Club Background
Yeovil Town had a long history of playing Guildford City, 77 meetings between 1922 and 1974. So what, you say. Well in 1974 Guilford City was teetering on the verge of going bust, so merged with Dorking FC who’d been playing in the Athenian League. The new club, Guildford & Dorking United, took over City’s position in the South League Premier Division but would play at Dorking’s stadium, Meadowbank, its home since 1956. Hence our one and only previous visit to that ground (see We’ve Met Before, below). However rather than saving one club, the amalgamation resulted in the destruction of both: United finished bottom of the SLPD 1974-75 and was relegated; struggled through 1975-76 in the Southern League Division One South; then collapsed into liquidation mid-season 1976-77 with its record expunged.
A new club, Dorking Town, was formed, having to re-start way down the pyramid in the Surrey Senior League. (Guildford wouldn’t get a football club back again until 1996!) In 1983, by then having worked its way up into the Isthmian League, the ‘Town’ bit was dropped and it reverted back to the pre-1974 name of Dorking FC.
They did reach the heights of the Isthmian Premier Division for a single campaign – 1993-94, so we missed them by a couple of seasons – but were mostly scrabbling around in divisions at the foot of that league year after year before finally being relegated into the Combined Counties League in 2006.
Meanwhile… a completely different club, Dorking Wanderers, had been formed in 1999. Starting in the Crawley & District League it then moved across to the West Sussex and Sussex County Leagues, working its way up with eight promotions in fifteen seasons to reach the Isthmian League in 2015. Wanderers problem wasn’t on the pitch – eight promotions demonstrated that – it was one of out-stripping their homes as they raced up the divisions. Beginning at Big Field Brockham, they’d then moved to Westhumble Playing Fields in 2007. On one occasion it only had promotion confirmed after a direct appeal to The FA saw the initial denial of acceptable ground grading over-ruled.
Meanwhile… as Dorking FC drifted downwards in the opposite direction, their stadium of Meadowbank was falling apart and by 2013 deemed so unsafe The Chicks were instructed it would not receive a licence and they’d have to play elsewhere. Initially the club decamped in 2014 to The New Defence to groundshare with Horley Town, but then discovered their optimistic plans of returning home for 2015-16 would not be met as financial constraints and construction delays saw the project’s likely finishing date slip to 2017-18. So, after four months of teetering on the edge of, but in the end just avoiding, administration in 2016, they moved in to Westhumble Playing Fields to groundshare with Dorking Wanderers.
Meanwhile… Wanderers, after failing in the 2015-16 Isthmian League Division One South play-offs, had won those of the following season, defeating Corinthian-Casuals in the Final on penalties, and a new stadium with suitable ground grading had become critical for them. Thus, as they started the 2017-18 season in the Isthmian Premier, it was they who moved into a reconstructed Meadowbank, not Dorking FC.
Meanwhile… at this point Dorking FC gave up the struggle, announced its closure, and was wound up in 2017.
Now the only Dorking club, Wanderers first season at IPL level was mid-table, but the next campaign (2018-19) saw them Champions by 22 points and they were up to National League South – and facing more ground grading issues again. Using the period of grace allowed when a club needs to move its ground up from one grade to the next, Wanderers managed to get Meadowbank up to Grade B by the 2020 deadline.
Last season, after finishing second, Dorking Wanderers were promoted through the play-offs, beating Oxford City 3-0 and then Ebbsfleet United 3-2 in extra-time after dramatically equalising to make it 2-2 on 90+9. They bring to the National League Premier the joys of another 3G pitch; and the headache for them of now having to try to get Meadowbank up from the current 3,000 capacity to a minimum of 4,000 to achieve the Grade A status required to remain in this division. Unless the rules get changed the deadline for inspection will be 31st March 2023.
Marc White is Mr Dorking Wanderers. He was part of the small group that set up the club in 1999, played for them in those early days, and has subsequently guided them up the divisions in the multiple roles of manager, chairman and owner.
We’ve Met Before
(We haven’t really as Dorking Wanderers is a different club, but it does play at the ground on which we met Guildford & Dorking United in 1974.)
