Grounds From The Past - #18 - Stevenage FC

This match was from April 7th 2023 in a 1-1 draw with Colchester United in League Two.

I remember being on the train home and having this plan to visit all of the League grounds in the country. At this stage, I never knew what 'ground hopping' was and had no idea there was a community for it. Especially online. I just thought it would be interesting to visit some of the grounds I grew up watching on Match Of The Day. Like Loftus Road and Carrow Road at Norwich for example.

After this, it expanded to Non-League matches as well. It's quite a fun hobby actually, especially watching some of the loyal fans who have been going to the likes of Hornchurch for years, for example. At this stage, I'd only ever gone to Arsenal matches, whether home or away, and never really appreciated what it was like to follow and support a team in the lower leagues. It's definitely a lot more fun watching a team in the likes of the National League North. Some of the chants from away fans at Non-League matches are hilarious.

I definitely discovered this hobby too late, that's my only regret. Every ground has its own unique history as well, no matter how far down they are in the footballing pyramid.

Grounds From The Past - #17 - Ipswich Town FC

This was the first ever match I attended that didn't involve Arsenal. It was only on the off chance as well, as I went shopping in Ipswich only to see Ipswich Town were playing an F.A.Cup match against Burnley on the same day. 

So I thought I'd give it a go seeing as the tickets for F.A. Cup matches were a lower price than League matches, so I purchased a ticket from the box office. 

It was on January 28th 2023 in the Fourth Round of the F.A. Cup. Ipswich at the time were in the top 5 of League One with no indication that they'll be playing top flight football within under 2 years. 

The match finished 0-0 but was entertaining nonetheless. I never took any photos of Portman Road as I thought it was going to be a one-off and had no idea what ground hopping was at the time. It was only in the next few months I had the idea of visiting all League grounds in the country.

Grounds From The Past - #16 - Queens Park Rangers FC

Played on the 8th May 2023 at Loftus Road in the Championship with QPR losing 0-2 to Bristol City.

Grounds From The Past - #15 - Woodbridge Town FC

Played on the 14th September 2024 in the Eastern Counties Premier Division, Woodbridge beat Sheringham 2-1.

Grounds From The Past - #14 - Mansfield Town FC

Played at Field Mill on the 28th October 2023 in League Two, Mansfield beat Walsall 2-1.

It claims to be the oldest professional football ground in the world.

Grounds From The Past - #13 - Histon FC

Played on the 17th February 2024 in a 1-0 win against Eynesbury Rovers in the UCL Premier Division South.

I also have memories of talking to one of the Histon supporters who gave me a run down of the history, including the 2008 F.A. Cup run and 1-0 win against Leeds. The ground is located next to the Cambridgeshire F.A who apparently helped fund/contributed towards the impressive main stand. He also spoke of how the club paid the price for aiming so high.