By Nathan Jackson
June 1 2005

DATES VISITED THIS GROUND : 22/9/2001, 16/10/2002, 4/2/2003,  17/4/2004

THIS REVIEW IS BASED ON THE VISIT DATED: 4/2/2003

Yes, I was there that night, along with the other 40 Lincoln fans. This game had to be re-arranged from a few weeks ago and even up until kick off. Infact, getting into Carlisle on the near empty coach, some of their fans were waving their hands in a motion that would indicate that the game had been cancelled. The weather had been horrific all day, snowing and only a vast amount of work from Carlisle officials and supporters made this game possible. I wonder if they thought the 4-1 win for Lincoln was worth the effort.

Brunton Park is near enough on the outskirts of Carlisle so getting to the ground is quite easy and the car park/abandoned field behind the disused stand is incredibly useful. The turnstile system is a bit awkward as often, Carlisle make you buy tickets before the game takes place even if they know you aren't going to bring a lot. This on several occasions for Lincoln fans has caused major arguments.

The concourse is fairly impressive once you get inside the stand with very up to date service but then the problem starts. You emerge into the stand and it is a REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY steep stand to climb up. For those who haven't been to Carlisle, the stand  was originally positioned to coincide with the re-location of the pitch, a relocation that never happened to now, the the vast majority of the away end extends way past the pitch. I did however have good banter with a Carlisle fan. I was the only one in the Lincoln end at the time and recieved chants of "You've only got one fan", so nice lovely banter between fans occured until someone else turned up.

The stand away fans are in is very impressive. It is shared with the home fans and even despite of the positioning of the away end, the view of the action is excellent. Behind the nearest goal is a small, disused terrace. Opposite the main stand is an end I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. It's vastly a terraced stand with bits of seats smattered around. If this was all seated then it would be a good stand but, actually, I'll just leave it at that. The final stand is also terraced and this does offer a fairly good view of the action. I'll admit that on my last visit, I went in that end to spend time with some friends I hadn't seen in YEARS.

The atmosphere at Brunton Park is fantastic from home fans and even just a small amount of away fans can make a fair amount of noise. However, other than the one fan mentioned above, I have had nothing but trouble from Carlisle fans and I find them some of the most of the unfriendly fans in the football league.

Overall, a trip to Brunton Park really depends on your mood, if you're on a real downer about something, the last place you really want to be is Carlisle (trust me, I should know) but if you're really in a mood for a great footballing atmosphere, there are few places in the football league better than Brunton Park.