Bike Shake Down

I got a decent amount of sleep last night but was still up early. So I decided to put my bike together and take it out on a ride to check that everything is working.

After checking Google Maps, I discovered that I was not far from two Premier League Football stadiums, just on the other side of the River Thames.

The first stadium was Craven Cottage, home of the Fulham Football Club, and it is right next to the river. I took the short trip down the busy street that goes over the river, dodging the big buses while getting used to riding on the left side of the road.

I got on a nice path along the river once I crossed it and found the stadium very quickly. A security guard there let me know that I could actually go inside and see the pitch, and pointed me in the direction I needed to go to find the entrance.

After checking out the stadium there, I started over towards Chelsea to see their stadium, known as Stamford Bridge. I was not as lucky as I was at Craven Cottage and was not able to go inside. However, the stadium was still quite impressive.

By this point I was starting to get cold and the clouds were starting to look a little more menacing. So, since the bike was working, great, I decided to head back to my hotel to warm up.

After I warmed up and got some lunch I wandered back down to the river on foot and checked out Craven Cottage from the other side of the river.

I was able to go inside Craven Cottage to see the football pitch there
A view of my Ellis next to the River Thames
The street side entrance of Craven Cottage. You wouldn’t know that this was a football stadium.
The Shed Wall at Stamford Bridge, which is part of the old stadium before the new one was built
More of the Shed Wall, where there are pictures and biographies of famous Chelsea players
The main stand at Stamford Bridge, looking very impressive
A pathway I took after lunch, where no bikes were allowed
A row of cute houses along this pedestrian only street
A few of Craven Cottage from the other side of the river
There were a few boats tied up in the river
The section of the river had no wall so that boats could be launched here

Posted: May 15, 2026 by

Category: Cycling, Vacations

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