I'm sure I won't be the last person to put forward Craven Cottage. A stroll through Bishop's Park early or late in the season when the weather is nice is quite pleasant, as is looking out over the Thames from the away end (mind you, less so if you happen to be in the uncovered seats near the corner flag and it's pissing down).

For pre-match 'buzz' I'd also nominate Tottenham and Sheffield United. Both are the exact opposite of Bolton. Alight at Horwich Parkway, cross over a busy dual carriageway, then either walk 20 minutes to find a good pub (and a fine one it is though I forget the name) or pop into the retail park next door to visit the Megabowl or Asda superstore.

Hull's MASSIVE footbridge was a new one for me this weekend.

I really like Huddersfield's ground nestling in the hillside

Three roundabouts, three dual carriageways, a Mothercare, an Asda, a Blockbuster Video, a McDonald's and a Burger King, and a pet supplies superstore. Two retails parks. No houses, no pubs. Very, very strange.

Not been to many 'new towns' then?

They are exactly as you describe them here. The residential areas are 'villages' dotted around and a short(ish) distance from the centre. All you get is millions of cars. In the 40s and 50s who knew? Not the town planners obviously.

Aldershot is a nightmare for away fans approaching from the wrong direction. Up a big hill and then through a little park and down a load of steps, takes ages to get round from one side of the ground to the other.

I remember a pleasant walk along the riverbank at Derby once. Helped that my team won 4-0 in bright sunshine too.

Also, although not for the visuals, Sunderland. Walked alone with thousands of Mackems and they were all incredibly cheerful and friendly. Will never forget that.

Agree completely. Made that trek in a pair of very painful new shoes for the final game vs York last season. Only upside was that I could use the toilet in Burger King.

On the way back we came across Gary Younge with a cameraman doing a report on what a sh!thole the place was (I may be paraphrasing slightly):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2010/apr/26/gary-younge-stevenage-home-truths

Hull and Huddersfield are both pleasant, I agree. Other good ones are Altrincham (lots of pubs), Bury (long, but lots of pubs), and AFC Wimbledon (get off the train early and do the walk up the Thames).

Grim walks include Port Vale (rows of boarded up houses and shops, general air of misery), Oxford United, Leeds United, and (sad to say it, as it's my club) Manchester City.

Oh, and York City is good too.

Made the journey several times when Stevenage were still in the Conference and my team visited.

No offence to the people of Stevenage (who have been universally welcoming - especially in the ground's bar), but Stevenage Town is a total dump.

To be honest, none of the station -> ground walks I have made for Conference away matches has been particularly nice.

Brian, are you not aware that Stevenage is the National Museum of the Mid-20th Century?

Luton Station to Kenilworth Road is pretty grim. And a long way.

Fulham. Smashing walk from the Tube.

Brian, you'll be pleased to know that most of Stockport's nearby pubs are both still open and great places to go pre- and post-match.

Much as I don't like the team, Bramall Lane is a good one if you avoid the main drag
Go to the Howard then up by Hallam Uni, there a a few decent boozers

I have not-so-fond memories of arriving after kick-off at Watford on more than one occasion - away fans had to walk for what seemed miles around a massive field of allotments.

Another vote for York. The walk through the city centre, on a sunny May afternoon, was great.

Either of the Nottingham clubs are worth a mention as well, the walk's not too far and a pre-game stop in the Old Trip to Jerusalem is always worth it.

Leeds is a hideous trek back on foot. Beyond grim. Grantham is probably the worst I've done though, long walk, really easy to get lost and the locals were the oddest I've ever come across.

I wonder whether the people who live in the houses of Stevanage are quite as bothered about missing out on the 'football experience' when they don't get 1,000 Pompey fans marching past their front rooms on a Monday night?

No offence, but the idea that a town with roundabouts and dual carriageways is in any way 'odd', is slightly odd in and of itself. As you say though, diversity is a wonderful thing, so please understand that there's no criticism of the article here.

The walk to the Liberty Stadium isn't so great from the railway station - narrow pavements, double parked cars, busy road etc, but coming past it on a viaduct on the way in is pretty cool.

Walking to it from down the Tawe is nice too.

The walk down the river would be nice for Bristol city if it wasn't for the cars thundering past. Going through the park and over the bridges is good though.

I walked from Stockport to Oldham for a game a couple of seasons ago, and the last 4 or so miles uphill into the the town were depressing. Row upon row of closed pubs, shops and boarded up houses. After all that walking, we could have done with one or two of those pubs being open too.

