Address:

Layer Road

Colchester

Telephone:

0845 - 3302975

ColU Online

Colchester United Mad!

By Car: 
Leave the A12 at Stanway (signposted the A1124), and get into the right hand lane, turning right at the next roundabout.

Take the exit into London Road (signposted Mersea/Stanway).

Go over the mini-roundabout and travel one mile to a set of traffic lights.

At the traffic lights, you need to be in the right hand lane (with MFI on the right)Turn right into Straight Road.

Follow that road right to the end (you should see the Leather Bottle public house on your left)
At that roundabout, turn left and then take a sharp right into the right hand lane.

Turn right into Gosbecks Road.

Straight over the first roundabout and at the second roundabout turn left (Kent Blaxill factory on the left).

You are now in Layer Road. The ground is on the left, with the training ground half a mile before.

By Rail:
Trains leave London to Colchester via Liverpool Street and take around 50 minutes to get to Colchester station. There are two rail stations in Colchester, but visiting supporters are advised to get off at Colchester (North) rather than Colchester Town station.

The rail station is on the other side of town to the football ground and supporters are advised to either walk into the Town Centre and catch the bus or get a taxi to the ground (10 minutes and about a £4 fare.)

By Bus:
From the Town Centre, supporters will need to catch the number 64 bus, which comes directly along Layer Road.

Parking:
The club does not have its own parking facilities and there is no street parking on the part of Layer Road surrounding the stadium. Nearby streets have limited street parking, but supporters should allow time to walk back to the ground if they arrive after 2pm!

THE ground is in the middle of a residential area, but there are a couple of pubs nearby. Along the Maldon Road, the Huntsman’s Tavern is recommended for food, whilst nearer to the ground, the Dragoon is also popular.

The nearest pub to the ground is The Drury Arms, which welcomes most away supporters. For higher profile games, this can sometimes change, so it is best to check in advance. Otherwise, the Town Centre is about a ten to fifteen minute walk from the ground and there are plenty of pubs there.

Those of you looking to do more than just visit Layer Road for the football might enjoy several activities when visiting Colchester.

Colchester Zoo in Maldon Road is well worth a visit, while Colchester Leisure World in Cowdray Avenue is another place you might be interested in visiting.

The Beth Chatoo Gardens are pleasant, and the Colchester Castle Museum might be up your street.

Those of you that like a bit of action might be interested to know that there is an Indoor IndiKart Karting which is located in Grange Way.  If you enjoy this, you might also like Rollerworld & Quaser.

The nightlife in Colchester includes the Hippodrome in the High Street, where on Tuesdays and Thursdays all drinks are £1.50 and Route in Queens Street.

There are also resident DJ's in L'Aristos, where Fridays have a Classic Dance/Party theme and Saturdays are simply called, "Party Night."

You can search and book hotels located right near to Colchester United's Cuckoo Farm stadium by clicking HERE.

Aaron Skelton.

A versatile player who was equally at home in defence or midfield, Aaron Skelton endured two spells with Luton Town as he rejoined the Hatters four years and a day after he left to join Colchester United. He had rejoined Luton on a Bosman free transfer from Colchester United during the 2001-02 pre-season. He became Joe Kinnear's first signing of the pre-season following Luton's relegation from Division Two. 

Skelton debuted for Luton in the 1994-95 season and he played in an Anglo-Italian Cup match for the Hatters early in the 1995-96 campaign and he appeared to be about to win promotion to the first-team when he was diagnosed as being out for the season in October with cruciate ligament damage. This was a particularly harsh blow for Skelton after he lost the whole of the 1993-94 season due to injury and he was playing to re-establish a shattered career.

He had another injury-ridden season in the 1996-97 campaign and after just a handful of appearances during the first half of the season, he was released on a free transfer after a total of 13 appearances, 8 of those in the League.

Skelton was snapped up during the 1997 pre-season by Colchester United manager Steve Wignall and he proved to be an excellent acquisition in the 1997-98 season. He operated mainly as a midfielder, but also had to fill in at centre-back at times, and he contributed several vital goals - almost all of which were spectacular long-range strikes, including a volley against Shrewsbury Town, and a 35-yarder against Macclesfield Town. He also had the honour of scoring Colchester's winning goal against their bogey side, Rotherham United, as the U's were promoted to Division Two via the play-off's.

