Our Favourite Riverside Stadiums

We're not talking about the home of Middlesborough FC, although they've THE BEST COLOUR SCHEME EVER! Our home town has a hugely rich and varied sporting history. And many of its stadiums are close to, if not in fact, on the river. So here are our favourite six, which are also all great places to visit! Craven Cottage. Home to Fulham Football Club, looking as though it's perched precariously on the river bank can be seen from the Thames. It has been the home ground of Fulham F.C. since 1896. The stadiums current capacity is 25,700, all-seated, though the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against Millwall Dockers, 8 October 1938. Located next to Bishop's Park on the banks of the River Thames, 'Craven Cottage' was originally a royal hunting lodge and has history dating back over 300 years. As well as by Fulham, the stadium has been also been used by the United States national football team, Australia national football team, the Republic of Ireland national football team, Canada national football team, and was formerly the home ground for rugby league team Fulham RLFC. The original stadium was design by Archibald Leitch who is famous for being the designer of over 20 stadiums throughout the British Isle's between 1899 and 1939. Twickenham Stadium aka Twickers (Just a 5 minute walk from the river)   It is primarily a venue for rugby union and hosts England's home test matches, the Middlesex Sevens, the Aviva Premiership final, the LV Cup and European Rugby Champions Cup matches. It has also hosted concerts by Rihanna, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Genesis, U2, Beyoncé, The Rolling Stones, The Police, The Eagles, R.E.M. and Lady Gaga, rugby league's Challenge Cup final and conventions of Jehovah's Witnesses, and will host American football as part of the NFL International Series from 2016. It is the second largest stadium in the UK, after Wembley Stadium, and the fourth largest in Europe. The Oval aka KIA Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket stadium in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth, South London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it was opened in 1845. It was the first ground in England to host International Test Cricket in September 1880. The final test match of the English season is traditionally played there. In addition to cricket, The Oval has hosted a number of other historically significant sporting events. In 1870, it staged England's first international football match, versus Scotland. It hosted the first FA Cup final in 1872 as well as those between 1874 and 1892. In 1876, it held both the England v Wales and England v Scotland rugby international matches, and in 1877, rugby's first Varsity match - it's not just cricket! London Stadium More commonly known as the Olympic Stadium, is a stadium in Stratford, London, England, at Marshgate Lane in the Lower Lea Valley. It was constructed to serve as the home stadium for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, hosting the track and field events and opening and closing ceremonies. It was subsequently renovated as a multi-purpose stadium, with its primary tenants are now West Ham United Football Club and British Athletics. As well as its regular tenants, the stadium will continue to be used for a series of special events. The stadium hosted several 2015 Rugby World Cup matches, one test match of a tri-series between England Rugby League and New Zealand Rugby League in November 2015, and will host both the 2017 IAAF World Championships in Athletics and the 2017 IPC Athletics World Championships, the first time both events have been held in the same location consecutively - fancy eh! The O2 Wait a second guys, the O2? Is it really a stadium? Sort of, besides selling millions of concert tickets each year the arena is now home, at least until 2018 to the ATP Finals. Along with Craven Cottage one of the most visible riverside stadia in London. We whizz past the €˜giant dropped Mr Whippy and flakes' (as one of our younger Rocketeers once described it) each day. Referred to as North Greenwich Arena in the context of the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in south-east London. It is named after its primary sponsor, the telecommunications company O2. The O2 Arena has the second-highest seating capacity of any indoor venue in the United Kingdom, behind the Manchester Arena, but took the crown of the world's busiest music arena from New York City's Madison Square Garden in 2008 - woohoo! The Thames. That's right folks. The Thames. Our home. The river. Hosting dozens and dozens of boat races each year, with the centrepiece of course being €˜THE Boat Race' between long term rivals Oxford and Cambridge. With seating (of sorts) for hundreds of thousands of spectators along it's length too! And what better to way to get up close and follow the action than on board with Thames Rockets?