In the process of visiting more than 100 English soccer clubs, I have seen some towns which, aside from this project, I never would have gone to.
If this is listed as a town’s attraction, you might as well just head for the game.
As I approach a new one, 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:
- A park or garden
- A renovated historic home
- A museum, generally of engineering or industry
- A “working farm”
- The football ground
- A mall or shopping center
- A cinema
- 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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