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Easter Road
(Hibernian)
Address: 12 Albion Place,
Leith,
Edinburgh,
Scotland,
EH7 5QG
Capacity: 20,421 (All-Seater)
A stadium with a simple, four stand layout that works really well. One of the best examples of practicality around.
Sharing a name with the street based a short while away to the west, Easter Road has been home to Hibernian Football Club since the late 19th Century.
Hibs were first formed in 1875, playing matches at a park in southern Edinburgh called the Meadows. In 1880, Hibernian moved across to the Easter Road area of Edinburgh, playing at a ground known as Hibernian Park until they dissolved through financial difficulties in 1891.
Hibernian reformed the following year and acquired a piece of land called Drum Park onto which Easter Road was first built and opened in 1893. The first match Hibs played here was a friendly against Clyde Football Club on 4th February 1893.
Easter Road was originally only rented by Hibernian, and Edinburgh city planners were keen to redevelop the land the ground was based on. It wasn’t until 1922, years after Hibs had considered relocating to Aberdeen, that Easter Road was officially leased to the club for an initial 25 year period.
Easter Road became the first football ground in Britain to host European Cup football when Hibernian entered the inaugural tournament in 1955-56. Floodlight pylons were installed in the 1950s and Hibs become the first Scottish club to install undersoil heating, doing so in 1980.
The most major developments in Easter Road came following the release of the Taylor Report in 1990 which required leading stadiums in Scotland to become all-seater venues. Having originally discussed moving to elsewhere, including the possibility of sharing a ground with city-rivals Heart of Midlothian, Easter Road underwent major work in 1995.
By 2010, all four sides of the stadium had become new, all-seater stands and they together form the Easter Road that you can find in place today.
Location and Getting There
Easter Road is located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, around one mile northeast of the City Centre. The Albert Dock Basin is roughly 1.3 miles away to the north of the ground and the Scottish Parliament Building is less than 0.8 miles to the southwest.
Murrayfield Stadium, the largest stadium in Scotland and the home to Scottish Rugby Union, is roughly three miles away to the southwest of Easter Road.
The stadium itself is in a fairly built-up area and has a limited number of car parking spaces outside its West Stand.
Whilst it should be possible to find free street parking within Leith, there is no guarantee that it will be close to the ground and so you may find yourself having to walk a fair distance from your car to the stadium. Ensure that you are legally allowed to park at where you have found as well and do not block the drives of any residents.
Easter Road can be easier to reach by rail.
The closest station to the stadium is Edinburgh Waverley, served by ScotRail, Avanti West Coast, LNER, CrossCountry, Caledonian Sleeper and Transpennine Express. It is the main train station within Edinburgh and all services terminate here.
Edinburgh Waverley is located around one mile southwest of Easter Road and the walk from here to the stadium takes between 25 and 30 minutes depending on how quickly you go.
You can make this journey from the station quicker by walking to Princes Street and taking the Number 22 or Number 25 bus services, which stop off on the street named Easter Road that is a short walk west of the stadium.
Plenty of the buildings directly west of Easter Road are tall and packed together, which means that you often are unable to see parts of the stadium’s exterior until you are very close to it.
Outside the Stadium
Those heading to Easter Road from Edinburgh Waverley will typically approach the stadium along first Albion Road and then Albion Place.
To your right on Albion Place is a chapel and a brick building which houses Hibernian’s Main Ticket Office.
Continuing in a clockwise direction from here along Albion Place will bring you to Easter Road’s North Stand.
The North Stand is better known as the Famous Five Stand. It is named in reference to the Hibernian forward line of Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull and Willie Ormond, who all played together for the club in the late 1940s and early 1950s. All of the players featured significantly during an incredibly successful period for Hibernian which saw the club win league titles in 1948, 1951 and 1952. The Famous Five also contributed for Hibernian in European football, helping the club to the Semi-Finals of the first ever European Cup in 1955-56, where they lost out to French team Stade de Reims. Five-man forward lines were very common at the time in association football, and the Famous Five would score 700 goals collectively during their time at Hibernian.
The exterior of the Famous Five Stand consists mostly of a green brickwork base, with white panels and corrugated iron higher up, and green cantilever coming down from the top. The stand’s overall shape isn’t fully rectangular, with the side next to the northwest corner partly triangular in shape before becoming fully straight at the end. Hibernian’s Club Shop protrudes out of the Famous Five Stand’s centre, and the Season Ticket Holders Bar Entrance is based near to here.
Turnstiles for the Famous Five Stand itself are based towards either end of the green brickwork base, with Disabled Access Entrances also available.
Most of the stadium’s open northeast corner is sectioned off by a large green wall, and continuing round from here eventually brings you to the East Stand.
It is very similar in height to the adjacent Famous Five Stand, using an exterior that consists of a brown brickwork base, with large white panels and corrugated iron higher up, and green cantilever coming down from the top.
There are some Club Office Entrances on this side of the stadium, with turnstiles based along the stand’s brickwork base.
The area immediately outside the East Stand is sometimes used for car parking spaces.
The stadium’s southeast corner is open, with a green wall connecting the East Stand to the adjacent South Stand and preventing you from seeing the pitch inside.
The South Stand at Easter Road is very similar in shape and design to the Famous Five Stand opposite.
Its exterior consists mostly of a green brickwork base, with white panels and corrugated iron higher up, and green cantilever coming down from the top. The stand’s overall shape isn’t fully rectangular, with the side next to the southeast corner partly triangular in shape before becoming fully straight at the end. The very centre of the exterior protrudes outwards and you can find an executive entrance near to here.
Turnstiles for the South Stand itself are spread across the green brickwork base, with a Disabled Access Entrance also available. The turnstiles next to the stadium’s open southwest corner are for away supporters.
