DARTFORD v LEYTON ORIENT

PRINCES PARK

PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY

SATURDAY, JULY 20, 2019

GROUND No 216

OF all Princes Park's unique and endearing features, the 18ft tall wooden sculpture of a fan on the terraces has to be the most striking.

I mean, have you ever seen anything like it?

Arms outstretched, gaze firmly set on the pitch, Dartford's biggest fan is just one of the remarkable features of this eco-friendly stadium that blows completely out of the water the notion that all new builds are boring, soulless structures.

Since 2006 when they moved here (they'd led a nomadic existence for  number of years after being forced to leave Watling Street) Dartford have played not only on grass but underneath it.

That's because covering the four sides of the ground are curved coverings, each with a 'living roof' - layers of vegetation that provide an air filtration system.

Glued laminated timber beans support them, and the heavy use of timber around the ground gives it the feel of belonging in a Norwegian forest rather than a stone's throw from the Dartford Tunnel.

The pitch is sunk two metres below ground level to reduce noise and light pollution, there are solar panels on the changing rooms roof and rainwater is collected in two ponds to serve the toilets.

They really have thought of everything. When I went to the loo at half-time, I expected a notice telling me that any deposits would be used as a natural fertiliser on an organic farm behind the car park where hand-reared cattle were raised to provide meat for the burgers in the snack bar.

Concrete steps - covered by those grass-topped roofs - ring the pitch, save for the South Stand side where 642 seats nestle in front of the clubhouse, function suite and changing rooms.

Another nice touch is an area of the back wall where you can buy a brick with your name or that of a loved one on, and a tribute to the Dartford team that reached the 1974 FA Trophy final at Wembley.

A banner in amongst the advertising hoardings n front of it reads: "If only all stadiums were like Princes Park."

Not half.

DORKING WANDERERS v KINGSTONIAN

Meadowbank

Pre-season friendly

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Ground No 215

THE majestic spire of St Martin's Church that peers over Meadowbank from behind the main stand like a proud parent watching over its offspring could tell some stories.

Not all of them would be an easy listen, mind.

It could tell of a great FA Vase run in the early Noughties and the time Dorking - who had called it home since 1956 - gave Peter Shilton's Plymouth Argyle a run for their money in the first round of the FA Cup in the early 90s.

But it could also tell of how Dorking merged with Guildford City then folded before rising from the ashes as a new club and then finally disappearing into the cupboard marked 'former football clubs' in 2017.

And it could tell of how Meadowbank, wonderfully situated just behind one of the most idyllic high streets you'll find anywhere, fell into seemingly terminal disrepair - its crumbling terraces and rundown stand deemed unsafe in 2013.

Thankfully, though, the story doesn't end there and the spire could tell how the developers moved in, not to put up trendy apartments or affordable housing but to transform Meadowbank into an £8 million stadium fit for the 21st century that's also home to Surrey FA and a soft play area that the local council seem particularly excited about.

Reopened in July 2018, it's now home to serial promotion winners Dorking Wanderers,

A true non-league fairytale club, in the 20 short years since their formation, they have risen from the Crawley and District League to National League South - thanks to hard work and dedication rather than a millionaire owner/chairman hell bent on buying their way through the leagues.

"My dad and I got there half way through the first half and we were the 14th and 15th paying customers on the day with an audience of just 15," recalls programme editor Hugo Manuel in today's column.

That occasion was just five years ago. That's how far Dorking Wanderers have come in such a short space of time.

And their home is a joy to visit.

A new build (on an old footprint) it may be, but Meadowbank still has a certain charm about it - thanks in no small part to its wooden perimeter fence, wooden tea hut (nice cuppa for £1.20) and the traditional look of the main stand… plus of course than grand old spire rising in its shadow.

There's hard tarmac standing all around, a 3G pitch (so no worries about potential rain-offs), small covered standing areas at one end and on one side of the main stand and a bar area on the other side of the stand in the modern box-shape building that also houses Surrey FA's HQ and the changing rooms.

Chairman/manager Marc White is clearly delighted at the club's progress and in a tantalising glimpse of what Meadowbank's future may hold, he told Surrey Live last year: "There's a lot of space to add additional buildings."

He's not wrong there, and you suspect that grand old spire could well have more stories to tell in years to come.