Adams Park – Wycombe Wanderers

On one side of the ground is the impressive looking Frank Adams Stand, opened in 1996. This was named in memory of the man who originally donated to the club their previous ground at Loakes Park. It is a large two tiered stand, complete with a row of executive boxes and it dwarfs the rest of the stadium. The other three stands are smaller affairs but are at least all covered. Only the Greene King IPA Stand at the home end remains as terracing. Opposite is the Dreams Stand, housing away supporters, a medium sized single tiered stand, with windshields to either side. Along the other side of the ground is the Main Stand. This single tiered stand has a raised seating area, meaning that fans access it by climbing a small set of stairs in front of it. There is a large video screen situated in one corner of the stadium, between the Dreams and Main Stands.

Away fans are mostly located at one end of the ground in the Dreams Stand, where just over 2,000 supporters can be accommodated. For teams with a larger following then 350 seats are also made available in the Main Stand, increasing the total allocation to 2,350.

I personally had an enjoyable day at Wycombe. The club has a relaxed friendly feel about it. The ground is situated in a nice setting with a wooded hill over looking the ground (this normally has a small contingent of supporters watching the game for nothing) and with green fields surrounding the other sides. The standard football ground fayre of Cheeseburgers (£3), Hot Dogs (£3), Double Cheeseburgers (£4.50), Phat’s Chicken Balti Pie (£3) and Pasties (Cheese or Cornish £3), Sausage Rolls (£2.70) and Chips (£2), are available from the refreshment kiosk.

David Abbott a visiting Northampton Town supporter informs me; ‘I have to say what an excellent ground Adams Park is. Good signposting around the ground, good organisation, good atmosphere, excellent view from the away end and friendly fans. It was a very pleasant visit and if all grounds and supporters were as welcoming and well-behaved as Wycombe the game would be all the better for it’.

Toby Hillier a visiting Brentford fan adds; ‘The ground is absolutely splendid and set in wonderful surroundings. Although the atmosphere was pretty flat on my visit, the beating of a drum in the home end often rallied the home fans behind the team. The home fans are a friendly bunch and all of the staff that we encountered were also very friendly. You can park at the ground itself, however it is a nightmare trying to get out at the end of the game. It took us 50 minutes to do the 2 miles back to the motorway. My suggestion would be to park a mile or so away from the ground and walk. This should provide you with a quicker route away from the game’.

Mike Jordan a visiting Torquay United fan tells me; ‘I found the home fans, stewards and staff of Wycombe to be friendly & welcoming towards away supporters. Also, for visitors interested in wildlife, at half time or during dull moments, look out for Red Kites drifting over the ground!’

If you’re talking about a large scale transformation to the Wycombe stadium then, no, there are no plans in the pipeline. The latest on that front was the rejection of plans for a new build stadium near the M40, junction four. The club haven’t just stood still though. Ahead of the 2021/22 campaign they partnered with a tech giant to install a large screen and digital display to run around the pitch exterior; it doesn’t make more seats available but it does improve the match day experience, which was the main point.

At the stadium itself, there is the Scores Bar and Vere Suite which welcome away fans. There is no entry charge for supporters to enter. Martin Redfern a visiting Scunthorpe United informs me; ‘We arrived early at the ground and were able to go into the Supporters Club located at the far end of the Main Stand. It was a spacious room with two bars and food. The atmosphere was extremely relaxed and friendly with both home and away fans’. Located just outside the away fans entrance is a heated marquee which is for visiting supporters only. Inside there is a bar selling alcoholic drinks, whilst nearby is a mobile catering unit which sells hot food, including pies.

As the ground is on the edge of an industrial estate, there aren’t many other drinking establishments around. Neil Young informs me ‘The nearest pub to Adams Park, is the Hourglass in Sands (about a 15 minute walk, from the end of the road up to the ground). Away fans are normally okay in small groups except for big games or local derbies’. James Goddard adds; ‘The Hourglass is a great pub, where home and away fans mix with no problems. The landlady on our visit was on her own and couldn’t do food but sent us to the chippie and let us eat them in her bar – even gave us forks; as she said, it kept us drinking ale in her pub!’

Nigel Cockram a visiting Bristol Rovers fan adds; ‘There is a great pub, (but only for the lads) called the White Horse, at 95 West Wycombe Road, which is the A40, about 1 & 1/2 miles from the ground. It opens at 12.00 on Saturdays, has one real ale, BUT has gorgeous strippers from 12.30. Entry is free, but each girl does a collection after each act. I thoroughly recommend this pub. Directions – if in a car, find the Hourglass pub, near the ground which is in Chapel Lane, follow Chapel Lane going away from the ground, until it’s end, turn right into West Wycombe Road (A40), the White Horse is about 100 yards on the right hand side. If walking from the Station, you have to pass the White Horse on the way to the ground’.

Wycombe Wanderers first ground was Spring Meadow but that was sold from under them. That happened eight years after the club were formed. It created a stir as Wycombe struggled to find a new home before eventually receiving a gift of sorts from former player Frank Adams; Adams was the owner of Loakes Park, which was situated next to the local hospital building. It would serve as the Wycombe stadium for 95 years. Despite only moving out of Loakes Park in 1990 the relocation had been on the card for decades; the ground wasn’t exactly ideal for the developing sport of football and plans for hospital expansion put more pressure on the club to move. Eventually, this happened as the opener Adams Park, which is named in honour of the man who had gifted them Loakes Park.

