NADS Roving Report

FC Girondins de Bordeaux v Chelsea, Stade Chaban-Delmas 26.11.08

ThomasCook Sport (TCS) were operating only a day-trip with flights for this game. I wanted to spend a few days in Bordeaux and as the French are neighbours of the UK, I wanted to avoid the stress of an airport and try my luck on the trains.

I had traveled on the Eurostar before to both Paris and Brussels and so knew how comfortable it was for a wheelchair user. With two recent bad experiences at airports whilst traveling to Moscow, Russia and Cluj, Romania land travel appealed far more than air.

So I booked train travel via Rail Europe (you can book train travel all over Europe from them) and I booked ThomasCook Sport’s package that included just the hotel and match ticket. I obviously informed them I would need a disabled room in the hotel (of which I knew there was at least one) and a wheelchair ticket for the match.

Paul came with me as my pa and the costs were £59 each return for the Eurostar and £102 each return for the Paris – Bordeaux leg. Hotel & match ticket package was £135 each. So a total of under £300 each would have been cheaper than a two night flights included package.

We left my home at 5.30 am on Tuesday 25th November and drove to Woking Railway Station where we parked up and left the car [free parking for disabled]. From there to Waterloo on a train (great, accessible service provided you pre-book the assistance [man with a ramp]). The journey from Waterloo to St Pancras was made in a London cab (totally accessible and no need to transfer from my wheelchair or pre-book) and the transport costs from Woking were about £10 for the train – return and £10 for the cab.

St Pancras Station is quite impressive. Not long opened, it has a very clean and tidy appearance. The architects have managed to keep that ‘station’ feel with a large arched roof: ridge and furrow glazed with 14,000 glass panels and high brick walls joined by arches. It is truly a very grand retail and hospitality destination. The passenger Information points have touch screen displays and free Wi-Fi for your laptops is readily available. St Pancras International is also the new home of some specially commissioned pieces of public art such as ‘The Meeting Place’ - a 9m high bronze of a couple locked in an intimate pose. The Eurostar terminal gives it an international flavour and the check-in, security and passport control procedures makes this part of the station very airport-like.

The wheelchair accessible coach is located in the first class area of the train. There is a bay for the wheelchair so I could remain in my chair on the whole journey if I chose to. I elected to transfer to the comfortable fold up chair. Paul sat next to me in a standard first class chair. Entry into the train was via a ramp platform (below)

The ramp platform being wheeled into position.	I'm wheeled up the ramp and into the train.

The journey time on the new fast track from St Pancras to Paris Gar du Nord was 2 hours, 40 minutes. Having left at 8.40 and allowing for the hour time difference between the two countries we pulled in at twenty past midday.

The train from Paris to Bordeaux was leaving from Gare Montparnasse at 2.10. This station is in a different part of Paris to Gar du Nord. As it turned out the taxi journey only took half an hour so we had plenty of time. The taxis, unlike London cabs, are not friendly for wheelchairs. I had to transfer into the back seat as the driver and Paul folded up my chair and put it in the boot. All a bit awkward! I would have thought the taxi driver would show some sympathy but all we got for our efforts was that the trip meter clocked up €3 for the time this all took. I’ve not quite mastered the French language however so decided not to have the discrimination argument with the driver!

This second train to Gare St Jean in Bordeaux took just over three hours. Again access to our coach was via a portable, rolling platform/ramp and the actual coach was also very similar to the Eurostar with ample leg room, plenty of space for my wheelchair and a choice of whether I wanted to remain in my wheelchair or transfer to a comfortable seat. There were good disabled toilets on both trains and I have to say I was very impressed with the whole train travel experience.

Hotel Inn City Centre in Rue de Tauzia was a five minute walk from the Station. I had been assured by TCS that there were rooms suitable for the disabled. I was therefore confident that the room we were first allocated was the wrong one as in the bathroom there were no rails around the toilet, no access under the sink and even the door opened inwards (meaning the space available made it impossible for me to enter in my wheelchair and then close the door behind me).

