Football Travel: Watford FC

It’s less than 30 minutes from central London to the satellite town of Watford, where affordable, accessible top-flight football awaits.

Nestled on the north-west fringe of London’s peripheral motorway, the M25, Watford FC makes for an easy day trip from the capital. At the time of writing, “The Hornets” are an established, mid-table Premier League side, but have spent most of the post-Graham Taylor (1977-87) era fluctuating between the first and second tier.

Taylor is a legend at Watford, having taken the club from the fourth tier to the first, with an FA Cup final and UEFA Cup run along the way. He passed away in January 2017 at the age of 72 and he is still cheered on 72 minutes by Hornets fans. The eighties were The Hornets’ heyday, when singer Elton John was chairman and the club had exciting, attacking players like John Barnes and Luther Blissett.

Vicarage Road Stadium is a 21,438 all-seater venue decked in the colourful yellow, red and black of Watford FC. The most vocal home support sits in The Rookery End, where I bought a ticket online for £36 for a game against Swansea City. For more attractive fixtures, it will be harder to get hold of tickets.

Watford FC didn’t offer a print-at-home option, so plan ahead if you want your tickets posted, or arrive early to pick up on the day. 

How to get to Vicarage Road, Watford FC

By train, Watford is on the line between Birmingham New Street and London Euston. Trains run regularly from both, although via Euston options can include slow trains that can take 40+ minutes. Vicarage Road is 0.6 miles (1km) from Watford High Street station or 1.5 miles (2km) from the busier Watford Junction station.

By car, Watford is just off junction five of the M1.