Getting to Wembley

Thousands of Shrewsbury Town fans will hit the roads on Saturday and head down the M40 and M1 to the new Wembley Stadium.

So the Shropshire Star is providing a helpful guide to Wembley for all Town supporters going there.

Drivers should be warned in advance there is no parking at Wembley Stadium. A residents' permit scheme operates in the local area on stadium event days.

Only cars with official Wembley Stadium car park passes or residents' permits will be allowed to park in the area. The local council has stated that illegally-parked vehicles will be issued with large parking fines and towed away.

A limited number of guaranteed, secure parking spaces are available at a number of London Underground car parks a short tube ride from Wembley stadium and can be booked at www.ncpwembleyparking.co.uk

The easiest way to reach the stadium is to combine driving with rail services. The quickest route from Shrewsbury is either to drive down the M40, continue on to the A40 and on to London's North Circular, or down the M1 from Birmingham and on towards Wembley. Fans taking this route could stop at Luton Airport Parkway.

For £16.70 return, drivers can pick up a direct train to Wembley.

From High Wycombe, just off the M40, a return train ticket to the stadium is £10.

For fans travelling all the way by train, the journey will not be as simple.

Shropshire does not have any direct services to London and engineering works on Saturday means there are no direct services between Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street to London Euston either.

Passengers from Shropshire on this route will face a second change at Reading or Newport, according to National Rail Inquiries.

A saver return through Birmingham costs £41.40.

A cheaper and easier option from Birmingham is to take the Chiltern line from Snow Hill or Moor Street to Marylebone, which costs £15 for a day return.

Alternatively, some fans could consider the direct service from Stafford to Euston.

Once at Wembley, Shrews fans will be allowed to take their own cameras into the stadium - as long as they are not classed as "professional equipment", but taking in food is discouraged and bottles and drinks are strictly banned.

A burger meal at Wembley will set fans back about £8.

• London Eye could fit under the Wembley arch
• Wembley is the largest football stadium in the world which has every seat under cover, with 90,000 seats.
• The landmark arch is 133 metres above the outside concourse and could fit the London Eye underneath it.
• With a diameter of 7.4 metres the arch is wide enough for a Channel Tunnel train to run through.
• The new roof is 17 metres taller than the former twin towers. Foundations for the stadium are as deep as they were tall (35 metres).
• The new roof covers 11 acres, four of which can be moved. It weighs 7,000 tonnes.
• More than 2,000 people worked on the new stadium, which boasts two giant screens the size of 600 domestic television sets.
• There are 2,618 toilets, possibly more than any other building in the world.
• There is more leg room in every seat in the new stadium than there was in the Royal Box of the old stadium.
• The climb for winners - and losers - from the pitch to the Royal Box has increased from 39 to 107 steps.
• Shrewsbury v Bristol Rovers will be just the seventh official match at the new stadium - following:

March 24 - England under-21s 3 Italy under 21s 3, international friendly

April 28 - England under-16s 1 Spain under-16s 0, international friendly

May 12 - Stevenage Borough 3 Kidderminster Harriers 2, The FA Trophy Final

May 13 - Truro City 3 AFC Totton 1, The FA Vase Final

May 19 - Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0, The FA Cup Final

May 20 - Morecambe 2 Exeter City 1, Football Conference Play-off FinalHowever, the stadium has held at least two unofficial games.

The first ramp-up event prior to its opening, on March 17, saw a charity game. And teams of contractors who built the stadium have played at least one game there.