The sheer size of The Valley is a sight to behold. For a club in the third division of English football, Charlton Athletic punches well above its weight with a stadium capacity of over 27,000, making it one of the biggest stadiums in League One.
If your idea of a matchday starts well before kick-off, Charlton hosts one of the best fan-zones we’ve seen to date. With bars, DJs and activities for the kids, you’d be forgiven for bypassing pints at the local and spending your pre-match amongst the fans in and around the stadium.
We were lucky enough to attend a sold out match against Hollywood highfliers Wrexham, so the atmosphere was especially charged with fans hoping to upset the table-topping team from Wales.
There was rarely a moment of silence with chants rattling around the stadium for the full 90 minutes. Fans of all ages got amongst the fun, making it feel like a family-friendly day out, if you can excuse the odd expletive that comes with any good stadium atmosphere.
Local vendors were feeding hungry fans outside the stadium and the club's offerings were more than acceptable. If you’re sitting in the North West Stand, which we highly recommend for the atmosphere alone, pop your head into the carpeted stadium bar at half time for a kitschy walk down memory lane.
The Valley is well connected via public transport. Charlton station is just a 5-minute walk from the stadium, with regular Southeastern trains running from London Bridge and Cannon Street stations. For tube connections, get the Jubilee line to London Bridge or the Northern/District lines to Cannon Street, then catch a train to Charlton. Numerous bus routes also serve the area.