We headed back down to reception to put our case forward and to be fair they could see the problem and moved us to a suitable room without fuss. It was about 6.30 and we had been traveling all day so were quite tired. We decided to remain in the hotel and eat in their restaurant. I was actually quite pleased we did as it saved us going out into the freezing winter night and the dinner was quite delicious – duck and fries – 18€.

We watched one of the Tuesday Champions League matches on the TV in the room: Fiorentina 1 v Lyon 2 before turning the lights out. The following day was just as cold and after a cooked breakfast and cereal we headed out into town.

Bordeaux is a port City on the Garonne River, close to the Atlantic coast in southwest France. It has one million inhabitants and is best known for its production of 700 million bottles of wine per year. Bordeaux is classified as ‘City of Art and History’ and is home to one of Europe’s largest 18th century architectural urban areas making it a sought-after destination for tourists and cinema production crews.

We visited some of the many shops and tourist attractions Bordeaux has to offer in the morning including the Grand Theatre and the Monument des Girondins. On the road leading to this Monument we past the 5 star hotel in which the Chelsea team were staying. I didn’t see any players but did see Chelsea’s Assistant Manager, Ray Wilkins.

After a bite to eat we went back to the hotel where we met some of the TCS staff and were given our match tickets. (TCS had arranged wheelchair and PA tickets for us). They also showed us a map of Bordeaux and exactly where the stadium was.

We did a bit more sight seeing before making the 40 minute journey on foot to the Stadium. Although we didn’t have a map with us we managed to find the stadium by looking at street signs and then noticing the sky was lit up from the floodlights from a few miles away.

We had a hotdog and chips on the street outside the stadium and then made our way round to the disabled entrance (We always approach every Stadium from the wrong side for some reason). When they saw me in my wheelchair they just opened a gate and waved me through, handing me a ticket to the match. ‘I’ve already got a ticket’ I said and pointed to the Chelsea Badge on my coat. This seemed to create great amusement amongst the staff manning the entrance but there was no problem. I was given the impression that I would have got in without a ticket but perhaps then they would have asked my name and then shown me the door when I was not on the list.

There was a basic disabled toilet by the disabled entrance to the Stadium. As we still had an hour ‘till kick off, I decided to make use of it. Access to the disabled viewing area was all flat and we sat at pitch level between 2 white walls. There were no obstructions and because of that, you can’t complain but the sightlines were not ideal (see below)

Our viewing position	Our view of the pitch

The Stade Chaban-Delmas seats about 34,500 people and so is not one of the biggest in Europe. The away fans (including my mum) were in what looked like a terrace just to our right behind us. It was not until I got home that I realised it was not a terrace but rows of benches that everyone stood on.

Chelsea’s football did not flow during the game however with their only shot on goal it looked like Chelsea had executed a smash and grab route to qualification. However a late equalizer spoiled this and left Chelsea needing to win the last group match to insure qualification.

We got back to the hotel at midnight and set the alarm for 7.30 the next morning. We left the hotel after breakfast and caught the 10.30 train back to Paris. We arrived back at my house at 8 pm.

Chelsea's hotel entrance	Me and a traffic light in front of thr Monument des Gerondins

 

Summary / Description	Cost (Me and PA)	Matt's Mark	Comment
Journey - Trains	£337.00	9/10	All trains very comfortable, disabled toilets on them all.
Journey - Taxis	£60.00	5/10	UK Very good, France not so
Car Parking	free	10/10	At Woking Station
Food/Drink	£20	8/10	On matchday
Comfort at Stadium	-	10/10	No problems
Access	-	6/10	Long walk from hotel
Toilets	-	6/10	Basic but ok
View	-	5/10	Pitch level, no obstructions
Stewarding	-	8/10	Helpful and polite
Hotel & Tickets	£270	9/10	No problems