In the process of visiting more than 100 English soccer clubs, Paul has seen some towns which, aside from this groundhopping business, he never would have gone to. Here’s his list of how to tell when a town is going to be boring.

If this is listed as a town’s attraction, you might as well just head for the game.

As I approach a new destination, I do a little research on what to do, where to stay and eat, where to look for fans at pre-match pubs, etc. I get on Google and TripAdvisor and poke around, and I have developed a basic set of guidelines for how to tell when a town I’m about to visit is going to be boring as hell.

It’s really simple: I look at the top 10 “things to do” in that town, according to TripAdvisor, and I watch for the following:

1. A park or garden
2. A renovated historic home
3. A museum, generally of engineering or industry
4. A “working farm”
5. The football ground
6. A mall or shopping center
7. A cinema
8. A bowling alley

The greater number of these things in the Top 10, the more boring a town will be.

Which brings me to my next destination. Ladies and gentlemen, here — according to TripAdvisor — are the Top 12 Things to Do in Wigan:

Looks like a full day!

And so it looks like I’ll be heading straight for the game in Wigan!

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