I could tell that the views would be decent from most areas. Before permanently settling on the site of The Valley, Charlton mirrored the nomadic tendencies of London neighbours, QPR and Fulham, by playing across a variety of venues in the clubs formative years. The Valley is a 27,111 capacity sports stadium in Charlton, London, England and has been the home of Charlton Athletic Football Club since the 1920s, with a period of exile between 1985 and 1992. Wolves are the only other club I can think of in the Championship that have a Museum open at present. If you get a train into Euston, however, and want to get a taxi from there then you might have to pay through the noise for the privilege. In short, a lovely ground! There was a Police presence inside the Ground which you don't see often. Brilliant seat, on the aisle, covered, would sit here every week. The club got hold again of The Valley in 1988, but the stadium had then fallen into disrepair and a proposed redevelopment was blocked by the local Greenwich council. We walked straight back to station, and had to wait about half an hour, for a train. Underground to Farringdon and overground train to Charlton. There were long queues for food and drink prior to the game but staff were serving people quickly My view was pretty good avoiding the one pillar and the Valley is an impressive ground with two stands for home fans consisting of two tiers and a single tier stand with a low roof. London is your oyster (card) if youre hoping to stay somewhere the night before or after a Charlton game. They have played in the top-flight on four separate occasions. Like many 'old' grounds, the ground is within a residential area although there were a few shops and a chippy which seemed very popular. Lots of bobbing up and down, tiptoes and craning of necks going in. The away end is the smallest stand of the stadium and it holds around 3000. To say it's basic is an understatement! I like London games (especially Saturday 3pm kick offs) as there are always places to go for food and drink. All Light Blue. As Id been to the ground onlytwo months before, it was an easy task for me to find! They are in an uncovered area with little space around them. A decent day out that would've been perfect but for that missed open goal! Here are our recommendations for you to consider: London is a city filled with pubs, clubs and bars for your delectation, with each suburb like a mini-city all of its own. Planned maintenance on the rail line to Charlton made the journey slightly more tedious. As for our hosts, the result effectively meant wed swapped places as they now sat in the bottom three. Gillingham had not won away all season, and were fighting relegation. Went to the Angelstein as recommended by others on this site. As this is London with fantastic public transport and lots to see in the centre my advice would be to not feel to restricted to hotels near Charlton. Entering the ground required the usual bag searches; then it was a case of entering the away stand, being told by stewards to sit where we liked. (opens in a new tab). 3. Payments taken through PayPal or credit/debit card. I was embarrassing his station for making such an elementary mistake. There is a gym at the bottom of the hill, if you fancy a work out before a game. Luckily my memory served me well as even though it was after 2pm there wasn't the usual throng of crowds to latch onto and follow! The most notable thing about the public address system though was not its content but the decibel level, which is the loudest I have ever come across. We will update as soon as we know of a decent car park, although most probably youll be visiting via public transport. Possibly a stupid ambition and it is not an especially cheap exercise. Once we were out of the away end getting back to the coach was fairly straight forward. Q:Does the club have easy access seats (seats in easily reachable areas of the stadium with no steps or limited number of steps) for away ambulant disabled supporters? In the main the stewarding was good apart from one chap who, when seeing I had a plastic bottle of water in my bag chose to plunge his hand in, take it out, remove the top and hand it back. I felt for the Charlton fans really, even their substitutions didnt spark any revival, and in truth if it wasnt for some wasteful finishing by our strikers, we could have won by 5 or 6. It is worth noting that there are refreshment areas on either side of the stand. The home support was good for the whole game and it only got better with the goals of course. Cross over the railway and after passing the Royal Oak pub on the right, turn right into Harvey Gardens. We followed the crowds, and ended up at Sainsburys (sorry!) So I got myself a burger for an average price. Certainly I got the impression the whole operation inside & outside the stadium is set up for clubs bringing sub 1000 support & no alternative plans by the Police or club are put in place for the bigger teams. I've been to the Valley several times so I knew what to expect. Whether that was for rival fans or driven by the home supporters opposition for the regime controlling the club I'm not sure. Why you were looking forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be): Premier League, 17th September 2005. The club played one more year at Upton Park, but finally moved back to a renovated The Valley in 1992. The Club operates a category system (Gold and Silver) for matchday ticket prices, whereby the most popular games cost more to watch. We drove down via the M11 and A2. I arrived on the nearby Woolwich Road and caught a Number 486 bus to North Greenwich Underground Station (on the Jubilee Line), next to the O2 Centre. Being a Yorkshireman I don't like paying for parking, so we eventually found somewhere suitable behind the nearby Travis Perkins Depot. Almost a forgotten team in London, especially since they have been out of the Premier League since 2007, Charlton is nonetheless a fun day out: an easily reached, family-friendly club in a part of London that might surprise