There aren’t many better feelings than watching your team home and away.
Win, lose or draw, we’re there to support our beloved clubs whether it be at the home ground or as part of a tiny away section.
League One in particular is as competitive as ever, containing some historic names of English football, and so with that comes a number of must-visit grounds.
Focusing on the third tier, Football FanCast has ranked the top ten away days in League One which you should be looking to embark on if your team ever gets the chance.
For this list, we've considered the area, affordability, potential nearby activities and the stadiums themselves when coming up with the best away trips League One has to offer.
10 The Valley – Charlton Athletic
We are kicking things off in the capital, in particular Greenwich, where we have The Valley.
This is the home of Charlton Athletic, who were playing Premier League football as recently as 2007, but have since hit a bump in the road.
Fans of the Addicks currently find themselves struggling to get out of League One, but they do have an excellent stadium to show off with a capacity of over 27,000.
Visiting such a big stadium at this level of course means that a sizeable away allocation comes with it as well – a couple of thousand are able to attend.
Given that Charlton is London, it is easy enough to make a weekend out of a clash with this team, as there is no shortage of activities and pubs and whatnot in the surrounding area.
One slight downfall, though, is that with the location comes more expensive drinks than fans from further afield may be used to.
Away day rating: 6/10
9 Memorial Stadium – Bristol Rovers
Travelling further west to Bristol now, which is a two-team city.
Bristol Rovers and Bristol City divide the land in blue and red and it is the latter who are the more established, having been in the Championship consistently for nearly a decade now.
Rovers are the team going under our microscope with their ground, the Memorial Stadium.
The stadium itself has a capacity of just over 12,000, so whilst it may not be competing with the venues that have graced the top flight, it is still very impressive.
Rovers originally spent 89 years at Eastville Stadium but left there in 1986 and then moved to the Mem ten years later.
Away day rating: 6/10
8 Weston Homes Stadium – Peterborough United
Iconic stadiums losing their names to sponsors is a plight that is working its way through the EFL.
Peterborough United’s London Road is the first victim on this list, but the Weston Homes Stadium is certainly not as bad as another that will feature later on.
The Posh is a highly regarded club, this reputation being boosted by the openness shown by owner and chairman Darragh MacAnthony when it comes to the dealings in the transfer windows.
Peterborough has a historic cathedral if that is something that piques your interest before or after your team goes to battle with the Cambridgeshire side. Beyond that, there is a fair amount of general history on show and as the location suggests – Cambridge isn’t far away at all, either.
London Road is another stadium that holds a very respectable capacity, which is in excess of 15,000, with the possibility of a great atmosphere from home and away supporters.
Away day rating: 6/10
7 Pride Park – Derby County
Derby County are the first club to creep beyond the 6/10 mark and hit the heights of a very respectable seven.
They are another team who have played top-flight football in the Premier League era, although they do of course hold that haunting record for the lowest points tally.
Pride Park is where they call home, and according to BetVictor, this is the best ground in all of League One.
GiveMeSport states that season ticket price, price per game, stadium utilisation, total mileage, number of votes, atmosphere, location, stadium view, infrastructure and food were the various criteria that were assessed in BetVictor’s study.
Back in 1888, Derby were one of the 12 founding members of the Football League, showing just how steeped in history they are, making them a shoo-in for this list.
Away day rating: 7/10
6 St James’ Park – Exeter City
St James’ Park is a famous location up in Newcastle but also down south as well, with Exeter City having a ground of their very own going by the same name as the Magpies’.
Exeter are very proud of their reputation of being a fan-run club and so that quickly endears them to the football purists who come to visit in Devon.
The Grecians are a loud and proud group of supporters, with their clashes against local rivals Plymouth Argyle always being extremely fierce whether it's at Home Park or St James’.
There is a standing area and a seated area for away fans at Exeter, which is a nice touch, and with a fine city just minutes away from the ground, the stadium itself is worth a visit.
Away day rating: 7/10
5 Bloomfield Road – Blackpool
Returning to the trend of former Premier League teams, Blackpool reached those particular heights with Charlie Adam as captain and Rob Edwards and Ian Evatt also featuring – a pair who now manage Luton Town and Bolton Wanderers respectively.
Blackpool is known for having its infamous tower, the Pleasure Beach, waterparks and a zoo.
Once again, this is a location which would be suitable for the family, so a weekend getaway could be arranged around the main event of a football match.
Bloomfield Road has a capacity of 17,625, with the figures for away fans able to creep into four figures once again.
The presence of plentiful empty seats does lead to Blackpool being marked down, but it remains a desirable location for away fans, for sure.
Away day rating: 7/10
4 Kassam Stadium – Oxford United
Peterborough United affords you the chance of visiting Cambridge, while the other famous university city can be attended when your team goes toe-to-toe with Oxford United.
People of an older generation may know Oxford’s home as Grenoble Road, but it is now known as the Kassam Stadium in honour of Firoz Kassam, who owned the club between 1999 and 2006 as well as having a stint as chairman.
Kassam paid just £1 for the club due to the financial difficulties they were enduring at the time.
Oxford is considered to be a great place to visit, while as of 2021, it was named as the eighth-most expensive area in the country to buy a pint, so visiting fans will have to be wary when they flock to the nearby pubs.
Away day rating: 8/10
3 Toughsheet Community Stadium – Bolton Wanderers
Weston Homes Stadium isn’t the best name around, but that is nothing compared to the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
There have been a lot of changes to the name of Bolton Wanderers’ home, from the Reebok Stadium to the University of Bolton Stadium and now to this.
But this name is one of very few blemishes on an away day to Bolton, in truth, with the size of the stadium certainly working in their favour.
Referring back to BetVictor’s research, Bolton ranked 14th in the entire Football League. This put the Trotters ahead of Premier League grounds such as Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United to name just a few.
Away day rating: 9/10
The top ten away days in the Premier League – ranked
An away day is one of the best parts of being a football fan, but which is the best in the Premier League? Football FanCast has taken a look.
ByJack Salveson HolmesOct 22, 2023 2 Oakwell – Barnsley
Barnsley join Bolton at an away day rating of 9/10, but the former gets the slight edge, and finishes second on the list as a result.
Oakwell is an old-school, classic ground for football and Barnsley in general are a club with a lot of history.
They are firmly ingrained in the landscape of England from a football perspective which makes it a worthwhile away day instantly.
The club doesn’t own the stadium anymore, with the council having to take over to save the club from facing extinction, and whilst they have gone from the Championship play-offs to League One in just a couple of years, Barnsley remains a massive club that deserves a lot of respect and admiration.
Away day rating: 9/10
1 Fratton Park – Portsmouth
There aren’t many better grounds that one can visit in the EFL than Fratton Park.
The University of Portsmouth labels itself as “one of the most affordable UK cities for university students”, and why can’t that carry over to football fans wanting to frequent the pubs, particularly when “the cost of a pint [is] averaged at £4.51, one pound cheaper than London.”
We have no notes for Pompey, it is a club with a great following in a nice area and Fratton Park is the best stadium in League One, all things considered.
Away day rating: 10/10