The capacity at day one is as 6,000 but ongoing works to improve safety measures at the stadium meant they were eventually able to increase their attendance figures. Various works have taken place since 1990 with 1993 and 1996 key dates. The first saw the capacity jump towards the 10,000 mark whilst 1996 saw a slight drop but only due to the change from standing to seating in the Hillbottom Road End. Coincidentally, the same stand saw an expansion by over 900 seats in 2001.

The stadium is located on the outskirts of Wycombe on the Sands Industrial Estate. Leave the M40 at Junction 4 and take the A4010 towards Aylesbury. Turn left at the 4th roundabout into Lane End Road and then continue straight down this road. Cross another roundabout and into Hillbottom Road. The ground is down at the very bottom of this road.

Car Parking

There is a fair sized car park located at the ground which costs £5 per car, or some of the industrial units provide match day parking (also at around £3). As there is only one road that leads from the stadium, I have heard that it can be a nightmare leaving the official car park at full time. I would recommend therefore, parking in one of the industrial units that line Hillbottom Road towards the ground. I did this and got away alright.

Adam Hodson a visiting Stockport Count fan advises; ‘If travelling down the M40 from the North then an alternative route to Adams Park, is to first exit the M40 at Junction 5 and take the A40 towards Stokenchurch & West Wycombe. You will then reach a roundabout that has a Texaco garage on one side and you continue straight along the A40 towards High Wycombe. After around another mile turn right onto A4010 Signposted (M40) & Marlow (Adams Park is signposted from here). You will then reach two mini roundabouts that are situated quite close together. Continue straight on at the first roundabout, and at the second turn right onto Lane End Road towards the Sands Industrial Estate. At the next roundabout turn right into Hillbottom Road for the ground’. There is also the option of renting a private driveway near in the local area via YourParkingSpace.co.uk.

Post Code for SAT NAV: HP12 4HJ

Wycombe Railway Station is situated around two and half miles away from the stadium and is really too far to walk. It is served by trains from London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street. You can either take a Taxi (costs about £8) or get the football special bus that runs from the station to the ground on match days. The Football Special provided by Arriva departs the Railway Station for the stadium at 13:05 & 14:05 on Saturday matchdays and 17:50 & 18:50 for midweek games (cost £4 Adult Return, £2 Children). The bus returns 20 minutes after the final whistle. Micheal Gerloff a visiting Charlton Athletic fan informs me; ‘The shuttle bus was very crowded after the game and it took over 40 minutes to get to the station. We had to run to the platform to make the 17:57 train back to London’. Also the station shuttle bus on the return leg doesn’t accept single fare passengers, only those who travelled to the ground on the bus before the game and bought a return ticket are able to do so. Paul Willems a visiting Bristol City supporter adds; ‘If you have got the energy, then a walk from the station to the ground along the West Wycombe road takes in several pubs and can make the three quarters of an hour or so walk seem a lot less! Those in the know will cut across a park just after the last pub on the West Wycombe Road and be there ten minutes sooner’.

Ian Newman a visiting Morecambe fan adds; ‘I travelled by train and arrived just before 12 noon. The Football shuttle bus from the station doesn’t start until later, so I took a ten minute walk to the town bus station and got the number 16 bus to the ground. From the bus station, you can also get the number 32 or 48 which drops you at the Hourglass pub.’

Booking train tickets in advance will normally save you money! Find train times, prices and book tickets with Trainline. Visit the website below to see how much you can save on the price of your tickets:

Home Fans*
Frank Adams Stand (Centre): Adults £22, Over 60’s £19, Under 26’s £17, Under 19’s £11, Under 13’s Free
Main Stand: Adults £17, Over 60’s £15, Under 26’s £13, Under 19’s £6, Under 13’s Free
Bucks University Terrace: Adults £16, Over 60’s £14, Under 26’s £12, Under 19’s £6

Away Fans*
Beachdean Stand: Adults £22, Over 60’s £19, Under 26’s £17, Under 19’s £11, Under 13’s Free

* The ticket prices quoted are for tickets purchased in advance of matchday. Tickets bought on the day of the game can cost up to £2 more.

Official Programme: £3.50

Wycombe vs Oxford rivalry: If you flick through a few message boards you’ll find a split of opinion as to how much of a rivalry there really is between Wycombe and Oxford. On one hand, they’re just 23 miles apart but, on the other, Oxford feel they have bigger fish to fry in the derby stakes. Even so, when Oxford come to visit the Wycombe stadium you wouldn’t know they didn’t care too much because things can get very heated, very quickly.

Wycombe vs Colchester rivalry: Every now and then you get a rivalry develop where location has played no part. Wycombe vs Colchester is one of those. Wycombe humiliated Colchester in a cup tie to first trigger some extra special emotions. Not too long later, the two sides would come to face off in a series of league games with promotion at the football league on the menu. Games that had so much riding on them saw the rivalry born and an undertone of dislike has remained.

Wycombe Wanderers FC fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website)

For details of disabled facilities and club contact at the ground please visit the relevant page on the
Level Playing Field website.

Record Attendance

At Adams Park:
10,000 v Chelsea
Friendly, 13th July 2005.

At Loakes Park:
15,850 v St Albans
FA Amateur Cup, 4th Round, 25th February 1950.

Average Attendance

2019-2020: 5,521 (League One)
2018-2019: 5,329 (League One)
2017-2018: 4,705 (League Two)

Official Web Site:  www.wycombewanderers.co.uk

Unofficial Web Sites: 
Ch@irboys On The Net
Not 606 Forum
Vital Wycombe Wanderers (Vital Football Network)

If anything is incorrect or you have something to add, please e-mail me at: [email protected] and I’ll update the guide.