you with its visitor options. Still better than most grounds in League One. The only "bad" side is of course the away end as it's the oldest but it was absolutely packed with very noisy QPR fans so it was still an impressive site. One of Charlton's early grounds, Siemens Meadow, Maryon Park - See page for author [Public domain or Public domain]. They wanted to build new stands, too, but the local council refused them permission. Charlton rarely sell out. Photos at The Valley - A View From My Seat So we decided to give it a miss and had a drink inside the ground instead. We caught the 5.40pm train and arrived at St Pancras at 6.10pm. Then I got the Tube to Blackfriars and caught the train to Charlton. Thankfully we came out in the second half with more intent but sadly the finishing skills of an under 7's team! The older South Stand, behind the goal, is given to away supporters and now looks out of place in its smart surroundings. Thats assuming that everything goes smoothly on your journey. Q:Does the club provide accessible parking for disabled supporters? Thank you for choosing Football Ticket Net. Not a bad away day despite the result. 1. Because of that the travel options open to you are numerous and plentiful. The catering areas were adequate and outside of the stand, but I imagine with a large following it would be quite cramped. A dramatic and somewhat unexpected ending had me on cloud nine, also I got home just in time to see the final quarter of England beating Australia at Twickenham. Although the food and beverage kiosks were well manned with staff, queues were still quite long. Though the club has the bizarre claim to fame of being the first in the Football League to make a substitution, which happened when Keith Peacock replaced Mike Rose after eleven minutes of their game against Bolton Wanderers in 1965, they have more to be proud of than that. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground? I usually get the tube to London Bridge for a drink and then to Charlton by train, but my friend suggested a different pre-match routine this time. Click here to buy Charlton Athletic - The Valley - Away Grounds Post 3pm the sun moves behind the Jimmy Seed stand and it is difficult to see the action at that end. At the bottom of the slip road turn right at the traffic lights towards Woolwich/Charlton. In between the South and the East Stands is an electronic scoreboard. Got to Charlton Station only to find what was an easy station to get out of earlier was now like a maze to get into after the game as there were barriers up, bridges blocked off with no directions. For the Home support, today was a happy Valley something that hasnt happened too often this past season, judging by the fanzine I bought! Covid Restrictions may be in place when you visit The Valley in 2023. Some supporters travel home further to parts of Kent within striking distance of London, such as Slade Green and Dartford, all of which are considered to be strongholds of Charlton support. The stewards were friendly and helpful and even joined in with some fun and banter with the away support. After a year in this area, I have realised that this is just not the case. However, with Preston occupying a bottom three space in the legaue table, and Charlton just above us, I sensed a relegation 6 pointer in the offing as match day approached and potentially a defining point in our first season back in the Championship. Coming out of the pub it's not instantly apparent which direction the ground is. There is frequent service to Charlton from Cannon Street, London Bridge, and Lewisham stations, and rather frequent service from Charing Cross and Waterloo East stations. The stewards were all friendly and helpful and didn't bother about standing. Matthews kept out a header from Bauer as Charlton looked to pull further ahead. My first visit in 2012 was after a recommendation to watch a match there by a Charlton Season Ticket Holder who I had a long conversation with at a social event. With so many games in a season, it can seem to be a bit of a trail to marshal yourself through the campaign. Travelling back into London, I lost sight of many people with Charlton shirts on, quite soon after leaving The Valley. Bus 53 is particularly useful as it can be taken from Parliament Square and other stops on the south bank, but your journey time will be much longer than by train. Of course, the important thing to remember is that this whole place would have been built over years ago were it not for the heroics of those Charlton fans who worked their red socks off to get the football club back into the area. Some fellow Coventry fans did get stuck behind as the police controlled the gates on the platform only letting a certain number of fans on at a time. Shame it won't be mapped out for next seasons campaign as Charlton look like there will be heading to League One as of writing this, oh well its Villa away instead then. It is a surprisingly easy journey by rail and would definitely use the train again. Voice of the Valley Fanzine 2 (issued eight times a season). Being originally built from an old pit, the ground is nestled into the local landscape. The view was amazing. Myself and my eldest son caught the 10.15 train from Corby to London St Pancras and then the tube to London Bridge. Easy but as per previous visit, too many police, especially on horses. Dont know if it down to the size of the travelling support but our coach had to park a fair way from the ground (5-10 mins) and we followed the home fans to the ground. After wed retaken our seats for the second half, we enjoyed more of the same with Preston North End comfortably in control, and it was little surprise to any-one when Daniel Johnson curled in a cracking shot from some distance to give us a third on the night and effectively end the game as a contest. In the mid-1980s Charlton faced financial difficulties, with the club going into administration and being bought out by a consortium of fans. The capacity looks quite large although there were lots of empty seats in the