In addition to Pompey games, I've also visited Ashton Gate on two other occasions. The first, as a teenager, was to observe a session by the evangelical preacher Billy Graham - absolutely fascinating (I wasn't moved enough to 'approach the stage' if you're wondering). The second was to watch Bristol City take on VS Rugby in the FA Cup during the mid 1980s (my mate Rich from Uni was from Rugby and it was an opportunity too good to miss!).
So, this was the first chance I've had to take daytime photographs of Ashton Gate and quite an eye-opener it was. I approached the ground from the Clifton Village end of the City - the SS Great Britain and the Clifton Suspension Bridge providing two historical items of interest along the way.
Ashton Gate is situated near a local park, which I walked across, but it's also in the middle of an ecletic mix of traditional urban housing, modern industrial estate and fast food retail outlets.
Like Fratton Park it has seen better days, but the upside is that there is still a lot of excellent, traditional football ground architecture to enjoy. There follows a few of the pictures I took of the ground's exterior. It was an excellent day out.
The next three pictures show some football art images that have been carved in to the brickwork. The colour is fading in places but you can still make out the images of footballers in various action guises, it's excellent! As you can see from the third picture an obligatory penis has been added, using spray paint, to one of the images which made me smile. I'm pretty certain it wasn't Banksey who did that.
BlueThruAndThru
