Take me back to the cottage, Al-Fayed, Al-Fayed. (Craven Cottage (Fulham FC))

Member Name: totallyextreme

Product:	Craven Cottage (Fulham FC)
Date:	17/09/09 (50 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great setting, traditional

Disadvantages: Price, Difficulty reaching the stadium

Overview
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Craven cottage is right up there with my favourite grounds around the UK. I had not visited there before this year when i went to watch the Fulham - Aston Villa match. I was very very impressed with this ground as it offered me something completely different to todays traditional football stadiums.


Advantages
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1) The first great feature that the Cottage has is its heritage. Being built in the pre-war days, the stadium has real charm that you would associate more with a country property than a football ground. The whole of the none-river stand is completely traditional, and really makes you turn your head; far more than today's massive feats of engineering do.

2) The location of the stadium is also phenonemal. As you approach from the nearby tube station and walk along the river; you feel as if you could be out in the countryside, rather than in the hub of central london. As you walk through the park on the way to the ground, there is a real feeling of openess with nature. I am sure this is the only ground in the UK where this can be said!

3)Despite the actual cottage being very old and traditional, the stadium itself has been brought right up to date. Inside you will find everything is quite modern, with Fulham even choosing to use the electronic ticket readers, something which you cannot find in most top flight stadiums around the world.


Disadvantages
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1) The main disadvantage with the stadium is its capacity. At roughly 25000 this is absolutely tiny for a top-flight stadium. Unfortunately, this does impact on the atmosphere somewhat. It does not give you the same awe-inspiring feeling of 70000 mancunians singing away at Old Trafford, for example.

2) Another is the location, although the setting is peaceful and romantic, getting to the stadium is tricky. We traversed across London from LKX station and it took us roughly an hour to get there. This is annoying as inevitable there are major queues and its just a pain to get to the ground.

3)The last disadvantage is the price of food and entertainment. I was stunned to see a burger being flogged off at £8. I had not seen these prices since my trip to wembley and thought that they were super inflated. A match programme also retailed at £6, but i guess this is what we should expect in an affluent area of London.


Summary
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A romantic, if expensive setting for a great footballing experience.

Summary: A good away day