Where to park and how to get to the Back to the Beginning all-day show in Birmingham using public transport
Thousands will descend on Birmingham to see the final Black Sabbath gig(Image: Mirrorpix)
The countdown is on for Black Sabbath’s farewell gig and thousands of people are set to descend upon Birmingham from across the world to watch it.
Taking place on Saturday, July 5, the Back To The Beginning all-day show features a star-studded line-up including Metallica, Anthrax, Pantera, Slayer, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice In Chains and Lamb Of God.
If you’re heading to Villa Park Stadium, you’ll need to know all the details on where to park, shuttle buses and train services as you’re likely to need to use a combination to get there.
We’ve pulled all the information together for you in this guide.
Read more: Black Sabbath at Villa Park – line-up, times, set list and tickets
Read more: All the Birmingham places heavy metal fans need to visit during Black Sabbath weekend
Allow plenty of time to get to the stadium as there’s going to be congestion in what is an already built-up area.
Where to park for the Black Sabbath gig at Villa Park Stadium
There’s no parking at the stadium itself.
The easiest way to get there will be to park in Birmingham city centre and then jump on one of the official shuttle buses.
Alternatively, you could use third party parking, if you want to book in advance. You’ll find them through the Aston Villa Parking website and Countrywide Management Solutions here
Shuttle buses to Villa Park for the Sabbath gig
Shuttle buses will be dropping concert-goers off at Aston Hall, which is just over the road from the stadium.
You can catch the shuttle bus from from Dudley Street, near to New Street Station.
They will be leaving every ten minutes and the last coach will leave Villa Park at midnight to get back into the city centre.
It will cost £7.50 one way, or £15 return. Book a slot via the Aston Villa Parking website, or you can book on the day.
Trains to Villa Park Stadium
West Midlands Railway has pledged to put on extra services to cope with the volume of people making their way to the Black Sabbath gig by train.
A good option would be to park in the city centre, at Bullring or one of the nearby car parks, then jump on the train from Birmingham New Street Station to Aston, which is a very short journey.
There’ll be extra services added for journeys towards Witton and Aston stations and they will run later into the evening than normal.
The last train towards Rugeley Trent Valley from Witton will be at 11:32pm.
If you’re heading back to the city centre, trains will run regularly from Aston until 11:52pm.
There are ticket machines at the station, or you can pre-book. Staff should be available to help at the stations too.
Taxis to get to Villa Park
For those wanting to book a cab, there will be a taxi rank at Aston Parish Church, adjacent to the stadium.
Accessible parking at the Black Sabbath gig
Aston Villa can help if you have accessibility needs, ring their ticket office on 0333 323 1874 or email their accessibility team at accessibility@avfc.co.uk
Pre-bookable parking will be available at Tesco Aston, Aston Villa Inner City Academy and at Yew Tree School, you’ll just need to arrange and then leave your blue badge and parking ticket.
Road closures around Villa Park for the Black Sabbath gig
There will be road closures around Villa Park ahead of, during and after the Black Sabbath gig.
Read our full guide to road closures and diversions here to make sure you don’t get stuck in diverted traffic.
BirminghamLive will be bringing you the news from inside and outside Villa Park Stadium on July 5.
And we’re updating our Black Sabbath guide with new information as it is announced.