We took some back roads to Walsall, which we later realised took us a lot longer to get there than if we had gone on the main roads. But I prefer small roads to the M6. We found the stadium quite easily and from the way we arrived, it looked sort of abandoned. There was a small Park Inn hotel next to the stadium and we parked in their car park. We walked around the outside of the stadium and found our way by foot to the main entrance and the shop. This was better. There were some signs of life. The stadium has a small retail park next to it with a plenty of parking, though it must be busy on match days. We had a good poke around the shop, taking lots of photos and had a nice chat with the lady working there. She joked about the nervousness the club has about always being in a relegation battle in League One. She hoped it would be better the upcoming season, but wouldn't hold her breath. They have recently had a tumultuous few seasons, with fans disagreeing with the owner and the managers changing frequently. There were some good deals at the shop, selling old tops for around 5 pounds, but we weren't buying. One of George's classmates father is a Walsall supporter (though I had never noticed his shirt) but when I saw the Swallow Logo, it did ring a bell. Of course the boys had noticed it. I like their kit.
We went back out and into the main entrance where we rang a bell and waited for someone to come so that we could ask if we could go into the ground. A young girl came and very kindly offered to take us in for a quick look. She was able to answer a few of our questions about why the club are called the Saddlers, despite the fact that they have a swallow on their logo. We thanked her and made our way back to the car, stopping for a minute to chat with a young player from their development side.
After a little drink and biscuit in the car, we headed off to Wolverhampton (on the small roads again).
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