home section. The West Stand on one side is a good sized two-tiered stand, whilst opposite is the smaller single tiered East Stand, where the vast open terrace, reputedly the countrys biggest, was located until demolished in the 1990s. It was a very welcome surprise, and gave me a nice mid half sugar rush, but the usual range on confectionery and fizzy drinks are available to you throughout the game, served by very cheery people in bright Charlton red t shirts. The stadium itself is quite impressive. Enjoy the experience and atmosphere of a football match with fans from all over the world, knowing that your tickets have been purchased at a reasonable price together with an efficient delivery process. Charlton fans are currently protesting at the way in which their club is run, so they either stayed away [shame] or held up "We are the 2%" cards in the second minute. to avoid the Premier league. This will involve adding a second tier to the East Stand as well as the filling in of the South East corner of the stadium. Its also raised so you can get a good view of the ground. Related. If youre more about communicating with humans, though, then youll want to either call into the ticket office at The Valley, which is open from 9.30am-5pm Monday to Saturday and from 10am until 1pm on non-matchday Sundays, or else phone the ticket office, which is open at numerous different times. Drove down from Leeds setting off at 7 am, found some street parking on Eastmoor Street (SE7 8LW) and then it's a 15-20 minute walk to the ground. The Valley is a very impressive stadium with three of the four stands all enclosed. 2023 Football Tripper All Rights reserved. / Blue & White (Third), Adults: Gold - 22 - 34 / Silver 20 - 31, Concessions: Gold - 18 - 25 / Silver 16 - 22. For any query you can use our dedicated customer care team and they will be more than pleased to assist you. Charlton was formed in 1905 when numerous youth clubs in South East London decided to join forces to become Charlton Athletic. Unlike some other grounds which just throw the person out. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking? Why were you looking forward to this game and visiting the Valley Ground? I'd already been to Charlton a couple of weeks earlier with a friend in the home end, and so I already knew a bit about the Valley. 2. low level serving counters at kiosks? Riverside, Greenwich Peninsula, London SE7 7SS (020 8858 0382). I drank with the friend in The Trafalgar pub in more upmarket Greenwich, turning left at the bottom of Maze Hill. The game itself was a bit of a roller-coaster which Reading did their best not to win. Under 11s - 5.00. It was then just a short five minute walk from where the coaches dropped us off to the ground. I hadn't been to the Valley since its redevelopment. It was less than a five minute walk to Charlton Railway Station along Valley Grove and Floyd Road. We took the 486 bus from near the station to North Greenwich, with no problems. Nationalrail.co.uk Check train times and fares. We came out of Charlton Station, turned right, crossed the road and before we knew it we were at the entrance to the away end. He scored a great equaliser. At least we didn't lose! We didn't sample the food, which only appeared to be Holland pies and little else. Leeds came in on a bad run, if you can call it that, with frustration high after last weeks dropped points at home to Derby. It welcomes away supporters and also has 21 accommodation rooms. We left with a couple of minutes to go and got away pretty well. The first iteration of the ground contained no physical stand, and instead consisted of mounds of earth which surrounded the pitch. The pub was very busy with quite a few Barnsley fans in. Cue chants of Ol ol Tony Watt Watt Watt around the ground, as the former Celtic man celebrated. Q:Does the club have any spaced in hospitality and VIP areas for wheelchair users? Whilst overlooking Blackheath itself is the CAMRA Good Beer Guide listed Hare & Billet. Modern All Seated Attendance Record: Stewards were very friendly and helpful. Very poor from Leeds. About one and a half miles from The Valley is this classy hotel on the waterfront. Sections with photos. Their fanbase is an interesting mix of southeast London and Kent working and middle classes. Students - 10.00. However formal time scales have yet to be announced as to when this will take place. Away fans are housed in the South Stand. Charlton still appear to have a more local, family-centred feel around their club, in stark contrast to an increasing number of Premier League clubs. See bus route map (PDF document). So when the opportunity arose whilst visiting Salisbury for a weekend, that Charlton were playing on the Sunday (which meant I could get another game in at Southampton on the Saturday), then off to the Valley I headed. We live in North London so very easy by Tube. See the view from your seat at The Valley., page 1. . Getting across London was easy but I when I got to Charring Cross, was informed there was a far more frequent service from London BridgeStation to Charlton. Very friendly home fans. We were in row J, so had a good view and were in front of the single pillar in the centre of the stand. My friend told me that in 2006 he played in the World Cup Final against Italy, coming on for Patrick Vieira (which of course will forever be remembered for Monsieur Zidanes headbutt in his last ever professional game). The post-match coverage suggested that this game was not the greatest of games. Q:Does the stadium have accessible toilets/facilities? What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground? The Angerstein Hotel is just on the left. Driving to the ground was much easier than anticipated and one of our party had received some inside knowledge about parking which we took advantage of and left the car in a nearby megastore car park for free. If you are coming up the Woolwich Road from the the Blackwall Tunnel, then as you go past the ground, the industrial estates are on the left hand side. He is not an active traveller to games, but was willing to enjoy a late Summer Championship game. