Mansfield’s claim to fame for many years was that it was the largest town in England without a railway station.  It was always rather odd as there have always been railway lines through the town serving the coal mines when they were still open. Many people got confused by the Alfreton and Mansfield Parkway station which is several miles to the west of Mansfield.

The Robin Hood line opened to Mansfield in 1995 and was extended to Worksop in 1998.

Wherever you are coming from, you cannot take a direct train to Mansfield. Mansfield's station is situated on the "ROBIN HOOD LINE". This line is a branch line that connects Mansfield station and ten other small local stations onto the main rail network at NOTTINGHAM STATION in the south and at WORKSOP STATION in the north.

You will therefore need to change trains at either of these stations.  You will need to be quick off the mark at the end of the match.  At the time of writing there is a train at 1710 to Nottingham.  As it seems a rare occurrence for a match to finish before 1700 at Field Mill, it may be difficult to catch this train.  The next one is 1742.

For midweek games there is a train at 2149 and then 2249 but you are unlikely to catch a train from Nottingham anywhere.

If you are heading to Worksop there is a train at 1657 and then 1803. For midweek games the times are 2136 and 2242.

The journey time to Mansfield from both Nottingham and Worksop is approximately 35 minutes.

If you are travelling from the south or south west then you need to change at Nottingham.  If you are travelling from the north or north west then it is a bit more complicated.

If you want to do the whole journey by train then you will need to change at Sheffield. From here catch a train to Worksop and change there and catch the Robin Hood Line to Mansfield.  The journey time from Sheffield to Worksop is 30 minutes and from Worksop to Mansfield is 32 minutes.  At the time of writing there is a 24 minute wait in Worksop making the total journey from Sheffield to Mansfield 86 minutes.

You can also go from Sheffield to Nottingham and then get the Robin Hood Line but this is quite a circular route and takes almost 2 hours.

One alternative is to get the train to Chesterfield and then catch the bus.  There is a regular service from Sheffield to Chesterfield and the maximum journey time is 16 minutes.

The bus station is a 10-15 minute walk from the station.  From the station turn to the left and go over the footbridge over the A61.  Turn left at the top of the road by the crooked spire and proceed down the road.  Take the 3^rd right into Beetwell Street. The Pronto bus stop is just in front of the information office on the left about 300 yards.  The Pronto buses are usually easily recognisable as they are Purple and Pink and will have Nottingham as the destination.  The buses are every half hour and the journey to Mansfield bus station takes about 45 minutes.  At the time of writing they leave Chesterfield at 5 and 35 minutes past the hour.

Alternatively, you can alight at Alfreton station.  This used to be called Alfreton and Mansfield Parkway which has confused a lot of people in the past as it is nowhere near Mansfield.  It does appear to be just Alfreton now.   The journey time is around 25 minutes from Sheffield. There is a bus stop close to the station and you can catch either the 9.1 or 9.2 to Mansfield and the journey takes about 45 minutes.

If you choose to use the East Coast line then you can alight at Newark.  You will need to walk to Castlegate and catch the 28 to Mansfield.  This takes about 80 minutes and it is an hourly service.  At the time of writing the bus leaves Newark at 20 minutes past the hour.

There are presently return buses to Newark at 1715 and 1745 which is the last service of the day. 

Field Mill is clearly visible from the station and is no more than a ten minute walk away.

Exit the platform, following the signs to Stockwell Gate and the bus station, down the steps. Turn left along the dual carriageway (heading away from the Town Centre). Straight on at the traffic lights, continuing along Portland Street. Turn right at the traffic lights (church on left-hand side) into Quarry Lane.

PLEASE NOTE : As the Robin Hood Line is a branch line joining Mansfield with Nottingham and Worksop, please check that you can make your connection at these two mainline stations. While Saturday games, kicking off at 3.00pm, should pose no problem, midweek games, which kick-off at 7.45pm and ending around 9.50pm, definitely will.

For timetable enquiries about the Robin Hood Line call TRAVELINE - Public transport information on 0870 608 2 608 or www.traveline.org.uk

For details of fares and train times beyond Nottingham and Worksop call 03457 48 49 50