Ayr United - Somerset Park

Hi everyone and welcome back for the penultimate blog! 

This away trip once again took place midweek, this time a trip down to Somerset Park, the home to Ayr United. Somerset Park is a very traditional styled stadium, in fact it was originally constructed before Ayr United were established. The stadium was first opened in 1888 and remains predominantly terracing as it only has one stand that provides a seating facility for spectators. Somerset Park’s maximum capacity is just over 10,000 however, only just over 1,500 are seated which is very rare in this modern era. 

Now for my matchday experience! This fixture was actually rearranged as the previous match was postponed due to the Queen’s passing. This is relevant as I had already purchased my ticket prior to the original match and Ayr provided the facility to use this for the rearranged game. In addition, Ayr offered any fans a full refund who could not attend the rescheduled match. I chose to travel via car as opposed to supporters’ bus for this one as there is a vast amount of free parking available near the stadium and the supporters bus departed Glasgow too early for me. Additionally, Somerset Park is a stadium that can be reached by public transport as the nearest train station of Newton-on-Ayr being within a 15-minute walk of the ground. The stadium is situated around a 10-minute walk from the town centre, so if looking for any pre match drinks or food then it’s best to stop there as there isn’t a wide range of options nearby the stadium. 

The away fans are mainly housed in the railway terracing stand however, there is a limited number of seats available within one end of the main stand to cater for those who prefer to sit. There is only one catering stall for each away section however, the steak pies on sale are a must try and could potentially challenge the famous Killie pie for Ayrshire’s best. Additionally, there are toilet facilities within both the small seating section and terracing stand for away fans to utilise. 

Ayr had plans over a decade ago to sell the land of Somerset Park in order to move to another stadium however, those plans appear to have stalled. Somerset Park remains one of Scotland’s most classic stadiums and is worth visiting.  

Thank you for reading!