| Contents |
What's The
Valley Like?
Future Ground Developments
West And North
Stands (photo)
What Is It
Like For Visiting Supporters?
West And South
Stands (photo)
Where To Drink?
East Stand
(photo)
How To Get
There By Car And Where To Park
Jimmy Seed
(South) Stand (photo)
By
Train/Tube
Sam Bartram Statue
(photo)
Layout Of The Valley
Local Rivals
Admission
Prices
Fixtures 2012-2013
Programme
Disabled Facilities
Record & Average Attendance
Fans Ground
Reviews
Hotel Accommodation
Valley
Location Map
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| What's The
Valley Like? |
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The
opening of the North Stand in 2002, completely
transformed the look of the ground. What was a
single tiered separate stand, is now a large two
tiered affair, extending and completely enclosing
the North East & North West corners. Iin total
it houses 9,000 fans. Both sides were also
redeveloped in the mid 1990's and anyone who saw the
derelict Valley some years back, now wouldn't
believe their eyes. 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 country's biggest, was
located until demolished in the 1990's. There is a
row of executive boxes that run across the back of
this stand and it has a television gantry suspended
beneath its roof. The older South Stand, behind the
goal, is given to away supporters and now looks out
of place in its smart surroundings. On one side of
this is a police control box. The stadium doesn't
have any floodlight pylons as such, but has rows of
small floodlights running across the tops of the
stands. The stadium is overlooked by a block of
flats beyond the South Stand and it is not uncommon
to see fans out on their balconies watching most of
the game for nothing and others hanging flags from
their balconies in support of other teams. In one
corner of the stadium between the Jimmy (South) Seed
& East Stands is a large video screen. Outside
the ground there is a statue of Charlton's legendary
former goalkeeper Sam Bartram.
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| Future Ground
Developments |
Mike Keeler informs me; 'The Club have
now got planning permission from Greenwich Council
to increase the capacity of the Valley to 30,900.
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'. However formal time scales
have yet to be announced as to when this will take
place.
George Packman adds; 'The Club intend to increase
the capacity of the Valley to over 40,000. Following
on from the first phase of the scheme, which would
see an additional tier added to the East Stand, the
Club then intend to re-develop the Jimmy Seed
(South) Stand. This would be replaced with a similar
looking structure to the existing North Stand. This
would result in the Valley becoming totally enclosed
and boosting capacity to 37,000. Lastly a third tier
could be added to the new South Stand at a later
stage, meaning that the Valley would have a final
capacity of 40,600'.
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West And North
Stands
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| What Is It
Like For Visiting Supporters? |
Away
fans are housed in the Jimmy Seed (South) Stand at one
end of the ground, which is slightly raised above
pitch level, making for a generally
good view. Up to 3,000 away fans can be
accommodated in this end. However, if the visiting
team are unlikely to sell their full allocation of
3,000 tickets, then this end may be shared with home
fans. Peter Inwood a
visiting Leeds fan adds; 'There is one solitary
supporting column in the entire ground and guess where
it is? Right in the middle,
behind the goal, in the away supporters end. Very
annoying it is as well. However, I would commend the
stewards, who took a relaxed attitude to the away
supporters who stood throughout the match, although expect to be searched on the
way in'. Otherwise the
height between rows is good and the stand quite
steep, keeping you fairly close to the playing
action. It is worth noting that if your team is
allocated the whole stand, that there are
refreshment areas on either side of the stand. As to
be expected those located by the entrance
turnstiles, tend to be busiest, whilst those on the
other side of the stand are normally less congested.
Food on offer include a range of
Peter's Pies; Steak Pie
(£2.95), Chicken Curry Pie (£2.95), Cornish
Pasty (£2.95), Cheese & Onion
Pasty (£2.95) & Sausage
Rolls (£2.40). These outlets are supplemented by
separate hot dog stalls (£3.15
per hot dog). There is also a
Ladbrokes betting kiosk inside the ground. 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.'