Personally I'll always love the walk up to St. James' Park from Newcastle Central Station.

The walk to the Abbey (where I now live) is a horrific walk that fills me with dread as that part of Cambridge is horrible.

A couple of seasons ago, Man City played EB Streymur in a Uefa Cup qualifier at Oakwell, Barnsley (Bon Jovi was playing at Eastlands). Although the walk was mainly shit, the last bit is an old-fashioned walk up a steep hill of terraces, until you get to the top for a brilliant view over the ground. Very Northern, very nice.

I don't think it is possible to walk to the Madejski from Reading Station. It's miles out and very much set up for Cars. More so with the new junction "nearing completion". There is meant to be a rail station there, or at least there was to serve the business park. The walk would be er... through a business park.
The walk to Elm Park from either Reading or Reading West, wasn't a lot better.. or i was to young to appreciate the pubs and whores on the oxford road.

Southampton always annoyed me, as you pass the ground by rail from the north, and are ooh... 100yds from teh gates, and then get taken to town. Always annoyed me. Till i lived there and just walked to my various locals en-route.

Now i'm up in nottingham, i reckon the walks here are pretty decent.

PrimroseandBlue

thats odds, you mentioned my home town (alty), my club (man city) and my current home town (york), thats quite impressive!!

i would agree that the York one is really impressive due to the fact that you skirt the walls of the city for about 1/2 a mile or more, passing innumerate pubs and then cutting down little terraced rows to the ground, in fact its one of my favourites from the station.

Alty i would say is ok but a few too many bars and the station pub across from the train station has been massacred, the bridge pub still maintains a lot of character.

Man City is so far removed from the old walk to maine road its untrue. The new one is laborious and boring, the only pub worth going to is the Dolly Blue for the mass service and singing but even that is a dive. The old walk to maine road was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. shouts and scuffles, police horses emerging from side alleys and people seemingly everywhere, due to the packed in streets. amazing.

Even though I am biased, the walk to Craven Cottage is a nice one.

The worst walks are the ones to those new soulless grounds that are based in the middle of nowhere - few local pubs or restaurants and way out of town. Reading or Southampton, for example.

gillingham is as near to the station as the likes of ipswich, and there are some decent boozers by said station

I wonder whether the people who live in the houses of Stevanage are quite as bothered about missing out on the 'football experience' when they don't get 1,000 Pompey fans marching past their front rooms on a Monday night?

I can't stand it when people complain about living next to football grounds. I'll bet in the vast majority of cases the grounds were there long before they were. Either don't buy a house next to a ground or just buy one next to Gigg Lane where there's no danger of being disturbed by hoardes of football fans :-)

As for walks to grounds, Sockport is excellent but you need to take a slight detour to visit The Crown, which is one of the best real pubs in Greater Manchester. But can a walk to the ground include a detour? What are the rules?

In terms of new grounds, Derby isn't too bad a walk if you spend pre-match in that pub opposite the train station. Can't recall its name, or the game I went to watch.

However, my favourite is Halifax. Wonderful train station, wonderful architecture in the town centre and three or four outstanding real ale pubs on the way (including the excellent and impressive art deco Three Pigeons). What a shame its unlikely I ever go there to watch Dale again.

Walks that should get nowhere near a Joy of Six: Northampton, Macclesfield, Crewe, Watford and Middlesbrough.

There are just two decent pubs in the whole of Gillingham; one that supporters won't get anywhere near to and the Cricketers, which is home only.

Completely agree with the thrust of this article. Though Lowry's depiction of the scenes come from a different age, the walk to the ground is still one of the greatest parts of the whole experience. Designers of new expensive stadia would do well to know this.

As a side note - Mackenzie Thorpe has a more contemporary depiction of the same kind of experience - in this case his childhood memories of the walk to Ayresome Park. He also captures the working class industrialism in a similar way - though the paintings themselves are completely different in style.

Walking for any reason not to do with work is spiritual in any case, but the walk to your own ground is magnificent. From the feeling you get stopping at a chippie, or the pub, or when you turn a corner and your ground first comes into view - right up to the moment when you emerge into the stands and the noise from the crowds peels away from the background and erupts all around you....

Enough fluff from me, I think. Nice article. :)

The worst walks are the ones to those new soulless grounds that are based in the middle of nowhere - few local pubs or restaurants and way out of town. Reading or Southampton, for example.

