Hendon V Dulwich, Tues 5 Nov 2024

[Bugpowder Dust]

Starting a thread for a rare midweek away match.

Been a couple of times, decent enough new ground, slightly tricky to get to from the nearest station, I opted last time for a walk rather than wait for a bus, with a shortcut along very muddy path, not recommended, unless you're wearing wellies. Which you probably aren't.

From the Hendon website:

By Train
Nearest National Rail station is Hendon (Thameslink). Buses 83 and 183 pass Hendon station and close to the ground. Best stop to alight 83 is Slough Lane (avoids walk up & down steep hill), and 183 is Townsend Lane.

Hendon is 40 mins on the train from Peckham Rye or Herne Hill.

By Tube
Nearest tube station is Kingsbury (Jubilee Line). Approximately a 20 minute walk along main road (turn right out of station) and right down Townsend Lane. Or bus 183 to the top of Townsend Lane.

 

[Pink Panther]

I'd say it's a good 25-30 minutes walk from Kingsbury underground station. Last time there was a 15+ minutes wait for a bus, so I walked it, and it's a good 8-10 minutes walk just from the top of Townsend Lane to the ground. Don't try to cut across the open field in the dark. I walked back to Hendon station the previous time, when it was an early season afternoon, and the ground was dry enough to cut across the field and follow my nose to the main road on the other side, but with a choice of 2 buses I wouldn't even think about walking from there. The whole area is a pub desert, with the only real option the Wetherspoon's next to Kingsbury station.

 

[Bugpowder Dust]

Google also suggests there is an Irish bar round the corner from the Spoons previously called the Roisin Dubh and recently rebranded as J Reilly's. Only has one Google review so far in its new guise, from N Reilly (!) who reckons it's a "hidden Jem".

Not sure if she was referring to Jem the Hamlet fan or not, but he might be hiding in there on Tuesday I guess.

 

[darryl]

Google also suggests there is an Irish bar round the corner from the Spoons previously called the Roisin Dubh and recently rebranded as J Reilly's. Only has one Google review so far in its new guise, from N Reilly (!) who reckons it's a "hidden Jem".

Not sure if she was referring to Jem the Hamlet fan or not, but he might be hiding in there on Tuesday I guess.

I actually went there the last time I went to Hendon - the London Senior Cup final the season before last between Haringey Borough and Charlton. I couldn't face the Spoons and had always been curious about those little Irish bars in north London, so thought I'd give I a try. The only entertainment was a telly showing the 6pm ITV London news, recounting the the past day's violent crimes. Nice Guinness, though. Sadly the lovely Midland Hotel next to Hendon rail station is long gone.

There's a Hindu temple just up the hill from the ground, Kingsbury Mandir - you can't miss it - they're very happy for you to take your shoes off and have a look around.

I'd echo the warnings about some of the routes to the ground in the dark, the last time Dulwich played there (also in the London Senior Cup the season before last) there was a mugging on the path leading down to the car park, so keep your wits about you.

 

[Bugpowder Dust]

But apart from the dodgy pubs, murky paths and the muggings, it's a top night out...

Sheesh I started this thread to encourage people to come along, now I'm not even sure I'm brave enough

 

[Pink Panther]

I'd echo the warnings about some of the routes to the ground in the dark, the last time Dulwich played there (also in the London Senior Cup the season before last) there was a mugging on the path leading down to the car park, so keep your wits about you.

It was John Lawrence who got mugged on the footpath between Townsend Lane and the ground, but he was arriving about 90 minutes before kick-off when there was no one else around. Hendon's people were very supportive and said nothing like it had happened before. Unfortunately it was probably one of those incidents that could happen almost anywhere, so it's unlikely to happen in the same place again when we're the visitors.

I always aim to keep my wits about me in the street. Pay attention to your surroundings and who else is there, don't have earphones on or play around with your phone while walking, stop and stand with your back to a wall if you really need to use it etc. In this instance I'm more wary of blundering across a muddy field in the dark for the sake of cutting 60 seconds off the walk to/from the ground.

 

[muel18]

As I just posted in the the women’s teams thread tube strikes are going to slightly impact people travelling back from that game if they use the tube, but much bigger impact for fans trying to get to Hendon on Tuesday

 

[EDC]

Google also suggests there is an Irish bar round the corner from the Spoons previously called the Roisin Dubh and recently rebranded as J Reilly's. Only has one Google review so far in its new guise, from N Reilly (!) who reckons it's a "hidden Jem".

Not sure if she was referring to Jem the Hamlet fan or not, but he might be hiding in there on Tuesday I guess.

Roisin Dubh, that was a Thin Lizzy LP.