Prince George's Playing Fields

Prince George's Playing Fields sits in Raynes Park, tucked into the London Borough of Merton. It is not a place that announces itself. The ground is reached down Grand Drive, where the addresses SW20 9HA, SW20 9NA and SW20 9DY all point to the same low brick buildings and the same strip of natural grass.

It is small, and it knows it. The capacity holds 1,500 when the stands are full, though the seats are fixed and there is room only for a few on the terraces. The pitch is surrounded by a fence and behind the far goal there are trees that close in the view. Floodlights stand at the corners, but they are not often needed in the Isthmian League South Central Division.

Raines Park Vale FC has played here for years. The club is semi-professional, and the ground reflects that: it is maintained, but it is not polished.

The site has a different past. During the Second World War the ground was an Army Camp, and Heavy Anti-Aircraft guns were positioned on the slopes. The guns are gone now, but the slight rise of the land behind the stands suggests where they once stood. There is nothing left to look at, only the shape of the earth.

On matchday the crowd is not large, but it stays for the whole game. It is not a stadium that will be remembered for its beauty, but it is a place where football is played without distraction.