I was quite impressed with the atmosphere at the
Valley and I can see why many
away fans see it as one of their favourite away
days to the capital. The Charlton fans are
clearly passionate about their team, but in a
non-intimidating way. I had pleasant day out and
would go again. I was particularly impressed with
the loud P.A. system that played some great music
before the game commenced which
rocked around the stadium. 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.
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West And
South Stands
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| Where To Drink? |
Simon
Phillips informs me that 'The Antigallican, a big pub
near Charlton station, seems to be the favourite haunt
of away supporters'. However, it can get very busy and
this is not helped by the local Police not allowing
fans to drink outside. It is a
rather basic pub but has real ale available (albeit
a lone handpump) and also offers a selection of
filled rolls and pork pies. Whilst Colin
Gilham recommends the 'Rose of Denmark' on Woolwich
Road. The pub not only allows in away supporters but
absolutely welcomes them. They have a photo display on
the wall of fans from visiting clubs that have
frequented the pub this season and
it also has SKY television'. They also serve Fullers London Pride.
Please note that this is a home supporters only pub
after the game. To find these pubs come out of
Charlton station and turn left into Charlton Church
Lane and the Antigallican
pub is down on the right hand corner. If you
continue down to the t-junction with the Woolwich
Road and turn left you will reach the Rose of
Denmark further down on the left.
There is also the Charlton Liberal Club, to which away
fans are welcome on payment of an
entry fee of £1. This is
more spacious, less busy, has
a large screen television and
families are welcome. The club can be found
by turning right out of Charlton station and walking
300 yards up the hill on the left hand side of the
road, past the row of shops. The club is a five minute
walk from the away end, but like
the Rose Of Denmark, it becomes a home supporters
only venue after the game.
Robert Taylor adds; 'I would recommend
the Pickwick on Woolwich Road, which is about a
10 minutes walk away from
the ground. It has a
good mix of away and home fans, with
a friendly atmosphere (with the usual
banter!). There is a
huge beer garden where kids are allowed to play
football and it has Sky television
with a huge projector screen at one end. It has a
pool table, games machines and there is a handy chippie right next
door'. Alternatively alcohol
is available in the away end in
the form of; John Smith's (£3.35
pint), Fosters (£3.35 pint), Smirnoff
Ice (£3.35 small
bottle) & White Wine (£3.35 minature bottle).
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East
Stand
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| How To Get There
By Car And Where To Park |
| Leave
the M25 at Junction 2 and follow the A2 towards
London. After around 12 miles the road splits with the
A2 going off to the left and the right hand lanes
becoming the A102. Proceed on the A102 towards the
Blackwall Tunnel. Leave the A102 at the next slip road
(sign posted Woolwich & Ferry A206). At the bottom
of the slip road turn right at the traffic lights
towards Woolwich/Charlton. Proceed along the A206
passing the 'The Antigallican pub on your right (the
ground and away entrance are diagonally behind this
pub). For the main club entrance and car park go
straight over the next roundabout, passing a retail
park on the left. At the next roundabout, go right
around it turning back on yourself along the A206.
Then take the first left into Charlton Road (beware
that there is a seven feet width restriction along
this road). Cross over the railway and after passing
the Royal Oak pub on the right, turn right into Harvey
Gardens. The ground is down on the left.
Parking at the ground
is for permit holders only. There is street parking,
but due to a local residents parking scheme, not in
close vicinity to the ground or Charlton railway
station. However as you come off
the A2 onto the A206, there is some street parking
to be had on your right, in a couple of streets,
before you reach the Rose of Denmark pub. Colin
Gilham informs me; 'There is some street parking
to be had around the industrial estates
in the area, in Westmoor Street, Eastmoor Street
(the very road where the
club was apparently formed 100 years ago!), Warspite
Road and Ruston
Road. 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.
Map showing the location of
the Valley football ground (at the
bottom of this page).
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Jimmy
Seed (South) Stand
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| By
Train/Tube |
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The ground is a short
walk from Charlton Railway Station, which is served
by trains from Charing Cross, London Bridge and
Waterloo East stations. On Saturdays there are also
services from Cannon Street station.
