Bury's Gigg Lane


By Kate Jackson
January 9 2009

Bury's Gigg Lane had been a regular fixture for the Imps between 2002 and 2011. The Imps fans have occupied three different stands in that time, although it appears that away fans have been moved yet again. A tidy little ground on the outskirts of Manchester, Gigg Lane could arguably easily cope with being in a higher up division.

 

DATES VISITED GROUND

DATE

MATCH WATCHED

SCORE

22/2/03

Bury vs Lincoln City

BY 2 LC 0

25/8/03

Bury vs Lincoln City

BY 2 LC 1

30/8/04

Bury vs Lincoln City

BY 0 LC 1

2/10/05

Bury vs Lincoln City

BY 1 LC 1

20/1/07

Bury vs Lincoln City

BY 2 LC 2

9/10/07

Bury vs Lincoln City

BY 1 LC 1

13/9/08

Bury vs Lincoln City

BY 3 LC 1

26/9/09

Bury vs Lincoln City

BY 2 LC 0

22/4/11 

Bury vs Lincoln City

BY 1 LC 0 


If there's one ground that I have been to far too many times in such a short amount of time, it's Bury's Gigg Lane, especially when you consider that City fans very, very rarely see the Imps win there, or even goals for that matter. Fortunately, it's a decent ground so at least you've not got a dump when you get to the other end of the relatively easy journey. One thing I also like about the stadium is that there is AMPLE street parking around the ground, so much so that you could get to the ground 2 minutes before kick off and still easily find a space.

In previous years, City had been in the Manchester Road End Stand and it’s safe to say that the view out of their was pretty poor because it was so far back from the seats. However, this stand was now for home fans only due to a poll on the official site. To be honest, I was a little annoyed through leaving this end because it was a good away end, you had plenty of time to pick your seat and you could get a good atmosphere in there. For this single game, the away fans had been allocated one side of the club's main stand and it's like being in a totally different ground.

When driving to Bury, be prepared to be plopped in anywhere in the ground. In my 9 visits to date, we've been moved to a different stand on three occasions 

 THE SOUTH STAND 

Bury1

The most memorable away end for me was the one that we only sat in one, the Main Stand, a side stand. The seating in this stand is also quite good, however, what lets it down if the completely random mesh covering 6 or 7 seats so you have to either walk the long way around or did it army style under the mesh. The view from this section was amazing and as you can tell from the pictures below, offers a great view of the action. This stand is shared with the home supporters.

Then away fans were moved again into the Cemetery End behind the goal. This was a good stand and the view was decent. You are relatively close to the pitch compared to the Manchester Road End. The one bad thing about this end though is that if you go in large numbers, you could end up sitting with a huge cement block restricting your view of quite a lot of the pitch.

Away fans were yet again moved in the 2009/10 season, this time returning to the Manchester Road End of the stadium. This is where away fans have been for the majority of my visits but the view of the action isn't that great as the away stand is quite set back and therefore, if you sit at the back of the stand, you're about 50 yards from the goal and therefore close on 160-170 yards away from the other goal, it doesn't offer a decent view.

 

 

 THE CEMETERY END

Bury2
 
The final stand and the only one not to be an away end during Lincoln visits is the South Stand, a pitch length seated effort that is probably the best stand at the ground, with only a few pillars seemingly restricting the view of the pitch.
 
 
The one thing I find curious about the fans at Bury is that the majority of them want to sit in the worst end of the ground. There is no atmosphere at Bury and the only noise you'll really hear from them is the occasional moan that accompanies around 1,500 arms waving. It's hardly the place you will go if you want a fantastic atmosphere that will make you tremendously look forward to your next visit.

Don't get me wrong, most Bury fans are friendly enough, even though they are under the delusion that they are a big club. They constantly talk about things that happened long before their oldest fans were born, and it's kind of strange that they talk about them as if they are yesterday.

It's a shame that so many clubs have fans that constantly referencing the past even though what they reference has very little relevance with their position in the footballing structure these days.
THE CURRENT AWAY END* - THE MANCHESTER ROAD END 
Bury4
*Please note that by the time you have finished reading this sentence, this will more than likely not be the away end anymore.

Overall, I actually like Bury, especially from the view that you get in the side stand, it is one of the best views available in the division and only Rochdale can really rival it, it's just a pity that we've only been in there once and will probably never be in that stand again.

I would go to this ground again randomly if given the chance, it's relatively easy to get to from Lincoln, however I might leave it a while as it is a ground that I have visited far too many times in such a short space of time. It is a really nice ground though and other than the odd flaw here and there, it's one of my favourite away trips.

The ground has the thing that nota lot have these days, the feeling that football should be played there. In a time when there are far too many stadiums that you feel that just aren't appropriate for football, this is certainly not one of them. 

Despite a reasonably favourable review, it would take me being local to go there on a non-Lincoln game.

THE MAIN STAND 
Bury3

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCORES
Ease of getting to the area3Friendliness of fans (outside ground) 8
Ease of getting to the ground once in area5Friendliness of fans (inside ground) 8
Transport in local area7Feeling of safety 10
Ease of parking8Atmosphere (noise) 0
Stuff to do near the ground1Atmosphere (chant variety) 0
Club Shop3Facilities in away end 6
Away End Quality3Quality of food 6
View from Away End (based on the most common away end at the ground4Stewards 6
Rest of the Ground8Quality of games on visits 3
Programme5Chances of a non-Lincoln visit 1

Total (out of 200) - 90

 

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Bury's Gigg Lane
Discussion started by theimps.tk (IP Logged), 09/01/2009 13:26
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09/01/2009 13:26
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