Barrow and Holker Street

This is an old-fashioned lower league ground up near the Lake District. I enjoyed a lovely visit for a League Two match (August, 30th 2025). The roads in for the early start were busy in a few places, adding thirty minutes to my journey from Lancashire.

I had a little bit of trouble finding the ticket office; the nearby signs seem to point in the wrong direction. Once there I got a £24 ticket with the home fans, standing. A shed near the entrance provider refreshments and I got a sausage roll and tea (£2.50) before the match and again at half time with no queues. The ground has standing on two sides and a few small seating stands on one side. The fourth side had buildings but not real stands. I parked on the streets though probably a lot further away than most. I enjoy a walk. The local fans were quiet and out shouted by the Fleetwood mob; despite there number being ten percent of the home fans. The match was decided after a red card for the locals on the 10th minute. Barrow did fight back at the end but a solitary goal for FTFC was enough.

Sincil Bank and the Imps

We enter the digital age as we get 'e-tickets' for this one. I stuck them in my e-wallet which works fine. We stayed in the centre; a hotel next to the castle. The ground has a hotchpotch of stands. The opposite side to us was occupied by a stand that while high only covers half he length of the pitch. We had seats in the biggest side stand full of home fans. We were in a top corner with great views; excepting after home goals or substitutions when fans were apt to stand-up and block the pitch view.

The facilities in the stand included the usual food bars and a couple of TV screens for pre-match entertainment. Food and drink were nothing special; Pukka pies, chocolates and the usual drinks but the staff were very friendly and helpful. At £27 the seats were priced pretty typically for these days. The standing fans down the other end of the GBM stand where we were seated made a reasonable noise but I suspect the visiting Green Army were noisier when their team warranted it. The game itself was very entertaining and nearly ended in a draw after early looking one sided.

Carrow Road and a Canary for a day

A special kind of visit, 2024, as my wife surprised me with a special package. Champagne reception, meal in Delia's and watched the game from behind glass and 'The Top of the Terrace'. The match itself was rather messy in the first half but improved after the break to bring us three goals for the home team and a consolidation for the Potters. The stadium is a modest Championship level ground with a hotel stuck in one corner. All the stands vary in size and layout with boxes in three of them. We parked about ten minutes from the ground in a council pay and display. Difficult to comment on the food as we enjoyed some special fare but I'm guessing it was equally as good in other outlets.

Weatherby Road, Harrogate Town get sunburnt

So this started at the club shop trying to buy tickets. Took a bit of convincing them my wife and I weren't associated with the away team. A small ground so we had to stand and joined the Black Sheep contingent. An afternoon in the sun follwoing a pleasant walk from the town centre. A very different feel to the atmosphere and character of Harrogate town centre. I have to say this was the quietest home crowd I have witnessed. Even the late cosolation goal didn't generate much noise. The away space was full, all six hundred places taken up while the total crowd was 2,933. Most fans enjoyed some mushy peas with their burger or vegan slice; others had a hot dog. We had a hot beverage and a piece of confectionery. There was no car park though some local parking looked possible. We had stayed over to enjoy a wander around the town and so had our vehicle parked in the centre. After the match we enjoyed some evening food at a lovely fifties diner. The general feeling is much more of a non-league venue despite this being their second year back in the League. The team do not have much to play for at this point in the season. Not strictly safe from relagation but a reasonable gap will probably be enough. Never really likely to win they only started to look good when a few late substitues came on to add some energy into the fray. My wife liked number 30, Power particularly. Overall nice small ground so some planning required for any visit.

I found their New Den

Not a season starter but still, Lampard had brought his Derby along for a match. The ground is a modern four stand stadium of no originality but it is functional. The food is similarly unadventurous. PG Tips at £2.20. The crown though are special and made for a great atmosphere and some loud local support. It was their day.

The ground has a lovely rubbish burning power station next door but it isn't a terrible looker.

I sat up in the upper stand of the Barry Kitchener Stand amongst some of the older fans I would guess and the commentary was the usual affair.
Travelling across London by tube and getting out at Cananda Water gives a 20-30 minute walk. Others used the over ground railway that stops much nearer but I had a travel card with my rail ticket so underground for me.
I did once drop a friend off for a match at the old ground but the new one works fine for me.

Mariners

Grimsby and Clethorpes day out!

Britannia Joy

Oh, they renamed it - who can keep up?

One of joys of a special ticket is a decent sit down lunch and more important in November in Stoke, shelter from the weather. It is decent enough ground but getting away from the car parks is painful after the match.
The lounge have a fun route up to the seats.

Into The Valley

So my first attempt failed becuase they decided late in the day to restrict ticket sales.  I heard locals ahead of me in the queue complaining. I bought a ticket for a later game.  I walked to the ground from the tube station at the dome. It was rather cold so I had to  stop off at a store on route to purchase an extra layer - British weather hey.
I was in the upper tier west stand. Pie and mash looked to be on offer but no it would be another 40 minutes before that was ready; it was already gone two and I was starving. So after tea and a wait I joined the queue again for my pie and mash. No pies left - unless I wanted chicken - fine. Mustard mash, gravy, and pie - not bad if a little late and rushed.

Finally - Pie and Mash

The seats were good and given Charlton's current woes the crowd was pretty good. Football wise they could have got something from the game but you could see why they went down later.

The main entrance

Nice ground rather big for their current status but seem to good local support. It is a bit unbalanced. One end dwarfs the other and the sides don't compare much better. Still I recommend a visit.

KC and the Sunshine Ground

One Hull of a ground! Well no bad, at least it has some character. Easy enough to find if not a short journey. I parked at the stadium, £5 to park, and walked through the wooded park wherein lies the stadium.

I got myself a ticket in the East Stand, row 'z' and then made use of the council toilets next to the child play area. Fans have to wait until 2pm before the turnstiles open so I could get in and have some lunch. Tea, hot dog, wedges and special offer packet of Pringles.
As advertised it took half an hour to get back to the A63, a mere two miles from the ground. A bigger crowd would presumably lengthen this wait as the car park didn't look full to capacity.
The stadium is a modern eclipse with one side rising slightly higher than the others. Not a massive capacity and the visitors, Preston, attracted some seventeen thousand crowd. The different stands seem to have some ritual identity chant before the game. Decent enough ground and I would have liked to see more of the local attractions, The Deep and the bridge.