Previous Results for Yeovil Town First Team vs Guildford and Dorking United
| 02/10/1974 | Home | SLP | W | 4-0 | 1505 | Plumb(2), Brown(2) | |
| 26/10/1974 | Away | SLP | W | 2-1 | Brown, McMahon |
Results Summary For Yeovil Town First Team vs Guildford and Dorking United
| Home | Away | Overall | ||||||||||||
| W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
Previous Results for Yeovil Town First Team vs Dorking Wanderers
| 04/10/2022 | Away | NLP | D | 1-1 | 1525 | Pearson 4 | |
| 17/12/2022 | Home | FAT3R | L | 0-0 | 962 | (1-4 on penalties) | |
| 10/04/2023 | Home | NLP | L | 0-1 | 3778 |
Results Summary For Yeovil Town First Team vs Dorking Wanderers
| Home | Away | Overall | ||||||||||||
| W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A |
| 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Club Statistics
RECENT RESULTS
| 06/08/2022 | Chesterfield | Home | NLP | D | 2-2 | 2244 | McShane 67, Moore 77 | |
| 13/08/2022 | Oldham Athletic | Away | NLP | L | 2-3 | 8412 | Taylor 82, Rutherford 86 | |
| 16/08/2022 | Maidstone United | Away | NLP | W | 4-2 | 2497 | McShane 18, 48, Seager 83, 90+3 | |
| 20/08/2022 | Gateshead | Home | NLP | W | 2-1 | 1145 | McShane 18, 21 | |
| 27/08/2022 | Solihull Moors | Away | NLP | L | 0-3 | 1256 | ||
| 29/08/2022 | Boreham Wood | Home | NLP | L | 1-4 | 1859 | Rutherford 8 | |
| 03/09/2022 | Wrexham | Home | NLP | L | 0-5 | 2730 | ||
| 10/09/2022 | FC Halifax Town | Away | NLP | POSTPONED | ||||
| 13/09/2022 | Barnet | Away | NLP | W | 1-0 | 1152 | Taylor 32 | |
| 17/09/2022 | Notts County | Home | NLP | W | 3-1 | 2402 | McShane 19, 90, 90+5 | |
| 24/09/2022 | Scunthorpe United | Away | NLP | L | 2-3 | 2526 | Seager 11, McManus 33 | |
| 01/10/2022 | Dagenham & Redbridge | Home | NLP | W | 5-1 | 1536 | McShane 27, 33, Bowerman 49, Mekki 54, Seager 58 | |
| 04/10/2922 | Yeovil Town | Home | NLP |
LEAGUE ATTENDANCE STATISTICS
Highest League Attendance: 2,730
Lowest League Attendance: 1,145
Average League Attendance: 1,986
CURRENT LEAGUE SEQUENCE STATISTICS
| Games Without A Win: | 0 | Games Without A Home Win: | 0 | |
| Games Without An Away Win: | 1 | Games Without Defeat: | 1 | |
| Games Without A Home Defeat: | 2 | Games Without An Away Defeat: | 0 | |
| Games Without A Draw: | 10 | Games Without A Score Draw: | 10 | |
| Games Without A No-Score Draw: | 11 | Games Without Scoring: | 0 | |
| Games Without Conceding: | 0 | Home Results Sequence: | DWLLWW | |
| Away Results Sequence: | LWLWL | Overall Results Sequence: | DLWWLLLWWLW |
Club Information
Address :
Meadowbank
Mill Lane
Dorking
Surrey
RH4 1DX
(click for map)
Telephone Number : 01637 546284
Email : info@dorkingwanderers.com
Chairman : Marc White
Matchday Manager : Matt Howlett
Club Secretary : Martin Clarke
Team Manager : Marc White
Capacity : 3,000
Seated : 522
Covered Terrace :
Record Attendance : 3,000 v Ebbsfleet United, National League South Play-Off Final, 21/05/2022.
Colours : shirt, red and white stripes with blue trim; shorts, blue with red and white trim; socks, red with blue and white trim.
Nickname : Wanderers
Programme : £3.00
Ticketing
Judging by the information on their Official Site parts of Meadowbank are a bit of a building site at present as the club works towards achieving the ground improvements needed to move from its current Grade B status to the Grade A required for continued membership of National League Premier. Games are segregated, with away fans getting a section of seating in the Stonegate Homes Stand and a standing area at the East end of the stadium. This is one of the parts of the stadium being/due to be developed, but is currently a shallow flat open area, which can lead to awkward viewing unless one is tall, and only a small section at one side having any cover and some terracing. Registration is needed prior to purchasing on-line which is available up until 5.00 p.m. on matchday. Once purchased you can print out at home or show tickets on your phone on entering the ground. For those preferring to buy walk-up have found no indication of any surcharge. The turnstiles (cash and card accepted) open from 6.00 p.m.