A green wall runs along the edge of Albion Road in the stadium’s open southwest corner, and stadium equipment is often stored in this space between the South Stand and the adjacent West Stand.
The West Stand is considered the Main Stand at Easter Road.
Its exterior consists of a brown brickwork base, with large white panels and corrugated iron higher up, and green cantilever coming down from the top. The lower part of the exterior contains rows of windows that have many Club Offices based inside, and the Main Reception Entrance is based right in the centre of the stand, either side of two brick structures with the Hibernian Club Badge on them.
Turnstiles for the West Stand itself are based along the brickwork base, either side of these brick structures.
The Main Car Park is immediately outside Easter Road’s West Stand, protected by buildings along Albion Road.
Continuing clockwise from here will bring you back onto Albion Place, heading past the Chapel and Main Ticket Office Building along the way.
It is certainly possible to walk the entire way around the stadium’s immediate vicinity before you head inside.
Inside the Stadium
The Famous Five Stand is divided into two tiers of similar size, with a row of executive boxes separating the two levels from one another.
The upper tier is further divided into two sections, with the larger seating blocks at the back and a couple of rows of seats based down at the front. You can freely get between these two sections though.
The majority of seats in this stand are coloured green, the only exception being the central block in the upper tier which instead contains black seating that is for executive use.
Because of the stand’s shape, the upper tier seating block next to the stadium’s northwest corner is triangular in shape as opposed to rectangular, and does not go back as far as the others in this tier.
Your view from anywhere inside the Famous Five Stand is perfectly clear because of the cantilever roof above, and large windshields at either end protect every single row inside.
There is a large advertising board in the northeast corner between the Famous Five Stand and the adjacent East Stand.
The East Stand consists of a single tier of entirely green seating.
Down towards the front, at the northern end of the stand, are flat platforms for disabled supporters to use. Space which can hold a matchday camera is up at the very back.
Your view from anywhere inside the East Stand is perfectly clear because of the cantilever roof above, and large windshields at either end protect every single row inside.
There is another large advertising board in the southeast corner between the East Stand and the adjacent South Stand.
The South Stand is very similar in shape and design to the Famous Five Stand opposite.
It is divided into two tiers of similar size, with a few executive boxes separating the two levels from one another.
The upper tier is further divided into two sections, with the larger seating blocks at the back and a couple of rows of seats based down at the front. You can freely get between these two sections though.
Unlike the Famous Stand though, every single seat in the South Stand is coloured green.
Because of the stand’s shape, the upper tier seating block next to the stadium’s southeast corner is triangular in shape as opposed to rectangular, and does not go back as far as the others in this tier.
Your view from anywhere inside the South Stand is perfectly clear because of the cantilever roof above, and large windshields at either end protect every single row inside.
The West Stand is divided into two tiers of similar size, with an executive lounge separating the two levels from one another.
Almost all of the seats in the lower tier are green, with the exception being seats at the very back which are instead coloured black and for executive use.
Hibernian’s dugouts and tunnel are based right down at the front of the lower tier, with the changing rooms located inside.
The outer blocks of the upper tier are coloured green, with the inner blocks coloured black and for executive use. Small blocks of seating up at the very back of the upper tier are green in colour however, and up behind here is the area which holds the matchday camera.
Your view from anywhere inside the West Stand is perfectly clear because of the cantilever roof above, and large windshields at either end protect every single row inside.
Away Fans
Away fans are housed behind the goal in the South Stand.
The smallest of away crowds will be based in part of the stand’s lower tier, with rows of stewards used to segregate this away section from any home supporters based nearby.
Larger away followings can be given the blocks above in these in the upper tier as well, and the very biggest away crowds can be given the whole South Stand to themselves, with home supporters housed in the other three sides of Easter Road.
Regardless of the size of the away section, supporters are given a perfectly clear view of the action from any seat, with large windshields at either end that provide protection for every row.
The away turnstiles are typically the ones on the South Stand’s exterior that are near to the stadium’s open southwest corner.
The stand’s overall shape isn’t fully rectangular, with the side next to the northwest corner partly triangular in shape before becoming fully straight at the end.
Matchday Pubs
Pubs available to supporters on a matchday include*:
-The Four In Hand (218 Easter Road, EH7 5QH) (Home and Non-Rival Away Supporters) (Located west of Easter Road)
-The Harp and Castle (296 Leith Walk, EH6 5BU) (Typically Home and Away Supporters)
-The Iona Bar (203 Easter Road, EH6 8LF) (Home and Non-Rival Away Supporters) (Located northwest of Easter Road)
-The Mash Tun Bier House and Kitchen (154 Easter Road, EH7 5RL) (Popular with Away Supporters) (Located west of Easter Road itself)
-Middletons Bar (69 Easter Road, EH7 5PW) (Popular with Away Supporters) (Located southwest of Easter Road itself)
-Robbies (367 Leith Walk, EH6 8SE) (Typically Home and Away Supporters)
-The Safari Lounge (21 Cadzow Place, EH7 5SN) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located south of Easter Road itself)
-The Sportsters Bar (1A Market Street, EH1 1DE) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located very close to Edinburgh Waverley Station)
*The pubs and bars on Easter Road to the west of the stadium are generally very popular with away supporters.
Overview
The green side of Scotland’s capital is a stadium that really doesn’t have any faults.
Views are excellent from any of its four sides, with windshields that protect every row in any tier. There’s good accessibility around the ground before you head inside, and though there aren’t any train stations very close by, Edinburgh’s main station is within good distance and along a fairly simple route.
Easter Road is one of Scotland’s largest football stadiums and home to one of its most iconic clubs. It has a simple design, but it works so well.
A must-visit for Scottish football enthusiasts.
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