The Optima Stadium – Weston-super-Mare FC

A car journey to an adjacent car park for £3 (card only) parking and a tidy tier six ground to watch an end of season clash to confirm a play-off place; April 25th, 2026. We watched from the side lines with hundreds of locals. There were two stands, the big one behind a goal and mainly standing. A smaller one with seats near the centre line. There were a few places to get refreshments but mainly meat oriented, lots of cider (it’s Somerset) and tea and coffee.

The Meadow – Brimscombe & Thrupp FC

March 21st, a sunny Saturday in 2026. Another Tier 10 ground and again a walk to get there; this time stroll with my wife along the canal. Excellent atmosphere and very friendly staff. Both a bar and folk selling refreshments, very homemade and edible. The match seemed quite tight until the latter part when the Lillywhites took over to put four past the visitors in response to their single effort. We both really liked this little ground, nestled next to the canal and a main road to London. It has trees on two sides and a mound on another. The club house and very small main stand are on the road side.

Stonehouse Town - Oldends Lane

So, a really low league ground and a crowd of a mere 89 but a great atmosphere and lovely folks running the club. Excellent cafe, who sponsor the ground, Ben’s Takeaway. The couple serving provided a lovely bacon bap and beaker of tea. I sat in the main stand and enjoyed a competitive draw, one each. Seven pounds entrance fee. Played in late January, 31st 2026. A pleasant 2 mile walk along the canal got me most of the way before cutting through the back of an estate in the local town to the ground.

The FA Cup is Back... to Kennilworth Road

Kennilworth Road - October 31st, 2025 Luton Town 4 - 3 Forest Green Rovers (FAC1) All the magic of a first round FA CUp match to enjoy; apart from the result. I was there as an away fan in the safe standing behind the goal. You certainly know if the ball has hit the back of the net, and it did five times at my end. I visited the bar for a swift half before finding the refreshment hut where a classic Pukka Chicken Balti Pie was enjoyed. Then to my standing spot. It was a drizzly night and the home fans were not packing the stands - maybe the live TV coverage or opposition put them off. Anyway, a crowd of 4,511 on the night. The ground is a bit of mess of stands and floodlight legs and TV gantries. I guess ome of it is due to the Premier League demands of a ground. They are trying to build a new stadium as they currently languish down in League One. Not real parking I could see. Travelling by train wouldn't have worked due to time to get across London so glad could go in a fans coach, supporting my local team.

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.

Cold-chester no more hot-chester!

A scorcher of an opening match at Colchester's stadium. Temperatures were hot enough that even in a shaded stand tee shirts were worn for decency not warm. I used the excellent park and ride just over the other side of the A12. Asked if I was there for football I was charged £3 to park and walked the short distance following signs marked for football fans to the stadium.

Weston Homes Community Stadium Colchester

After purchasing a ticket for the west stand at £27 I walked around and got some food from under the east stand; open to the public without giving access to the stand itself. Tea was the cheapest I have encountered in the last five years of a solitary pound. The stadium is new pleasant enough, nothing special but it suits them.
The mascot was on his game and I would say a bald eagle. The football was quite vibrant and the four goals were enough to make for an entertaining game.
After the game I made an easy exit to the next door dual carriageway and off the home. I good experience and can recommend a visit.

Elland Road signs off with a complete lack of goals

Not a bad journey.  Easy parking though getting out proved a slow business after I used a car park close to the motorway junction rather than the club's itself. The ground was rather full and it took two attempts to find the right ticket office but I managed it in time. Nothing in the shop for a neutral.

The food was the usual offerings. The ground was impressively full for a match of no consequence. Leeds has a few motorways to navigate but they do aid an easy enough entry and exit.
It is quite an expensive ticket considering the fare on display; £41 for the East central lower stand. The match wasn't the best, or the worst but produced no goals. The stadium shows more about their past than present but I think they are going in the right direction. Worth a visit footie fans.

Oakwell Sun

I arrived early for this dead rubber and bought a ticket from the new
looking part of this ground. Wandering around to the stand presented a somewhat older looking façade. And taking my seat up in the West Upper Stand very much confirmed the age of some parts; wooden seats for a start.

