The Football Tourist Guide

What is the Football Tourist Guide?

The Football Tourist Guide is a place‑based travel project that treats football towns as destinations in their own right – full of history, food, culture, quirks and stories you’d normally miss on a standard awayday. What if football could be a gateway to a cultural experience, introducing you to local history and culture, sampling local foods and beers, visiting famous landmarks you’ve driven past but never stopped to appreciate? What if you could make happy memories on away trips instead of dwelling on those defeats? What if every other weekend had the potential to be like Blackpool away? That, dear reader, is what the Football Tourist Guide is all about.

How The Football Tourist Guide Was Born

When the fixtures come out, Blackpool away is the one many football fans look for, to plan a weekend away. But I’m from Blackpool, so I always felt I was missing out. And then along came COVID – and no-one had any awaydays to look forward to. When restrictions were lifted and we were allowed back out on the road and railways, I concocted a cunning plan to enhance the matchday experience…

It started by accident. As usual, I was plotting pubs on the map for my pre-match crawl, ahead of Blackpool’s first away game: a friendly at Southport. As I was doing so, something unusual caught my eye: The British Lawnmower Museum. My curiosity was piqued. I followed the link. I saw they had Hilda Ogden’s lawnmower. Now that was my kind of quirky. I pinned it on the map and added it to my itinerary, heading to Southport early so I still had time for all my pubs before the match. Plus I was doing my bit to boost the local tourism economy – something close to my heart, having seen how my home town suffered through lockdown. To put the icing on the cake, I knew that, even if Blackpool were to lose, no-one could take the memory of Hilda’s lawnmower away from me.

Next up was Carlisle. I studied the map. Hmm Hadrian’s Wall was nearby. Neither of us had been. So into the itinerary it went. Just think of all those famous cultural landmarks we’d never visited because we spent our Saturdays in a football ground. I’d pretty much done the 92 but had seen nothing of the football towns beyond the pubs and the grounds. What if we actually visited Stonehenge, The Angel of the North, Cheddar Gorge and York Minster? What if we took a cruise along the Thames? What if we took in shows and gigs in different towns? What if we built all of this around away matches? Just think how much better they would be! With my partner, Lee, having a fear of flying, this meant we could have holidays together without getting on a plane. Together, football town by football town, we could help rebuild the tourism economy – and make great memories along the way.

As we travelled, the experiences grew to include local food and beers. I particularly enjoyed local museums, learning about the history of these football towns: the steel in Sheffield, the hats in Stockport, Seth Armstrong’s music career in Barnsley.

We listened to music from local artists in the car on the way: The Primitives for Coventry, Paul Nicholas for Peterborough. I looked what was on in local theatres and venues the nights we were there. We ended up in a Welsh language centre enjoying rockabilly performed in Welsh. And we met Tony the Tiger (he’s grrrrrrrreat!) playing double bass in a jazz club in Luton. Through our genuine interest in local people and their stories, we formed a connection and realised that away fans were just like us: human beings with a love of their local football club.

I fell in love with these football towns one by one. The Football Tourist Guide provided a way of seeing football towns differently: through culture, curiosity and kindness. And that felt like a better fit for me. Football is so much more than a game: it’s an opportunity for connection and a cultural experience.

How to use the Football Tourist Guide

Each Football Tourist Guide is a full away‑trip itinerary: pubs, food, culture, landmarks, local stories and matchday routes. Pick a town below, check the fixture list and build your own belting weekend around the match.

The Football Tourist Guides

Here’s where we’ve been so far. Click a town to open its guide.

• Barnsley – Part One
• Barnsley – Part Two
• Birmingham – Part One
• Birmingham – Part Two
• Blackburn / Burnley (East Lancashire)
• Bournemouth
• Bristol
• Cardiff – Part One
• Cardiff – Part Two
• Cardiff – Part Three
• Carlisle
• Coventry
• Exeter
• Grimsby
• Hartlepool – Part One
• Hartlepool – Part Two
• Huddersfield
• Hull – Part One
• Hull – Part Two
• London – Part One
• London – Part Two
• Luton – Part One
• Luton – Part Two
• Middlesbrough – Part One (includes Whitby)
• Middlesbrough – Part Two
• Middlesbrough – Part Three
• Middlesbrough – Part Four
• Morecambe
• Norwich – Part One
• Norwich – Part Two
• Nottingham
• Peterborough – Part One
• Peterborough – Part Two
• Peterborough – Part Three
• Portsmouth – Part One
• Portsmouth – Part Two
• Portsmouth – Part Three
• Preston – Part One
• Preston – Part Two
• Sheffield – Part One
• Sheffield – Part Two
• Southampton – Part One
• Southampton – Part Two
• Stockport – Part One
• Stockport – Part Two
• Stoke
• Sunderland
• Swansea – Part One
• Swansea – Part Two
• Walsall / West Bromwich Albion / Wolverhampton – Part One (The Black Country)
• Walsall / West Bromwich Albion / Wolverhampton – Part Two (The Black Country)
• Wigan – Part One
• Wigan – Part Two
• York

Watch The Football Tourist Guide on YouTube

Lee has been documenting our travels on YouTube. Expect personality‑led travel videos, local stories, matchday routes and the occasional unexpected cameo (Tony the Tiger included). The Football Tourist Guide collection can be viewed on its own specialist channel here:

Where’s Next?

If we haven’t been to your football town yet, let me know its little quirks and must see places. I’m especially interested in towns with strong local identity — whether that’s food, history, music, folklore, or a cracking pub scene. Let’s get your football town on the map!

Subscribe here so you don’t miss out on future Football Tourist Guides as they land.

Start Here

Not sure where to start? Buckle up and let’s get you on the road with this belting away trip.

A Football Tourist’s Guide To Preston AKA Blackpool East – Part One: The Good