Vicarage Road

Vicarage Road — Watford FC

Vicarage Road is the home of Watford FC and stands in Watford, Hertfordshire, about twenty-five kilometres north-west of central London. It opened in 1922 and the club has used it ever since — one of the few English clubs never to have moved in more than a century.

The four stands

With around 22,200 seats, Vicarage Road is one of the smaller grounds in English professional football, and that is precisely its appeal: the stands are close to the pitch and the noise stays inside.

• Rookery Stand — the home end, where the singing comes from.
• Graham Taylor Stand — named after the manager who took the club from the fourth division to the first in five years. His statue stands outside the ground.
• Sir Elton John Stand — named after the long-serving chairman who appointed Taylor in 1977.
• Vicarage Road Stand — away supporters and the family section.

Two stands named after the men behind the same rise is no accident: the years between 1977 and 1984 are the defining era of this club.

Getting there from London

From London Euston the fast train reaches Watford Junction in roughly fifteen to twenty minutes, followed by a twenty-minute walk or a short bus ride. To arrive closer, take the Overground to Watford High Street — a longer journey, but only about ten minutes on foot at the other end. The Metropolitan line from Baker Street also serves Watford, in around forty minutes, with a walk of some one and a half kilometres afterwards.

A home game here is therefore an easy evening out from a London hotel — one of the most convenient ways to combine a city break with English league football.