I'd agree with that. Doncaster is another awful walk from the station with nothing next to the ground - ditto Darlo.

York is my favourite football walk - in fact, I liked it so much I moved there. Make the most of trips to Bootham Crescent while you can though - plans are afoot for the Minstermen to groundshare with York's rugby league club on a soulless retail park which is miles from the city centre.

Other favourites: Huddersfield, Sunderland, Newcastle, Norwich.

I'm afraid pleasant London strolls like Fulham and Brentford are immediately disqualified on the grounds that it is virtually impossible to get a decent pint of bitter anywhere in our nation's capital.

I quite like the walk to the Emirates from Highbury and Islington. Hen & Chickens pub is always good, epecially on a european night, The Alwyne on St Pauls road is a damn fine pub. Lord Nelson or the Herbert Chapman are always good laugh...

I like that the emirates is surrounded by houses, it kinda takes you by surprise as you walk up holloway road.

Gillingham - horrific, no pubs, just run down knackered housing. Luton v. similar, and a long way.

All new out of town stadiums on business parks, (Mk Dons, Stoke, Colchester) are awful and generally soulless, and a nightmare for getting to via train.

Wycombe - not easy - out of the town centre, then the only pub I passed was a strip pub with rough beer.

Millwall - shunted down a passage hemmed in by Iron railing to keep you from the home fans.

A lot of the grounds make it unpleasant to get to by train - though I guess i'm spoilt by having stockport as my home team, with the dozen or so good pubs 5 mins from the ground.

antediluvian

did you get that leaflet about the new ground plan up at monks cross? cant believe it. why on earth would you want to move from bootham crescent and its location!! well, size obviously, but its a shame.

Oh, and Dagenham and Redbridge - bugger all near the ground but for angry locals. I ended up in the fans bar.

Brightons also a bit crap (though thats not really a football stadium, and I never had the pleasure of the Goldstone ground).

If you want a pre-match drink your best bet is to head into Stevenage old town.

Brentford - you don't actually realise there is a football ground in the vicinity until you are actually there.

Spurs - too bloody far. And it's like Afghanistan.

Orient - depressing, though Coach and Horses is a nice pub.

The Ricoh Arena is head and shoulders above any other in the souless modern stadia stakes.

There are loads of places in North London to get a decent pint. The pubs tend to be crap near the S. London grounds though.

For some years, the walk to see Gateshead was, um, interesting. Their new home at the athletics stadium had its own station, which was a positive; unfortunately, the mile or so from station to ground featured nothing but a wasteland of rubble and twisted wire, with a dual carriageway running through it. Charming.

Largely cleared up now, mind you - so instead you get a bland, modern housing estate. With a dual carriageway running through it.

Actually, an idea for the guardian, have a facility on the website for fans to give advice for travelling supporters to all the league grounds.

Things like how long the walk from the train station, pubs to avoid, places worth a detour to see. Sort of an interactive version of this

Antediluvian - you're wrong about London beer, but you have to do your research and usually take a non-standard route to incorporate a decent pub.

Seaside grounds are good walks - Southend and particularly Grimsby.

Withdean is bizarre, it appears to be up a country lane.

However, Tonbridge Angels is probably the most picturesque I've encountered. At first it seems a fairly typical town, but the streets get nicer as you get nearer, finishing with a lovely stretch through a cemetery where you can see the Kent downs in the distance.

This is my favourite website and first port of call for any planned away trips.

http://www.footballandrealaleguide.co.uk/

It has rarely failed to advise anything less than superb places, the one exception being Watford, where we ended up in a stinky 'Irish' pub, when the town centre would have been as well as we could do as I suspect there just isn't anywhere 'decent'.

Is the Derby pub mentioned above The Brunswick Inn ?

Became my new favourite away pub last year.

I went to Steveange in the Cup some years ago. I have no recollection of the day other than that we stood on a covered terrace and that we played like shite. That either means the walk to the ground wasn't that bad. Or it means we were so shite that the walk pales in comparison...

Votes here for York. A great loss to the Football League. Which Maine Road wasn't - mainly due to the inability of the locals to behave themselves (watching City being abject there in the 2nd and 3rd Divisions was a pleasure). I'll also give Huddersfield a vote. From experience the best route from station to ground does appear to involve taking a slightly circuitous route - but worth it for the pubs.

