Craven Cottage

Craven Cottage sits on the Thames in Fulham, one of London's oldest football stadiums and still home to Fulham FC. The ground has that proper old-school feel - red-brick Victorian terraces, a cottage that actually gives the place its name, and views across the river that remind you why this patch of southwest London mattered in the first place.

You're not coming here for a museum experience. Match days are the whole point. The atmosphere on game days, especially against rivals, is genuinely electric - the kind of crowd that fills a compact ground and makes the noise bounce off every old wall. Non-match days you can sometimes do stadium tours if booked ahead, though these aren't guaranteed year-round. The walk along the river before or after is lovely, and the neighbourhood has proper pubs where you'll find actual Fulham supporters rather than tourists.

It's worth timing a visit around the fixture list if you're a football fan or anyone with even passing interest in English football history. Kids will either love it or find an empty stadium dull - depends entirely on whether they support the team. A match day needs a full afternoon. If you're staying at Lovat Parks nearby, it's easily accessible and gives you a different flavour of London than the typical tourist trail.

Truth is, this isn't a park-holiday attraction in the traditional sense. You come because you want to watch football or because you're genuinely interested in football heritage. Otherwise it's background scenery during a riverside walk.