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out: Great day out with family and friends. Thanks to Lee Tomlin for dragging us back into the game. Adam Hodson a visiting Stockport County fan adds; There is a decent fish and chip shop at the top of Floyd Road, which you pass on the way to the away fans entrance.. How much youll pay to see them live depends on three factors: whether the match is classed as silver or gold, how old you are, and where in the ground youd like to sit. We walked past the Club Shop on the corner of the West Stand and North Stand, whichis a decent-sized modern shop with a fairly wide range of merchandise in it. The Valley (capacity 27,111) Charlton Athletic had a nomadic existence in their early years after forming in 1905 but finally settled at The Valley. 6. We had enough chances to have snatched the 3 points but a glaring miss from an open goal 8 yards out summed the game up! Alternatively, alcohol is available in the away end in the form of; John Smiths (4 pint), Fosters (4 pint), Bulmers Cider (4 bottle 330ml) & White Wine (4.50 miniature bottle). The stadium was built with the help of their fans, though initially only consisted of a pitch and large earth banks, giving it the appearance of a valley. We eventually double backed on ourselves and had to walk down a non-descript lane down the side of some houses. 5 seemed excessive although this was a one-off, as the club had also combined it with their 'Yearbook', so plenty of reading material! Home fans were awesome. Q:Are there fixed positions in the stadium where commentary is available for blind and/or partially sighted supporters? The floodlights are mounted along the the roof gables of the East and West Stands. A new ground I could tick off not far from my home. To make yourself feel a bit more uplifted when you watch Charlton, there is a pretty impressive selection of food outlets including the chance to have a salt beef roll cut in front of you by a carvery chef. Living far away in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, it is rare that I get to see a London based team. One of the best days out for years! Great view, near the entrance/exit, also not near the big supporting pillar. The stewards were generally very low profile but didn't seem very knowledgable about the grounds' facilities. The beer was typical football standard and priced accordingly. After turning left from the station walk towards the Sainsburys and then proceed further down south away from the railway track for more options such as Charlton Kebab House. Cafc-Fans (Message Board) First built in 1919, it was the home of Charlton Athletic Football Club from its opening until 1985, when the club fell into administration and changed ownership. Good points were the stewards, the closeness of the train station, and one of the cheaper away ticket prices (unlike our own greedy club!) The station is served by Southeastern trains with direct service to central London (Charing Cross, Waterloo East, London Bridge) and North Kent (Dartford). However the traffic on the A206 Woolwich Road was atrocious, so we ended up walking the entire way to North Greenwich because it took less time than catching the bus. Charlton started the match brightly and were clearly the best team in the opening half hour. In these days of clubs relocating to out of town stadiums on characterless industrial estates it is great to go to a ground still surrounded by houses and the closeness of the station is a real bonus. Includes the latest news stories, results, fixtures, video and audio. For details of disabled facilities and club contact at the ground please visit the relevant page on the Level Playing Field website. Which surprise Surprise they scored one. I. row. Q: Does the clubaccommodate family groups? It is worth noting that you can only gain entrance to the ground by ticket, which you have to buy from a ticket booth beforehand. Train : 40 41. The pub was packed full, with both set of supporters mixing without any trouble. We managed to get a seat with the one and only support restricting our view. I could only ever envisage myself using any other method of transport for fixtures at The Valley if the railways were non-operational for whatever reason. Getting away from the ground was easy enough, police directing people to the correct side of the station and queued the supporters before going onto the platform. Add. Although they gave me mushy peas rather than the beans I had asked for the chips were damn good and neatly filled the hole which had developed since we left Chesterfield early in the morning. Ticket prices range from 17.00 for a seat in one of the corners to 29.00 for a central seat at the main stand. Q:Does the club provide rest ares (with dedicated seats or benches) on your concourses for disabled and elderly supporters? We away fans housed in the South Stand are arguably in the stand most in need of modernising, although what is currently there is more than adequate, Im consistently led to believe that the club favours putting an extra tier on the East stand before doing anything to the South Stand. After a stuttering midweek draw against Gillingham, Shrewsbury were looking to get their promotion campaign back on track against a good Charlton team. The atmosphere from our fans was brilliant and despite not getting all three points it was one of the best away days of the season. Leave the A102 at the next slip road (sign posted Woolwich & Ferry A206). As soon as the fixtures were announced I was very keen on making it to this one. Watching football is a very expensive business, and it is an ambition that cannot be done every week but it is fun and relaxing entering into the life of fellow football fans, without the stress of shouting at your team. It would actually have been quicker to walk. Q:How many accessible toilets/facilities are there? Fill in your details which are relevant to your payment option you have chosen.

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