Scenic Walks To Football Grounds

[Nocturnal Submission]

So, what are our favourite football-focused perambulations? As most of the bigger grounds are in built-up areas, we're probably looking at walks through, or by, parks and rivers and perhaps stunning architecture rather than through glorious countryside, but I'm sure we'll have some of the latter when it comes to trips to non-league venues. I suspect that the likes of Big Boobs and FIRE! and Merlin the happy pig are going to smash this thread.

I used to love trips to the City Ground. I like Nottingham, I like the stadium and I used to enjoy crossing the Trent to get there. Craven Cottage usually scores highly when it comes to its environs as for many supporters getting there involves a Thames-side walk through Bishop's Park and a chance to see where Patrick Troughton got speared by the lightening conductor in The Omen.

Stretching the definition of a stroll to the ground a bit, when I lived in Wimbledon I often walked to Stamford Bridge, which used to involve walking through Wimbledon Village, alongside the common and Putney Heath, down Putney Hill, over the Thames and then down the New King's Road and over Walham Green. Bit of a schlep (1hr 20mins on a good day) but very pleasant when the sun was out.

[Gangster Octopus]

Yeah, the Craven Cottage thing was fun back in my walking days...

[elguapo4]

Another vote for Fulham, Bray Wanderers is pleasantly situated but the train station is 30 metres from the ground so it's not much of a stroll, but if you get there early, you can go for a pint in one of the seafront pubs and enjoy a stroll along the promenade.

[ad hoc]

Depends where you start from I guess, but it's hard work to find a bad walk to the Artemio Franchi in Florence. When Espanyol were playing at the Olympic Stadium that offered loads of great walk potential, either up from Plaza Espanya, or along the top from the Funicular. (Though the stadium was crap. I imagine now the stadium is a million times better and the walk significantly less appealing)

[ursus arctos]

Fulham, Fiorentina and Espanol (as they were then) were going to be three of my nominations, but I will add the Sinigalia in Como, which is not only strikingly situated, but is best approached by walking along the edge of the lake from either the Nord railway station to the east or the FS station to the west.



The walks through more or less genuine protected forests to any of the German Waldstadion also deserves a mention, though several of them have been overdeveloped in recent years. Union's is now the best in the top two divisions.

[Duncan Gardner]

Along the Shore Road, past Alexandra Park and the Grove to Seaview. Stopping for refreshments at the Times Bar. Fellow local Carl Frampton used to follow successful fights in Vegas or New York by treating his fans to a beer "But it's not half as good as the Times".

(I think he was fibbing. I certainly am )

[The Mighty Trin]

Not in the spirit of this thread, but this beauty is on Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, which I stomped all over last June. No stands, but does come with goalpoaching sheep.

[Anton Gramscescu]

This is where furtho needs to post up some photos of the last leg of the walk to the Nack5 stadium in Omiya...

[Kowalski]

Newtown, when you walk through the park to get there from town.

Christleton, near Chester. It's set in some lovely countryside.

I liked the walk from Genoa Centrale to a Sampdoria match. it was just what I hoped walking through urban Italy would feel like.

[Bored Of Education]

Much as I love it, no-one would call the walk to Twerton Park 'scenic'. It takes you through some of the most uncustomary unscenic routes in Bath.

I reckon the boat to Hampton & Richmond must be fairly scenic but I still haven't managed to do it so will have to take Ray's word for it.

[Kevin S]

Moo.

[Third rate Leszno]

Like ad hoc says, it really depends on your start point. I've walked to Plainmoor from the pubs on the hillside overlooking the bay at Babbacombe and it was lovely - approaching from the town side... not so much.

Sunderland (SoL, but also Roker) when preceded by a walk along the seafront at Seaburn is quite enjoyable. Despite both of them being eminently dislikeable clubs, the walks along leafy country lanes to TNS and the old ground of AFC Fylde (Kellamergh Park) were pleasant on a nice day.

My winner would be the Al Lang stadium though - home of Tampa Bay Rowdies. Nice selection of bars on the walk down past the marina too.

[Third rate Leszno]

Re: Kev's pic - I might be dodging the cowshit on that walk myself on Saturday.

[RobM]

Mossley, cracking if thoroughly knackering given it's like going up the north face of the Eiger to get there.

Up here Petershill in Springburn, good urban background though it's becoming less impressive as 'progress kicks in, used to be great views down the hill to St. Rollox railway works, Newburgh's a nice one, right on the banks of the Tay. Dunbar if you go via the harbours and the Volunteer Arms from the station. Aberdeen, up and over the hill,always liked coming down the ramp from the station in Cowdenbeath and going via Wee Jimmies.

Waiting on the obverse 'Worst Walks Back from Grounds' thread so I can nominate Oriental de Lisboa, think my aortic dissection was less of a worry and pain in the arse.

[Sits]

To and from PSV’s ground in driving sleet was pretty dour.

[Various Artist]

Newtown, when you walk through the park to get there from town.

This just propelled me to search out my photos from December 2004, when I actually took this route. I'm not sure I have documentary evidence of the walk to any other football ground, but I do this one. And very scenic it was too.

Surreally, though, I was participating in the annual charity Newtown Santa Run at the time, along with 4000-and-something others dressed the same, so my photo from the park looks like this:




The route of the run not only led into the football ground but right around the perimeter of the pitch. My tiny-bit-swish 35mm pocket camera at the time had a panoramic mode (i.e. it only opened the shutter enough to get a letterbox effect, as below), so I snapped the scene like this:

[Janik]

Re: Kev's pic - I might be dodging the cowshit on that walk myself on Saturday.

