We took advantage of the discounted admission prices for an FA Cup tie to get to see Craven Cottage.

We arrived with the District Line and got off at Putney Bridge Station. The inevitable tube delay meant that we only arrived a few minutes before the match at the ground, but we weren’t the only ones as we were among a good crowd to make our way through Bishop’s Park. It takes about 15 minutes to get from the tube to the ground.

We had bought our ticket online before and printed them out, which meant that we got into the ground quickly and were seated before the start of the match.

As tickets for all stands went for the same price, we had gotten ourselves some central seats at the Riverside Stand, which was great.

You make your way to the stand through a tunnel below the Putney End stand and then end up right along the river Thames. The views from the Riverside Stand are great if you can avoid the restricted view seats, and during half-time you can pop out again and have a look over the Thames.

If you wish to get something to eat or drink during half-time, it may make sense to walk towards the Hammersmith End where queues seemed significantly shorter.

The atmosphere was relatively subdued with neither the home nor away fans particularly boisterous, and while initially still rather promising, quickly petered out as a result of the quality of football on display.

After the match we decided to walk to Hammersmith tube station to avoid any possible further delays. While we did not know the exact way, there was a significant number of other fans taking the same option that we could follow.

Overall, Craven Cottage is one of the English stadiums with the most character, and is definitely worth a visit if you are in London.

Not the noisiest stadium by a long way, Craven Cottage has a unique atmosphere, especially for evening games. The place is really, really friendly right from the fans through to the staff – even the ones who search you as you come in.

The really unique thing at this ground is that the Putney End houses supporters of both teams without segregation. Usually half of it is allocated to away fans, and the other half is described as “neutral” where supporters of both teams sit happily side by side proudly supporting their teams and wearing their colours. Usually mixed in amongst the people there are a large number of “football tourists” – people from all over the world adding to atmosphere. It being the easiest premier League ground in London to get tickets at. Hats off to Fulham for doing this – people are trusted to behave sensibly, and from what I’ve seen they respond to that opportunity. I’ve sat there several times and never seen and bother. Only complaint is the over-priced and average food inside the ground, and the hugely expensive tickets for Category A games (ie Man U, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and any other London PL team – ie QPR currently and West Ham last season).

It’s great place to watch football – the antedote to so many concrete soul-less, pre-fab stadia that now grace so much of the UK