We have been allocated up to 600 tickets – which it’s fair to say will be more than enough for a Tuesday night in Dorking.
Prices (same rates whether seated or standing):
Adult: £16.00
Concession (60+, students with ID card and registered disabled*): £13.00
Family (2 adults, two children): £35.00
Under 18: £8.00
Under 8: £4.00
(* registered disabled may be accompanied by a carer free of charge)
Official Away Travel
The Green & White Supporters’ Club is running away travel to Dorking Wanderers on Tuesday 4th October, 7.45 p.m. kick-off.
Details are as follows:
Members: Adult £24; Concession £22
Non-Members: Adult £27; Concession £25
Coach departs Huish Park: 2.30 p.m.
To book, call Paul Hadlow on 07736 044570 or email him on paulhadlow@outlook.com.
If you are getting in touch by email, please make it clear which match you are booking for and that you give your full name, the names of people that are travelling and a contact telephone number.
You may be asked to pay a £5 deposit to reserve your seat.
Directions To The Ground
General
Dorking isn’t a place one is likely to go to unless one has a very particular reason. It’s a small town (population 12,000 – or around 17,000 if the villages that used to be separate but got linked in by suburban estate developments in the 1950s and 1960s are counted), with nothing in the way of tourist attractions to draw visitors in; and not on any main routes, so unlikely to be even a quick stop-off on the way to somewhere else. Thus, given our only away trip there was way back in 1974, this is going to be a new destination for most Yeovil Town supporters.
By Road
Huish Park to Meadowbank is 129 miles by the A303/M3 route. Exit the M3 at Junction 2 taking the M25 (Junction 12) south (anti-clockwise). Exit the M25 at Junction 9 taking the third exit off the roundabout on to the A243 southwards (signed for Leatherhead and Dorking). Stay on on the A243 for c. 2 miles until the second (Beaverbrook) roundabout, there taking the second exit on to the A24. Follow the A24 all the way in to Dorking.
In town, at Deepdene Roundabout take the third exit on to the A25 (Reigate Road, which then becomes Dorking High Street). After half a mile, at the mini-roundabout (by The White Horse Hotel to your left), turn right on to Mill Lane (which may have some restrictions on matchdays, being a no-through road). Meadowbank Stadium is around 200 yards along, at the end of the right hand fork Mill Lane splits into.
Parking
There is no parking at the ground for visiting supporters. However the nearest car park is St Martins Walk, which is at the end of the left hand fork of Mill Lane and thus only 100 yards from the ground. It has 376 spaces, split in to long stay and short stay (maximum three hours) sections. The charge is £1.00 per hour, free after 6.00 p.m. However bear in mind its location means it’s used by hordes of shoppers as well as football fans so can be very full.
There’s a range of other municipal car parks, small and large, scattered through the centre of town, none more than half a mile from the stadium, all with the same terms as above. The council uses the RingGo app. Charging points for electric vehicles do not appear to have reached Dorking car parks yet.
If planning to be in Dorking for the bulk of the day and seeking cheaper parking for a Saturday match the car park at Dorking (Main) Railway Station is a flat rate £3.70; but for this mid-weeker it’s not a money saving option, the charge being £7.60.
For free on-street parking the residential roads to the north of the stadium are the best bet. However no road directly accesses the stadium from that side, so it’s either a bit of walk around or hope one can navigate the footpaths that do cut across.
By Rail
Dorking has not one, not two, but three railway stations: Dorking (Main), Dorking Deepdene and Dorking West. All are walkable from the stadium, with Dorking West the closest (0.4 of a mile, 8 minutes), then Dorking Deepdene (half a mile, 10 minutes) and furthest away Dorking Main (0.7 of a mile, 13 minutes). Deepdene and West are on the same (Reading to Redhill/Gatwick) North Downs Line and served by Great Western Railway. Dorking (Main) is on the Mole Valley Line and served by South Western Railway (London Waterloo) and Southern (London Victoria) with journey times from London around an hour.
