British Football's Greatest Grounds: One Hundred Must-See Football Venues

by Mike Bayly

Have you ever wanted to visit the most scenic, historic or important football grounds in Britain, but weren't sure where to start or what to include? In British Football's Greatest Grounds, Mike Bayly offers a bucket list of places to watch football in England, Wales and Scotland as chosen by fans across the world. This first-of-its-kind book introduces the reader to a diverse and often breathtaking range of Britain's football venues. In addition to the oldest, biggest and highest our nation has to offer, it covers lesser-known grounds nestling next to castles, beaches, churches and mountain ranges, as well as modern Premier League stadiums in major cities. Featuring beautiful images taken by acclaimed sports photographers, along with written contributions from respected industry figures, British Football's Greatest Grounds is part guide, part love letter to the history, people and places that showcase the best of our unique football landscape. It's sure to leave you planning a future football trip.

Genres: Football

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 2, 2020

Reviews

[Ben Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was a bang at the front door. Urgently I rushed to see what the commotion was. When I got there the garden gate was swinging on its hinges but there was nobody to be seen. At my feet lay a parcel, my name attached to it. So I picked it up and went back indoors. Like a child at christmas I ripped at the brown outer layer. The piece of parchment telling me that my sister and her no good husband had been killed was cast asunder. Any thoughts of bringing up an infant ignored, wizard or not. And there it was. My baby. A love child. It could well have been the result of a drunken one night stand between a Lonely Planet guidebook and a football ground guide. I was now the proud owner of British Football’s Greatest Grounds.

I began to itch as I leafed my way through the grounds documented between the covers. My desire to travel, my desire to attend a football match both gnawing away at me. Covid-19 taking on the guise of Borat, “you will never get this, you will never get this la la la la la.” I had to remind myself that just as in Borat’s story my enforced travel and football abstinence would not be forever. “But one day he get this, we all laugh. High five.”

Mike Bayly’s book looks at one-hundred must see football venues. Covering England, Scotland and Wales, the usual suspects are here as well as the hidden gems. Without too many spoilers the first two listed grounds are polar opposites in many ways. Tottenham Hotspur’s brand spanking new state of the art stadium is separated from the enchantingly named Ewe Camp, home of Northend Thistle FC, by a side of paper. The beautiful game tagline runs deeper than just what occurs on the field of play.

Seed after seed was planted. “I’ve got to go there when I can,” became the catchphrase of my inner-monologue that nobody asked for. By the time I closed the back cover I had planted an entire orchard worth of football grounds on my hit list. Internally as I read about each ground I was processing the journey I would need to take to visit it. Day trips, overnight trips, weekends away. That list soon found its way on to paper, the genesis of a ground hopper’s wet dream. The next step will be to map out other activities that are available in the surrounding area of each ground. The planets that will revolve around the sun, in this case watching a football match at each stadium.

When it comes to grounds visited I have been to some weird and wonderful places but I haven’t actually ticked off that many. So I was surprised to realise I have frequented 17 of the 100. My mission, should I choose to accept it (oh go on then) is to work my way around the remaining 83. British Football’s Greatest Grounds will be the Bradshaw’s guide to my Michael Portillo although I cannot promise such lively attire on my travels. Salmon trousers have never been my strong point.

Some of the grounds within the book piqued my interest more than others. A pilgrimage to 83 stadiums across three countries will take some serious planning and realistically stretch across a number of years. With that in mind there are some that I want to ensure I visit sooner than others. There’s no favouritism here. Not. Another Borat quote, I apologise. Each comes with a unique selling point that found me unable to resist adding them to the sharp end of my ground hopping bucket list.

British Football’s Greatest Grounds is a must read for anyone with even the slightest interest in the places where football is played. While it could be considered a coffee table book, for me it was a page turner, engrossing me with fantastic photography of the featured grounds, hand in hand with the story of each venue. Like a holy text I handled it with great care on my first go around. I feel much like the village bike, my copy will become very well fingered over the years as it becomes an integral part of not only my football attending life, but also my travelling one.

[Andy Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say about this beautiful book? As someone who loves football grounds, this exploration of the 100 must-see British football grounds was an absolute treat. Author Mike Bayly based his selection on online polls of football supporters and the result is a collection of often stunning grounds, located in amazing places. Many of the places listed have the same thing in common - the dedication of local volunteers who have kept their grounds going for the benefit of the local community. Bayly doesn’t just list the obvious big grounds where the big teams play. There are many non-league grounds which made the final 100, like those at Matlock, Buxton, Ashton, Ramsbottom, Lewes, Chorley and Stalybridge. Lavishly illustrated throughout with colour pictures and beautifully written, British Football’s Greatest Grounds is an absorbing read and should be read widely, not just by football ground anoraks like me. I have no hesitation in giving the book a five-star review.

[Michele Brooker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I quite like a bit of football and I like the football grounds even more. Heard a review of this book on Talk Sport radio. Informative, accessible and with fabulous photographs I was entertained for a couple of days reading about these footie grounds and learning the social history behind them and their teams. I knew that lots of factories had teams that made the leagues, but I didn't know that lots of the division teams originated as church teams. If you love football you will love this. It's a book to dip in and of throughout the season. Best of all for me a local team was number one.

[Karlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant book, definitely recommended. Must be honest, I expected Hampden Park, Deepdale, The Den (new), The Hawthorns, City of Manchester stadium, Meadow Lane, or at least in ghost grounds, Old Wembley, Maine Road, Highbury, The Den (old). Maybe 100 is a "small" number but there are for sure more stadiums that could get into this 100, maybe too much amateur league grounds, but really great book, interesting facts, and great pictures. I had big doubt in rating, but I would say 4,5/5

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, although lost a star due to the inclusion of the sty (Hillsborough).