Unfortunately for Skelton, he was plagued by injury again during the 1998-99 season and he only managed 9 appearances in all competitions as The U's enjoyed life in Division Two. He did, however, recover for the 1999-00 season and he was a regular in the side, scoring 4 goals in the process, although Colchester didn't win any of the games in which he scored!

He was again a virtual ever-present in the 2000-01 season, scoring 6 goals, a penalty in a 1-1 home draw with Bury, a consolation goal in a 1-3 defeat at Stoke City, a brace in the 3-1 home win over AFC Bournemouth in September, a penalty in the U's 3-0 win over the Hatters at Layer Road and a penalty in a 2-1 win over Reading.

On signing Aaron, Hatters manager Joe Kinnear said, "Skelts has been Colchester’s Player Of The Year for the past two years and I’m very fortunate to get him on a Bosman, otherwise I’m sure he would have cost a hundred grand plus. The Bosman’s worked in our favour.

"He was a very promising kid here at one stage and he’s delighted to return. I think he’s matured since he left here, and he can play in various positions - he’s a great utility player. He can at a push play full-back, and he can play centre in midfield in a holding role. He’s very solid and reliable, and a good passer of the ball."

Back with his first club for the 2001-02 season, Skelton had a fairly disappointing campaign, despite the fact that the Hatters were promoted back to Division Two at the first attempt - their first promotion campaign for 20 years. He was made team captain and started in the first game of the season, a 2-0 win at Carlisle United, but he picked up an injury during the victory at Brunton Park and missed the first month of the season before returning for a 1-1 home draw with Oxford United on September 8th 2001. He played in the next two games, a 2-1 win at York City and a 1-1 home draw with Lincoln City - with Aaron netting the goal against the Imps with a well-taken header. However, injury struck again and he missed another month of the season, returning in a 3-0 home win over Swansea City at the end of October. Appearing in the next 4 matches as a right-back, Skelton struggled to find form with many supporters believing he was playing out of position. Injured yet again at the end of November, he featured only once more in the first-team during the remainder of the season - playing 58 minutes of a 2-1 home win over York City.

A very disappointing season for Skelton, he was beset by injuries yet again during his Luton career. He did, however, show his versatility when fit though, as he played at right-back, in central defence, on the right of midfield and in the centre of midfield.

He had another injury-jinxed season during the 2002-03 campaign, as his unfortunate knack for being on the treatment table during his entire career with Luton continued.

He missed the first two months of the season through injury and returned to fitness in mid-October, his first appearance of the campaign coming in a 2-1 home win over Cheltenham Town.

He remained in the side for the next four matches, in a 2-1 victory at Oldham Athletic and a 1-1 home draw with eventual champions Wigan Athletic – a game in which he scored after 24 minutes to give the Hatters the lead, only for Jason De Vos to equalise after 88 minutes for the visitors. However, after an excellent 1-0 win at Crewe Alexandra, Skelton was hit by another injury as the Hatters went down 0-3 at Northampton Town.

Ten days later, he was back in the squad, as he played in a 4-3 win at neighbours Stevenage Borough in the LDV Vans Trophy Second Round. However, he was once more struck by injury and it forced him to sit out the next five months.

He returned to the first-team squad as an 88th minute substitute in a 5-0 win at his former club Colchester United in late April, and after further substitute appearances in a 1-1 home draw with Stockport County, and a 1-2 loss at Swindon Town on the final day of the season, he was released by manager Joe Kinnear.

Just as his first spell at Kenilworth Road had been blighted by injuries, his second spell had been, too. With Kinnear deciding he needed some fresh faces to push for a promotion place during the 2003-04 season, Skelton was one of six players who were told that their contracts would not be renewed and he began the search for a new club having made 17 League appearances during his second spell with Luton, and 25 in total.

Having had an unsuccessful trial with AFC Bournemouth, Skelton eventually signed for Non-League side Havant & Waterlooville for the 2003-04 season.