Sandy Park Way · Exeter · Devon EX2 7NN · Capacity 15,600
Sandy Park: two hundred miles, and then a motorway junction
Exeter is the furthest west we travel and the longest rugby journey on our list. The compensation is that Sandy Park sits directly beside junction 30 of the M5, so after four hours of driving the last mile is the simplest of any ground in the country.
Of the M5, and the ground is right there. No city driving, no residential streets, no hunting for an approach. After a very long journey that final simplicity is worth more than it sounds.
Four hours west, and worth planning properly
This is a genuine expedition from Kent, and the format matters more than at any other rugby ground.
Around four hours
M25, M4, M5. Long, straightforward, and with required rest breaks built in.
M5 J30
The ground is beside the motorway. Arriving is genuinely effortless.
Are the problem
Four hours back from a half nine finish puts you home at half one at best.
Is worth staying for
If you are travelling this far, a night in Exeter or on the coast changes the trip entirely.
Kent to Devon
Times include the rest breaks a journey of this length legally requires.
| Pick-up area | Distance | Each way |
|---|---|---|
| Bromley & Orpington | 195 miles | 3h 50m – 4h 40m |
| Sevenoaks & Tonbridge | 198 miles | 3h 55m – 4h 45m |
| Dartford & Bluewater | 201 miles | 4h – 4h 50m |
| Gravesend & Northfleet | 206 miles | 4h 5m – 4h 55m |
| Maidstone & Aylesford | 211 miles | 4h 10m – 5h |
| Rochester & Chatham | 216 miles | 4h 15m – 5h 5m |
| Canterbury & Ashford | 240 miles | 4h 40m – 5h 35m |
Day return or stay over
Kick-off time decides it, and at this distance the difference is significant.
| Kick-off | Format | Home by |
|---|---|---|
| 14:00 or 15:00 Saturday | Day return | Around 22:00, and you will have earned it |
| 17:30 Saturday | Day return, long | Around 00:30 |
| 19:45 Friday | Overnight strongly advised | Around 02:00 if you drive back |
| Any fixture, if you can | One or two nights | Devon is worth it, and it removes the worst of the driving |
A trip to the south west
The arrival is the best of any ground
This sounds like a small thing after four hours in a vehicle and it is not. Sandy Park sits at a motorway junction with proper access and parking designed for it, so there is no residential grid, no one-way system and no last-mile crawl. You come off the M5 and you are effectively there, which is a considerable relief at the end of a long drive.
Be honest about the kick-off time
A Saturday afternoon fixture works as a day return, getting you home around ten at night after roughly nine hours of travel. A Friday evening kick-off does not, in any comfortable sense: you would be home at two in the morning. At this distance the format matters more than at any other rugby ground on our list.
Devon rewards a night
If your group is going to drive two hundred miles, spending a night at the end of it turns an endurance exercise into a proper trip. Exeter is a good small city, the coast is close, and Friday or Sunday rates outside the summer are usually modest. Most of our Sandy Park bookings that stay over come back and do it again.
A coach, not a minibus
Four hours each way is a long time to sit. A coach has proper luggage space, room to move and a considerably better ride, and for a group of twenty upwards it is often barely more expensive per head. On this particular journey it is the difference between arriving fresh and arriving stiff.
Sandy Park questions
Distance, format and the easy arrival.
How far is Exeter from Kent?
Around a hundred and ninety-five to two hundred and forty miles, roughly four to five and a half hours each way including required rest breaks. It is the furthest rugby ground we travel to.
Is the ground hard to find?
No, the opposite. Sandy Park sits directly beside junction 30 of the M5 with access designed for it. The last mile is the easiest of any ground in the country.
Can we do it as a day return?
For a Saturday afternoon kick-off, yes, getting home around ten at night. A Friday evening fixture would put you back at two in the morning, and we would suggest staying over.
Should we stay in Devon?
If you can. Exeter is a good small city, the coast is close, and a night at the end removes the worst part of a two-hundred-mile trip.
Coach or minibus?
Coach for anything above about sixteen people. Four hours each way is a long time and a coach has room, luggage space and a better ride.
Where do you collect afterwards?
Close to the ground, which is unusual. The site has proper access and parking, so there is no need to hold far back.
How far ahead should we book?
Well ahead. A journey of this length needs vehicle and driver planning around rest rules and cannot be arranged at short notice.
Is the fare fixed?
Yes, agreed before travel and unaffected by motorway delays.
South west venues and guides
The long runs west.