A trip to a good old fashioned football ground as opposed to stadium or arena, well at least on 3 sides of the ground, here is all you need to know about one of our shortest trips of the season.

The Ground

As mentioned Fulham has in the past been a good old traditional style football ground, it still has that feel with two big ends behind the goals along with the 119 year old main stand with the Cottage in the corner.

With the new Riverside Stand now open, it is certainly impressive and has added to the ground and enhanced the lay out rather than turned it into a soulless bowl.

Saints fans are situated in the Putney End, a stand built just over a decade ago it holds 6,000 in total divided into roughly half being allocated to visiting supporters with the other half usually being a neutral zone which often sees away supporters in that section as well. Strangely for a stand built fairly recently it does have some supporting pillars that obstruct the view but only in the rear section.

Saints have sold their allocation for this game and probably a few have bought tickets in the neutral section.

Although it is divided in half in the seated area, all the fans go in the same turnstile block and home and away fans mingle in the concourse under the stand.

Beer and the usual food stuff is available, but although the kiosks are covered from the rain etc they are open being just under the stand at the back so are cold in winter and for those that haven't noticed it is winter out there.

If you do like a beer in the ground etc then a good tip is go to the kiosk in the left hand corner and then you can enjoy a fine view of the Thames as it goes past the ground.

Getting There

Train

The easiest and by far the quickest way is to change at Clapham Junction and take a train to Putney, the train from Claham takes between 3 -6 minutes depending on the train.

From there it is about a 15 minute walk including a short walk over Putney Bridge from where you can see Craven Cottage nestling on the banks of the Thames.

For those that prefer to go into Central London you need to pick up a westbound district line tube going to Wimbledon and alight at Putney Bridge.

Car

There are a couple of options, perhaps the most direct is to follow the M3 as it then becomes the A316 after passing through Richmond follow directions for the A205 (South Circular) eastbound to Putney. Putney is just across the river from Craven Cottage about a 10-15 minute walk. but will probably offer the best options for parking.

Parking

Parking around Craven Cottage is extremely limited with 1 hour parking meters being the only options, which are obviously no good for those wanting to spend longer than that watching the game.

Perhaps the best option would be to park over the river in Putney where there are many options including street parking, the farther you go away from the Bridge the cheaper and easier is the rule. and its obviously well situated to head back to the M3 afterwards.

Pubs Eating Etc

The Eight Bells on Fulham High Street next to Putney Bridge is a popular pub with away fans but tends to get extremely busy, nearby there is also the Temperance Bar and the Golden Lion as well as The Kings Arms, again these are likely to be packed with Saints supporters.

If you have parked over in Putney or got the train to there, then that might offer the best chance for a pre match drink given the few options near the ground will probably be busy, there are a number of pubs near Putney Station.

Fulham

Craven Cottage

Capacity: 25,678 (all seated)
Address: Stevenage Road, London, SW6 6HH
Main Telephone No: 0843 208 1222
Fax No: 0207 384 4715
Ticket Office: 0843 208 1234
Ticket Office Fax No: 0207 384 4810
Team Nickname: The Cottagers or The Whites
Ground Opened: 1896

All Photos Via Reuters

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