Shrewsbury used to be excellent. You'd never walk the most direct way from stattion to ground, because the wander round the centre and its numerous wonderful pubs is too tempting. Depite the fact my brother-in-law lives in the town events have conspired to ensure I've not yet been to the new ground, but I'm assured that it's crap. As most new grounds are.

There is talk of Stockport getting a new ground somewhere, sometime. (No indication of how that'll be funded seeing as we're skint and the new owners have just admitted there's more debt than they thought.) I dread it frankly. I like being spoilt.

Is the Derby pub mentioned above The Brunswick Inn ?

Aye, that's the one. It has a micro-brewery in the back, if I remember correctly.

As for Huddersfield, set off for the game a couple of hours earlier and start your day at Dewsbury, where the real ale pub on the station serves some great food to get a solid base down. Then to the King's Head and Head of Steam at Huddersfield Station, before getting into town and going to the ground. If you're going back home after the game via Manchester, make sure you stop off at Stalybridge for a quick couple of pints.

Wembley's a shit walk.

Also, and as a Leeds fan it pains me to say this, but the walk to and from Elland Road is miserable. All grey, crumbling concrete under the odd flyover here and there to sit in a windswept plastic seat surrounded by grim urban wasteland.
It was at its worst during our last 2 seasons in the Premiership when you had to sit there in the cold and watch the likes of Roque Junior, Teddy Lucic and Raul Bravo come up with new and inventive ways to throw away three points every week.

Wembley's a shit walk.

Wembley's shit, full stop. Still, at least we didn't waste hundreds of millions that could have gone into improving the strength of the national game.

What? Eh? Oh.

OD4, there's one decent pub not far from Daggenham's ground, I found it a couple of years ago and we watched Arsenal v Man City with a load of Daggers fans in there before the game. I remember this because they were great fun, and loved a pub full of Southerners in red cheering on Man City and Northerners in blue cheering on Arsenal.

OldTom, we were so bad that day that we could have played that game at the Maracana and wouldn't have noticed.

@Shemnel- quite a coincidence! For me that covers the team I follow (City for me too), the team I watch on a frequent basis and whom some of my family support (The Alty) and a place I go to visit friends in a lot (York). I'm from Urmston, hence the Alty connection.

Seems to be a lot of agreement for York!

Stockport is ok, but I find the pubs a bit weird there (sorry Old Tom and OD4!)

If we're going for out-and-out soullessness, I must second Bolton and Reading. I was also disappointed by the Hawthorns- we found one crap pub and a Maccie D's.

In Dublin we are spoiled for grounds within the city

In my old Shelbourne supporting days the walk to Tolka park was always nice.

My beloved Croke park is literally 10 mins walk from my house and the surrounding areas are always buzzing with locals in their front Gardens and fans from whatever county are playing.

Landsdowne road/New Aviva stadium is also nice as the train literally pulls up into the stadium! not much of a walk but if you do approach by foot the leafy affluent environs of Dublin four offer quite the contrast to Croker.

I will be doin this walk tomorrow evening to watch Messi/Mascherano et al take on Ireland in a friendly. The weather forecast is delightful, just a shame that the god himself Maradonna is no longer involved.

Fantastic article. Had the 'pleasure' of going to Stevenage for an FA Cup game a few years ago when we were in (what is now) League One, although that was by supporters' coach, so was spared the walk from the station.

The kind of walk described will sadly be altogether too common in the next few years, and is beginning to disappear even now. Shrewsbury was a particular favourite away trip of mine, when they were at Gay Meadow, but I understand the new ground is in the middle of nowhere.

Both Nottingham teams are good for train travel, Port Vale was a taxi ride through some very unpleasant territory. The Riverside Stadium won the Guardian's 'worst away trip' a few years ago in a season preview supplement and I found it hard to disagree.

Orient is a great little stroll down the High Road. Up the steps from one of London's prettiest tube stations, down the hill past the Moroccan Coffee shops, Turkish Grills, Chip Shops, various Cafes, KFC for the adventurous, JamItalia for those seeking ever popular Jamaican Italian combos, through the lovely Coronation Gardens with it's bandstand and onto the CAMRA award winning supporters club. What more could a supporter wish for? a goal or two maybe?
At Orient the journey is the highlight of the matchday experience.

Had the comment window open a while, composing a reply at work takes some time/slyness, and it seems OldTom covered most of my points, apologies for the accidental repetition!