Drove and parked about a mile away. Got kettled by police on Olympic way for 15 minutes and then took an hour to get to M25. After that it was plain sailing. Got home to BN3 for 10 which isn't bad as we stayed to clap the players off.
Taxis at Brighton Station were carnage, as rail replacement buses had taken their rank, instead based in the car park queue. Tempers were frayed as queue jumpers strolled to grab taxis before they got to the queue.
So we walked down into the New England quarter and grabbed one there.
Not sure of the exact time but I had already got back to Hove and cancelled my parking for the final by 22:05, when the email pinged through. Left exactly as the winning penalty went in, walked briskly to the car parked about 15 minutes walk away and didn’t encounter too much traffic at all on the way home.
Back in Bexhill at 22:30 thanks to a combination of trains to Orpington and then driving back from there. Using Wembley Stadium to Marylebone after the game reduced waiting times considerably.
About midnight. On the Supporters club coach, which picked up and dropped us off in Peacehaven. We left at 11.00 so a 13 hour day for us.
I dislike Wembley. The worst part of coach travel was waiting for coaches in front of us to leave. It took over an hour to get out of Pink Parking.
Took an age to get out of the stadium as we were towards the back of block 550. Essentially the rest of the block filtered out first before we even got to move from our row. The stadium was all but empty by this point.
The crowds made it a slowish walk back to the car park near Wembley Central and then Waze sending us via all the 20mph back roads with brutal speed bumps to avoid the clogged main roads.
Got to Fleet Services on the M3 around 21:15 for a quick Burger King dinner before dropping my daughter off in Winchester to return to university lectures today, and then continuing on to Worthing.
Cracked open a bottle of red, and had my first drink of the day, around midnight.
Been to Wembley countless times. Both the old and new and that was by far the worst I've experienced getting away from the ground.
We gave up on the queue for the tube and went in the pub by Wembley Arena for 3 pints. We were able to walk straight onto the tube but they were still knackered. Had to change at Baker Street to get to KX only to find the northern line was up the wall. Missed the 10:25 train by minutes so had to wait until the 11:25. Managed to get the last cab off the rank so got home to Crowborough at 12:30.
Arrived back in Oxfordshire 11 am this morning, few drinks in JJ moons high rd after the game and crashed out premier inn Wembley Park , shame about the result great day though
11:15ish Hollingdean- and I think I had one of the less painful journeys. I got the metropolitan line around 8:50 to Great Portland Street (stuck next to a gobby manc tw@ slinging insults at Brighton fans), it was quicker to get off there and take a short walk to Warren Street, stopped for food and drink at Victoria, took the Gatwick Express at 9:29 and changed for the delayed Thameslink Service around 10 past 10.
Seagull Travel ST26 direct from Uckfield.
Left Wembley Pink Parking at around 8:00 and as every other coach turned left, as signposted, our driver turned right . Somehow we went down a minor road with no traffic, joined an empty main road and wizzed past all the ST coaches stuck going the other way. Through Tottenham and joined the M11 north bound. Then the M25 via Dartford and on to the A21/A26 home. Arrived Uckfield at just after 10:00.
Wembley hosts many evening games and gigs etc. How are you supposed to get anywhere at a remotely sensible time if it's taking 4 hours to get out of Wembley and get to Brighton? How are you supposed to take kids to these matches?
Didn't rush off at the end, wacthed the players leave and was chatting to people, but was still back in Burgess Hill about 9.45 - parked on a driveway off Ealing Road about 25 mins away (longer on the way back due to crowds) which meant missing the worst of the traffic although the A40 was slow. Once off that and on the M25 it was fine. Popped into Cobham services briefly, seemed to be full of Albion shirts.