Colin Gilham informs me; 'Come out Charlton station
into Charlton Church lane (all exits lead onto this
road). and turn right and cross
over to the other side. Take the next left into
Floyd Road and then right into
Valley Grove for the away section entrance'.
Darryl Chamberlain adds; 'Although Charlton station
is very close to the Valley, many people will find
it easier to take the (far more reliable) London
Underground. Using the Jubilee Line to get to North
Greenwich station and then take a short ride on
buses 161, 472 or 486 to get to the ground'.
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Sam Bartram Statue
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| Local Rivals |
| Crystal
Palace, Millwall & West Ham.
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| Admission
Prices |
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The Club operate a category system (Prime & Standard) for matchday ticket
prices, whereby the most popular games cost
more to watch. Prime
prices are shown
below with standard prices in
brackets:
Home Fans:
West & East Stands (Upper & Centre
Blocks):
Adults £30 (£25), Over
60's
£22 (£20) Under 18's £10,
Under 11's £5
North Stand (Lower Tier):
Adults £30 (£25), Over 60's £22 (£20),
Under 18's £10, Under 11's £5
West & East Stands
(Wings):
Adults £25 (£22), Over 60's £20
(£18), Under 18's £10, Under 11's £5
North Stand (Upper Tier):
Adults £22 (£20), Over
60's
£20 (£18), Under 18's £10, Under 11's £5
North
East & West Quadrants:
Adults £22 (£20), Over 60's
£15 (£13), Under 18's £10, Under 11's £5
Away fans:
South Stand
Adults £30 (£25), Over 60's £22 (£20),
Under 18's £10, Under 11's £5
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Layout Of The
Valley
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A more detailed stadium
plan can be downloaded from the official Charlton Athletic
website (PDF file).
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| Fixtures 2012-2013 |
| Charlton
Athletic FC fixture list (takes you to the
BBC Sports Website).
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| Programme |
| Official Programme £3.
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| Disabled
Facilities |
| For
details of disabled facilities and club contact at the
ground please visit the relevant page on the Level
Playing Field website..
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| Record & Average
Attendance |
Record
Attendance:
75,031 v Aston Villa
FA Cup 5th Round, February 12th 1938.
Modern All Seated Attendance
Record:
27,111 v Chelsea
Premier League, September 17th, 2005. (This record
has subsequently been equalled).
Average Attendance:
2011-2012:
17,402 (League One)
2010-2011: 15,582 (League
One)
2009-2010: 17,606 (League One)
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| Fans Reviews Of The Valley |
Liam
Tolley (Nottingham Forest) 23/2/13
Chris Connolly
(Chesterfield) 24/9/11
Paul O'Shea (Doing
The 92) 2/4/11
Philip John
(Gillingham) 20/3/10
Daniel Eskdale
(Middlesbrough) 13/1/07
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| Hotel
Accommodation |
If you require hotel
accommodation in the area then first try a hotel
booking service provided by Late Rooms. They offer all
types of accommodation to suit all tastes and pockets
from; Budget Hotels, Traditional Bed & Breakfast
establishments to Five Star Hotels and Serviced
Apartments. Plus their booking system is
straightforward and easy to use. Yes this site will
earn a small commission if you book through them, but
it will go to help with the running costs of keeping
the Guide going. The Hotels listing also includes
details of how far away the accommodation is located
from the Valley football ground.
Access
their Charlton
and general London Hotels and Guest Houses
page.
Remember that you can use the above link or panel
below to book any other hotels that you may need
for business or leisure, either in the UK or
abroad.
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| Map
showing the location of the Valley football ground,
railway station and listed pubs. |
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Instructions for using
the map:
- Use the bar on the left of the map to zoom in /
out using the + / - keys.
- Click and drag an area of the map to move around
or use the up/down, left/right arrows
- Click the Satellite button to see aerial view
photograph.
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Feedback
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If
anything is incorrect or you have something to
add, please e-mail duncan@footballgrounds.net
and I'll update the guide.
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