Bank Holiday Bugs

On our way back from London, this time on a bank holiday, our first stop was Barnet. Luckily we had a car this time and set the sat-nav to get there. I'm not sure if my sense of direction and driving skills could have done that on my own. We parked easily along the road that borders the ground. It is in a residential area attached to a park so it is quiet, especially on a bank holiday morning. We didn't really know what to expect but we had time to kill so whatever we saw was going to be a bonus. The Underhill Stadium was utterly deserted. Apart from the few dog walkers, even the park was deserted. All the better for us to do some snooping!

We were able to walk into the outer stadium area and glimpse into the shop. We took some photos of the Bee's Shop and through the bars looking into the ground. Looking at an empty stadium is like being alone in a playground - you almost feel as through you can hear the echo of laughter and cheering. Though the stadium is small, I know from experience that they have a loyal following. When I worked in London my office mate used to tell me about going to games with his boys. But even better than that, is a dad who sometimes does the school run, has told me he used to be the Bee Mascot at Underhill - many years back. He explained how the pitch is not flat in one corner of the ground. Having home field advantage- knowing how to 'bog' the ball so it won't roll out for a goal kick -must come in handy.

We then got back onto the M1 heading north and had just enough time to stop into Watford. We got lost on the first approach as we arrived on the back side of the ground - there are allotments and maybe flats or something. We realized that we had to turn around and go around to the other side. When we did find the other side, parking was a little tricky as we didn't have any change for the meters (even on a bank holiday?) so we decided to make this a rushed visit and risk it. There were very few people passing along the road anyway and absolutely no one at the stadium. We had heard of Vicarage Road as it is the home of Saracens Rugby and also I had heard of Sir Elton John being a big Watford fan and director of the club.  The club's shield is a little confusing, having what looks like a moose head on it, but they are called the hornets. We had a little laugh about that. The stadium has a shop along the Vicarage Road side and we took as many pictures as we could through the windows and some shots with the ground in the background. And with that, we turned around and headed back to the M1 and home.