Into The Lion's Den

Millwall FC v Hereford United
Football League 1
Tuesday 28th October 2008 KO 7.45 pm.
The Den
Zampa Road
London
SE16 3LN
Phone 020 7232 1222
Ticket Office 020 7231 9999

Millwall can trace their history back to 1885 when workers from a local food-preserving factory formed Millwall Rovers. The rapid growth of London soon found the countryside of the Isle of Dogs swallowed up particularly with the development of the docklands and, in fact, Millwall's early nickname was "The Dockers". In 1910, they moved out of Millwall to pitch-up in New Cross on the other side of the river at Cold Blow Lane... the old "Den". Here, they stayed until the more recent move to The New Den in 1993. The new stadium and a lot of hard work has gone a long way to eradicate the eighties reputation that had a visit to Millwall very low on the list of favourite days out. Whilst things are greatly improved, the best advice is to go, watch the game and come home straight afterwards. Anyone fancying a pint before the game is probably better off trying one of the many around London Bridge rather than those close to the ground although the excellent facilities within the stadium include a licensed outlet.

Visiting fans are usually accommodated in the upper tier of the impressive North Stand at one end of the pitch. Admission prices are believed to be Adults £20, Seniors £13, U16 £11 and U12 £8. Advance tickets are available from the HUFC office.

Coach Travel: HUISA departs Legends at 2.00 pm Fare £16 (members £15)

FUNBUS departs Legends at 2.00 pm Fare £17ish.

By Car: Being on the east side of London village, this evening kick-off means that you will be approaching during peak traffic time. It therefore follows that any advice I give is likely to result in you sitting impatiently in a non-moving queue while repeatedly glancing at your watch as kick-off time comes and goes. However, the shortest route appears to be to follow the M4 to the Brentford junction at the end then take the A205 over Kew Bridge and follow the painful south circular through Clapham to Catford and Lewisham. Turn left onto the A21 then at the second roundabout take the A20 (sign Peckham). Follow the A20 until you reach the Old Kent Road. The one-way system means you can't turn straight onto the OKR so follow signs for Surrey Quays and turn right along Kender Street. At the top turn left into Old Kent Road, then right at the turning signposted "Car Pound" into Ilderton Road. Zampa Road is the 7th turning on the right.

For my part, I have decided to leave the M4 at J10 then take the A329M to Bracknell then follow signs for Bagshot to the M3. Join the M3 north (sign London) then join the M25 anti-clockwise (east). From the M25, there are a variety of routes, all of which are subject to the traffic lottery. The A24 takes you to the south circular via Epsom and Mitcham, the A23 goes via Croydon and the A21 via Bromley although the latter means staying with the M25 to J4. Finally, if you go right round to the A2, this takes you straight in to the ground although it is by far the furthest route. Distance varies between 150 and 180 miles and you should allow not less than four and a half hours. Parking is very limited and is only available in surrounding streets. There is a good argument for dumping the car in west London and taking a tube to London Bridge before catching a surface train to South Bermondsey. Postcode is SE16 3LN.

Good luck - you’ll need it.

---