old Belle Vue made a real impression on me.

 

I was taken by the decaying splendour of the place - the old stands, the big pacy track and the mural over the entrance overlooking the second bend. Also the surrounding area which in the 1980s was in serious decline - the old exhibition halls out the back and derelict pubs on Hyde Road itself. It just had something. Thank god I visited it before it closed. I feel genuinely privileged having done so, and it's something no-one under twenty years of age will have experienced. If British speedway had a "mecca" then Hyde Road was surely it.

 

I remember the first think I looked for when I got into the stand was the drains on the inside of the kerb. I'd read that one of them had seriously injured Peter Collins a few years earlier when he rode over it. Sure enough they were still there, but neat and tidy and well away from the edge of the track.

 

What'e there now? A crappy car auction and a boring multiplex. This is progress?

 

Graham.

i've always felt the same about west ham. watching speedway at custom house and hyde road was like being in a living museum. no other tracks have made the same impression on me.

[Paulco 7,080]

I loved Coatbridge . Ok the stadium was probably the worst ever to hold speedway , but the track with the huge bankings was brilliant .

As for away tracks - as has been said previously - the Somerset track stands out a mile .

Edited April 2, 2008 by Paulco

[Halifaxtiger 5,318]

Although I was only there once, the old Belle Vue made a real impression on me.

 

 

Graham.

 

Definitely one of the best that is no longer in existence. I went there for about 2 seasons just before the team moved to Kirky Lane and it always had a special atmosphere. Mind you, I took the girlfriend (now wife of 20 years) there a few times so that might have something to do with it.

 

Only went to Cradley once (in 1984), but it was memorable because Wimbledon ended their long unbeaten run in the league.

 

Amazing places no longer with us that I visited include Park Road, Barrow, Crayford's tiny track (that'll start Bryn off) & Castleford.

 

I have a few favourites currently but if I was forced to pick one it would probably be Newport. The riders apparently hate it but I have never seen a bad meeting there .

[Paulco 7,080]

I have a few favourites currently but if I was forced to pick one it would probably be Newport. The riders apparently hate it but I have never seen a bad meeting there .

Funny you should say that because i'm the same . Newport does come in for some critisism ( unfair in my book ) , but any time i've been there the speedway has been excellent . Ok Newport v Glasgow meetings are usually highly charged events and it's easy to get carried away with it all , but i've been to a couple of Welsh Opens as well and both have been terrific .

 

[cyclone 943]

Hyde Road was the best away venue for racing and atmosphere.

 

Another venue I enjoyed going to was East Boldon during the Jack Millen era as the racing was so unpredictable.

Edited April 2, 2008 by cyclone

[BOBBATH 467]

HalifaxTiger/Paulco are you talking about the new Newport or the old one(Somerton Park) I'm talking about the old one-P.S. to Railway end -don't recall the smell you mentioned-but the street I recall in Hackney was Carpenters Rd., the street of a thousand smells.Cradley is still top in my book-as someone said a real speedway stadium in a real speedway area and real dedicated speedway fans!!

[keef 105]

Used to enjoy Wimbledon Hackney West Ham and New Cross...currently Coventry and Worky are good stadiums for viewing .