Personally I was going to nominate Cambridge as the antithesis of this. It may be through a meadow (actually a common) but there is nothing scenic about the traipse from the station or the city centre. Particularly if you go the other side of the tracks from the cowfield, i.e. through the retail parks. But that route does at least go past some pubs in the first (mile-and-a-)half. Actually, given what Bored said it sounds like the walk to the ground in Cambridge is very much like Bath, i.e. missing all of the impressive architecture elsewhere in those cities. Possibly for similar reasons that oikish pursuits like Football got ferreted as far from the nice bits of these places as possible.

A decent one would be from the city centre to the ground in Leicester. A sensible route for that walk would go by the cathedral, then either past the castle or across the de Montfort campus to get to the River Soar which you then follow either up on the embankment or dropping down to a towpath at the waterside for most of the rest of the way to the ground. Lots of home fans approach the ground this way as it connects from sensible parking areas. This route would be a bit of a detour for those coming from the train station though as that is on the other side of the city centre, so possibly not experienced by many away fans.

There must be some nice approaches to Plymouth, seeing as Home Park is not just the traditional name of the stadium but also the name of the park the stadium is located on the edge of. That would be the most vaguely similar to the German Waldstadions, the only one of which I've been to is Kaiserslautern's. Which did seem to involve lots of trekking through woods to get to, but we might have been being directed in a big loop as my only visit to this was for a World Cup match.

[Lang Spoon]

I'm agog at the idea of the approach to Cowdenbeath being thought picturesque. But then I haven't been in East Lothian for a while.

[Janik]

Isn't the stadium in Venice most commonly reached by boat? I've got a memory (from TV not from visiting myself) that it's on a pretty small island.

[Greenlander]

There must be some nice approaches to Plymouth, seeing as Home Park is not just the traditional name of the stadium but also the name of the park the stadium is located on the edge of. That would be the most vaguely similar to the German Waldstadions, the only one of which I've been to is Kaiserslautern's. Which did seem to involve lots of trekking through woods to get to, but we might have been being directed in a big loop as my only visit to this was for a World Cup match.

Just coming along to suggest Plymouth. The walk through Central Park towards the train station is pleasant enough and if you crane your neck there is just about a view of Plymouth Sound and the cliffs of Mount Edgcumbe over in Cornwall. Apart from that it's a pitch-and-putt, a bowling club, a couple of rugby pitches, football pitches and two baseball diamonds. Though it must also be said the city centre looks inviting from this angle, many people have quite a downer on the city, janners more than most. If you do the train straight to Home Park there's not much proper pavement pounding at all.

More picturesque is walking through the avenues of trees if heading back towards where most folk park their cars or the slightly closer pubs of Mutley Plain, but that's probably more a home fan thing. It's quite easy to get lost. I managed it last Saturday and lived right on the edge of the park for 15 years.

[Ray de Galles]

Like ad hoc says, it really depends on your start point. I've walked to Plainmoor from the pubs on the hillside overlooking the bay at Babbacombe and it was lovely - approaching from the town side... not so much.

Sunderland (SoL, but also Roker) when preceded by a walk along the seafront at Seaburn is quite enjoyable. Despite both of them being eminently dislikeable clubs, the walks along leafy country lanes to TNS and the old ground of AFC Fylde (Kellamergh Park) were pleasant on a nice day.

My winner would be the Al Lang stadium though - home of Tampa Bay Rowdies. Nice selection of bars on the walk down past the marina too.

Not hard to work out that used to be a baseball park.

[ursus arctos]

Yes to the boat (though one can also walk, it is just beyond the grounds to the Bienalle).

Not really to the island, as the channel to its left in the photo is artificial and very narrow.

[ursus arctos]

Not hard to work out that used to be a baseball park.

The Spring Training home of the St. Louis Cardinals for half a century (and of the Mets for 25 years)

[JVL]

The Wildparkstadion in Karlsruhe is a long way from train/bus/tram stops and it's a good 15-20 minute walk from pretty much anywhere in the city centre: you can yomp along the four-lane Adenauerring from Durlacher Tor, but if the weather is nice then it's worth getting off the tram at Marktplatz and taking the scenic route instead. This takes you behind the castle, through the Schlosspark and around the lake, through the woods and allotments and then past some training pitches to approach the stadium from the west. Not sure whether this will still be possible once the rebuilding work is finished, though...

[jameswba]

No nominations for the stroll under the Bordesley railway arches and up the Coventry Road to St Andrews? No sense of style, some people.

Gay Meadow will forever be my English nomination, especially if coming from Shrewsbury town-centre down the steeply winding Wyle Cop and across the English Bridge. The other way through Abbey Foregate wasn't far behind.

In Scotland, what about the walk from Arbroath Harbour along the front to Gayfield? A bit wild when the weather is bad, admittedly.

In Germany, Nurnberg is a fine walk, though taking in some very grim history, if you get off the tram by the former Nazi Congress Hall (now Documentation Centre) and go across the park. This can also take in part of the old Zeppenfeld.

In the Czech Rep, the best walk from Olomouc station to Sigma's ground takes in Olomouc's gothic cathedral, lots of baroque churches, cobbled streets and the main square, all of which are beautiful. I don't think Banik Ostrava fans get marched this way by local police on their annual visits.