Meadowbank: Dorking Wanderers FC

Meadowbank is something of a community hub, given its location in the heart of Surrey. Interestingly for a football ground in England, the pitch is made up of 3G artificial grass, which is of FIFA Quality Pro standard. In addition to being the home ground of Dorking Wanderers, the stadium is also where a number of community activities take place, as well as the Surrey FA County Cup finals. The ground itself opened in 1953 and it is fair to say that the facilities haven’t exactly improved markedly since then, which is more due to the fact that they are quite basic rather than not being very good, with only the Main Stand having undergone huge change.

Dorking Wanderers are one of the youngest clubs in the National League, having been founded in 1999. Businessman Marc White and a group of his friends, Peter Buckland, Mark Lewington, Ian Davidson, Lee Spickett and Penny Gregg, were Wimbledon supporters at the time and had become disillusioned about how the club was being run, so they chose to do something else with their weekend. They founded Dorking Wanderers as an amateur recreational team, playing in the Crawley & District League during the formative months of the club’s existence. In the years since, things have become more serious and the side has gone up through the non-league system.

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Meadowbank Photos

Meadowbank Stadium Dorking Wanderers - View from the Stands

Dorking Wanderers FC Flag

Meadowbank Dorking Wanderers on Matchday

Meadowbank Stadium Old Stand - Dorking FC

Meadowbank Seating Plan and Where to Sit

The basic nature of life at Meadowbank is such that the majority of the ground is made up of terraces. This means that you’re going to be standing for the duration of the game, with a small number of seats available in both the home and the away area that are given out on a first come, first served basis. This means that those wanting or needing to sit will need to get there early to avoid disappointment. There are some seats in the Main Stand, but these are reserved for season ticket holders and therefore anyone arriving with a regular match ticket hoping to take one of them will be disappointed.

Dorking Wanderers Ticket Prices

Whether you are a home or an away fan the cost of a ticket for a Dorking Wanderers game is the same. The only way this isn’t true is if you’re a home supporter looking to buy a Family Bundle, which gives you two adult and two child tickets for £45. Here is a look at the general admission price for the 2023-2024 season:

• Adult: £18
• Concession*: £16
• Under 18: £9
• Under 8: £5

*Concessions are issued to those over the age of 60 and to students with valid IDs. You can also get a concession price is you’re a disabled supporter. If you are disabled and need a carer then they will enter for free alongside your ticket.

How To Get Dorking Wanderers Tickets

The Dorking Wanderers website is well put together and is fairly comprehensive, including explaining how the seating is on a first come, first served basis and that away fans buying tickets for the home end will be turned away on the day. It is the place to head to if you’re hoping to buy tickets, but you should also bear in mind that you will be able to buy them on the turnstile on the day if necessary.

Where to Buy

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Getting To Meadowbank

Train – There are three train stations in Dorking: Dorking Main, Dorking Deepdene and Dorking West. All of them are within ten minutes walk of the ground, so you can get a train to any of them and know you’ll be close enough to the stadium.

Bus – There aren’t many bus routes that stop close to the stadium, simply because of where it is located, but all of the 21, 22, 32 Xplorer, 50, 93, 433, 522, 533 and 669 stop close to the ground.

Car – Anyone hoping to drive to a Dorking Wanderers match will be wanting to take whatever route they can in order to get onto the A24. That runs right past Dorking and close to the ground itself, so once you get within range you’ll be able to follow the signs.

By Air – Dorking is located on the outskirts of London, so the best thing that you can do is choose the most convenient London airport for yourself and go from there. London Gatwick is the closest, being located less than ten miles away as the crow flies and offering a train that takes a little over 20 minutes to complete its journey.

Taxi – Given the proximity of the stadium to the various train stations of Dorking, most people will choose to walk the short distance between them in time for the match. Of course, some people don’t have that option, so if you’re looking to get a taxi then you should expect to pay somewhere between £5 and £10 depending on traffic.

Parking Near Meadowbank

There is no parking available directly at the ground, with what limited spaces there are being reserved for club officials and the like. There is, however, parking next to the ground. Head to St Martins Walk and you’ll be able to park up there relatively easily. The fact that Dorking town centre is so close means that there are plenty of other parking options to choose from if you need one.

• See Available Parking Near Meadowbank

Useful Resources

• Parking - Just Park

Pubs and Bars Near Meadowbank

About Dorking Wanderers

Being one of the youngest teams in the world of non-league football, Dorking Wanderers have enjoyed something of a swift rise through the ranks of the English Football pyramid. Having been formed in 1999 by a group of friends who were disillusioned with how Wimbledon were going about their business, the club was set up as a social thing initially. Having been in the Crawley & District League during the club’s first year, they moved to the Fourth Division of the West Sussex League in year two and won it at the first time of asking. That was the first of three consecutive promotions, eventually reaching the Premier Division in 2006.

That steady rise through the ranks of non-league football meant that something that had started out as a leisure activity for a group of friends who didn’t like how Premier League football was going had become something more serious. That resulted in Dorking Wanderers reaching the National League for the first time in the club’s history thanks to a second place finish in the National League South in the 2021-2022 season. They defeated Ebbsfleet United in the play-off final to earn that promotion, matching it with a win in the Surrey Senior Cup against Kingston, with a penalty shoot-out needed after the match itself had ended 1-1.

Meadowbank History

The somewhat basic nature of the football ground where Dorking Wanderers play their games means that there isn’t a whole heap to talk about. That is interesting in itself, considering the fact that it first opened in 1953. The club’s first few games were played at Big Field Brockham, after which they moved to Westhumble Playing Fields on the London Road in 2007. It wasn’t until 2018 that Dorking Wanderers moved to Meadowbank, which had been recently refurbished. It had been where Dorking Football Club played its games prior to the club disbanding, so there was a ready-made stadium that the side could play its matches in.

It had been a football ground from the moment that it opened, welcoming Dorking in 1953 and seeing a 200-seat stand built around three years later. It had failed to meet health and safety standards in 2013, which forced Dorking FC out of it. Before Wanderers moved into it, a new 300-seat stand was built, a 3G pitch was installed and it was converted into the community sports facility that we know today. That cost around £5 million, with the Surrey County Football Association moving their headquarters into the building. In July 2020, the ground passed the Grade B status assessment, then in 2023 a 1,200 capacity terrace opened at the ground’s west end.