I enjoyed a hot and tea outside while waiting for the turnstiles to open from a
van; £5:50 and nice enough. Inside the ground it was PG tips with my kit-kat.
Looking around the stadium it feels quite modern and a large ground for league
one; giving away Barnsley's one appearance in the Premier League perhaps.
Despite the sun baking us in the open, up in the stand with a cold northerly wind I had to do my coat up to keep away the chills. The Tykes rescued a point at the end after Peterborough had a man sent off and the football wasn't too bad.

Coming off the M1 I had followed signs for the Football Club which guided me around the centre and to a car park near the Metrodome; the ground was a couple of hundred yards away down a grass area used for parking by visitors.  Getting away was easy enough.  All-in-all not a bad ground. I wish the Tykes well next season.

Leyton in Brisbane

A mid-week match is a different affair. The atmosphere can feel quite different. For this tie I would say the main difference was the cold. The away fans were happy and quite noisy but then they were 'The Bradford Boys'!.
Whilst in the queue for a ticket a lovely local was offering a spare ticket so I got to enjoy this lovely ground for free, Thanks.

The crowd were great - unfortunately their team could not delivery the goals and Bradford took the win. I like the ground and I travelled there by tube so parking so not an issue but there looked to be some nearby parking facilities for the few that came that way.  And some seem to park on the streets around.
The food was fine, the usual fare and prices. The ground is unusual in having a block of flats in each corner and some stands that have other buildings as integral parts; such as a college and more flats.

Ewes and Stags get even

Well the Abbey Stadium is not going to be one of my favourites based on today's visit. Football wasn't too bad but I failed to find the car park so spent twenty minutes trying to find some street parking instead - along side the rest of the crowd by the look of things. The poeple were fine and the fayre pretty good. There was one particularly noisly child whose volume far outweighed the quality of his commentary.
I remembered the home team playing in plain blue but I was worng and the U's colours are yellow and black (though some describe this as amber and black). Whatever they came from behind twice to sucure a draw and the posiibility of progress in the cup.

The ground is distinctly nineteenth century, save for one new stand, and the ticket office was a portacabin. Given their recent return from non-league status the ground isn't bad. It has a perfectly decent capacity for any lower league side nearing ten thousand. For this second round cup match though the crowd only rose to a bit shy of four thousand. The various stands make up a motely collection and give a very open feel to the stadium.
It took me a good while to get out of Cambridge and back to the ring road (A14) and hence homeward bound. This may have been Christmas traffic all I know is that progress was slow for this first hour. I wish them luck in the replay and with their plans to improve the stadium.

FA Cup Fun Starts Here for me in 2014

In 2007 The Tigers lost their ground to quite a lot of water so this match was played at Whaddon Road. Fourth Qualifying round of the FA Cup and last gate before you get to the real thing!

I was with some six hundred Green Army followers and the family. It was a good match not decided until the final five minutes. Some two thousand came along to enjoy it; including roughly seven hundred fellow Rovers fans.
We enjoyed three goals in the first half and the Tigers were putting in a great effort.  And in the second half they continued keeping the match in the balance unti Norwood came onto knock two past their no. 1. Very enjoyable day out I must say.

Athletic or Batteries?

I remember Oldham Batteries - they seem to have been taken over now. I was late arriving at the ground and dropped on a park car park just as someone left. I then raced across Boundary Park, the playing fields, to the ground where eventually I entered through a cash turnstile (£20) to a seat next to the pitch.
They are building a new stand with was there in part, framework up and a few rows of concrete presumably for seating. So I visit two grounds in a row being redeveloped - ooh!

I didn't need fedding when I arrived as I had eaten out an hour earlier so just had a cold drink from the food bar.  It seemed to be selling long hot dogs that at least two youths were enjoying when I bought my Fanta. The ground lacked a scoreboard I could see and there were no programme sellers inside so I came away without a ticket stub or prgramme. Or memories of any goals either. It wasn't a terrible match but the finishing was poor. Still the poeple were friendly enough. I'd go back.