West Brom (a)  Sunday 25th March 4.00pm

Yet another potentially good away trip messed by our friends at Sky. The train service isn't fantastic, especially coming back. Here are the main times and fares (italics means there's a change involved):
 York 0928 1056 1136        Hawthorns 1811 1827  
 Leeds 1000 1100 1200        Snow Hill 1817 1908  
 New Street 1220 1317 1421        New Street  1830* 1903 2003
 Snow Hill 1248 1348 1448 1520 1548    Leeds 2103 2144 2227
 Hawthorns 1255 1355 1455 1527 1555    York 2131 2144 2323
*It's certainly feasible that you can catch the 1830. If the 1811 from the Hawthorns is on time, a fast walk the quickest route from Snow Hill to New Street gives you 3 or 4 minutes to play with. Alternatively, leave the game a couple of minutes before the end and catch the 1755 tram.
 
Fares from Leeds to Hawthorns:

£34.90

  Returns Leeds to Sheffield, Sheffield to Derby, Derby to Hawthorns

£56.10

  Off Peak Return
 
 From York:

£39

  Advance Singles on any of the above services

£43.20

  Returns York to Sheffield, Sheffield to Derby, Derby to Hawthorns

£56.30

  Off Peak Return
 
And from Sheffield:

£25

  Returns Sheffield to Derby, Derby to Hawthorns

£40

  Return

Note:
Railcard holders can normally get one third off the above prices.
From New Street you have to walk to Snow Hill station and catch a train or tram to The Hawthorns. The train is slightly quicker (7 minutes as opposed to 9 minutes), plus a through rail ticket to The Hawthorns is the same price as New Street. However, there are only two trains an hour on a Sunday (at 20 and 48 minutes past), whereas there are four trams (at 00, 15, 30 and 45 past, returning from the Hawthorns at 10, 25, 40 and 55 past). A "Matchday Special Adult Return" for the tram will cost you 2 quid. Albiontillwedie has really good info on the various options for getting from Birmingham City Centre to the ground (under "Matchday Guide").

A different approach entirely, and this is the best option from Huddersfield, would be to travel down via Piccadilly and Wolverhampton to Smethwick Rolfe Streeet, which is a 20 minute walk from the ground. The cost from Leeds is around 39 quid based on Advance Singles Leeds-Piccadilly and Day Returns Piccadilly-Stoke-Smethwick. The added bonus of doing it this way is that you can sup in the Great Western at Wolverhampton!

If you're driving down then there are a few private matchday car parks at some industrial units near the ground. There is also free street parking though. Again, Albiontillwedie has very comprehensive parking info on the Matchday Guide page.
 
Pubs
 It's a virtual desert around the ground when it comes to pubs. If arriving by train your best bet is therefore to have a few pints in the city centre and then catch a train or tram at the last minute. Note though that the old favourite the Newt, right next to New Street, is now closed. There are much better options anyway. The best pub in the centre is the Wellington, roughly half-way from New Street to Snow Street. This place is an absolute gem, having no less than 15 hand-pulled beers on at any one time, as well as a good selection of foreign beers. The only slight drawback with the pub is that it doesn't do food; however, they provide plates and cutlery for anyone who wants to consume their own food on the premises. Full instructions on how to get to the Wellington from New Street are on Internet Ground Guide, but what they don't say is that it's much better to exit out the 'back door' of the station on Stephenson St (follow the signs on the platform); the city centre pub map below shows the shortest route from the station to the Wellington. The Old Contemptibles is another pub worth considering as it's right outside Snow Hill station, although it does only have a mere nine hand pulled beers on! Bearing in mind it's an early kick-off, it's possible that Wetherspoons pubs will be the only place you can get a pint before 12, in which case there's the Briar Rose, just down from the Wellington. This is a better bet than their more well known outlet the Square Peg as it's closer to New Street and Snow Hill, plus, being relatively tucked away, they don't have bouncers to keep out anyone wearing football colours or who they just don't like the look of. An alternative to drinking in the centre is to jump on a tram to Benson Road or Kenrick Park and for the Black Eagle or Vine respectively (see next paragraph for more info in these).
 
 For anyone driving then the most popular pub for away fans, and also the nearest to the ground, is the Royal Oak, right on the A41. It will no doubt get very busy, so you may want to keep on going on heading down the A41 where you will (eventually!) come across some other pubs. For a lot of fans though the only pub worth thinking about is the now legendary Vine. It's basically the food that has made this place an institution. Not to be missed on a match day is the indoor barbecue at the rear of the building serving freshly grilled chicken tikka, shish kebabs, tandoori chicken, and naans. The Vine's a bit tricky to find, but the Hawthorns pub map below has the shortest walking route from the ground marked. The main drawback with the Vine is that it will get ridiculously busy. On top of that you'll probably have to put up with plastic glasses, plus their on real ale might well run out! The lack of pubs directly around the ground might tempt you to jump on a tram. West Bromwich town centre would be an obvious place to aim for. However, the pubs there are "very partisan",   attracting a heavy police presence. Better is to head in the opposite direction, getting off at Benson Road. From here it's less than a five minute walk to the Black Eagle. A five times winner of the local CAMRA branch's pub of the year award, the Black Eagle gets universally good write-ups.
 
 Hawthorns pub map
City centre pub map
CAMRA site
Internet Ground Guide
baggies.com (good unofficial site)
Pub guide (part of the above site)
albiontillwedie (another good unofficial site!)