Southport FC stadium

Southport FC's Haig Avenue ground is a proper old-school football stadium that captures what non-league football is actually about. You're looking at a club with genuine history - they've been playing here since 1921 - and the experience feels nothing like the corporate madness of the Premier League. The stadium itself is modest by modern standards, but that's precisely the point. There's character in the concrete terraces, and on match days the atmosphere punches well above its weight for a National League club.

Football fans will get the most out of a visit, obviously, though even non-obsessives can appreciate the low-key charm of a weekend fixture. The ground is walkable from Blowick, which helps if you're based at one of the nearby caravan parks like Southport Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite just under two miles away. Leisure Lakes and Riverside Holiday Park are within reasonable driving distance too, making it feasible to base a holiday here and catch a match without any faffing about.

Match-day admission isn't free - you'll pay standard non-league prices, which are still a fraction of what you'd fork out higher up the pyramid. Allow a couple of hours if you're attending a game, longer if you want to soak in the pre-match atmosphere and grab a pint at one of the local pubs. Winter months draw decent crowds, but go mid-week if you want a quieter, more intimate experience. It's not a stadium that relies on tourist footfall, and that honesty is rather refreshing.