Journeys from Yeovil Junction require two changes, at Woking and Guildford, arriving at Dorking Deepdene (or Dorking West, but far fewer trains stop here). Total journey time is mostly between two & half and two & three-quarters hours depending on connections. There are planned speed restrictions on the section of line between Gillingham and Tisbury which will lengthen journey times and may see some services cancelled. However, the latest return that will get you back to Yeovil on the night (at 00.43) departs Dorking (Main) at 21.32 – picking up a connection at Clapham Junction – so factoring in the walk from stadium to station you’d miss the last fifteen minutes or so of the match.
Whilst there is an alternative route to Dorking, out of Yeovil Pen Mill via Reading, as usual given the time of the last services through Pen Mill there’s no chance of getting back on the night; added to which engineering works around Castle Cary from 2nd to 6th October chuck in the joys of a bus replacement service between there and Frome.
NOTE: In the on-going rail disputes there’s (at time of writing) industrial action scheduled for the following day (5th October) so some winding down of services on the Tuesday evening is a possibility.
By Bus
The location of the stadium, close to the town centre, railway stations etc. means buses are unlikely to be needed. The nearest bus stop to the stadium is The White Horse Stop (named after the nearby hotel) in the High Street which is on the route of around half a dozen different buses run by four different companies.
By Taxi
A selection of Dorking taxi companies can be found here.
Web Resources
Web Sites
Dorking Wanderers – Official Site.
DWTV – Official Dorking Wanderers YouTube channel.
DorkingWDRS – Official Twitter account of Dorking Wanderers.
Local Press
The Dorking & Leatherhead Advertiser uses SurreyLive as its on-line presence and occasionally posts items about Wanderers.
Food & Drink
General
With a central location there are plenty of drinking and eating establishments within an easy walk. The majority of the town’s dozen or so pubs are strung along or just off the A25 (High Street/West Street). Most are typical ‘small town’ pubs: family friendly generalists doing a bit of everything.
Club Bar
The club’s bar is called The Lounge, is on the first floor and overlooks the pitch. Has Sky and BT Sports. Serves hot and cold food. Beer is keg, generally with a couple from Shepherd Neame and then multinational options like Amstel, Birra Moretti and Guinness making up the numbers. However towards the end of last season it did start sometimes having beers on from the local micro, Dorking Brewery. The bar is pretty small, and even when Wanderers were lower down the pyramid was struggling to cope with numbers. Thus the club introduced a ‘Fan Zone‘ outside area adjacent to one end of the Main Stand and near the entrance to the away fan turnstiles, serving alcohol and food from 90 minutes prior to kick-off. Although can’t find anything that specifically says so, strongly suspect away fans are not welcome in The Lounge and will be shepherded to this Fan Zone. According to comments on social media Mr Dorking (a.k.a. Marc White, club founder, original player and club captain, owner, chairman and now manager) has, as part of celebrating Wanderers arrival in the NLP, been putting money – reported as £300 when Notts County turned up – behind the Fan Zone bar for away fans. Fingers crossed whether he intends to maintain this for the visitors throughout the season!
Local Pubs 
Burgundy & Black: Not a pub as such, but is included as, being in the pedestrianised shopping precinct of St Martin’s, it is only a 100 yards or so from the ground. A shop/deli/café/bistro/bar with seating inside and out. Beers (cask and bottled) are mostly supplied by Adur Brewery and there’s also a lager from Hogs Back Brewery and Guinness on keg. Serves breakfasts from 8.45 a.m., switching to a lunch menu from 11.30 a.m. Everyone agrees when it opens (8.45 a.m.) but closing times given vary in different sources: at some point between 5.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m. seems favourite.
Burgundy & Black, 12 St Martin’s Walk, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1UT. Tel: 01306 899034. Map: Burgundy & Black.
Cobbett’s Beer Shop & Micropub: For beer/cider geeks this place (website has a ‘live blackboard’ with what is on) is head and shoulders above any other option in Dorking. The downside is the micropub part (called Goldings Bar) is really micro – a dozen customers and it’s packed (there is a tiny outside area too that will take a few additional drinkers). The beer shop aspect opens from 11.00 a.m. (10.00 a.m. Saturday and noon Sunday) but note that the drinking in licence for the micropub only begins from 12.00 noon. Closing time is 8.00 p.m. (8.30 p.m. Friday and 4.00 p.m. Sunday). Draught options are more limited early in the week, but expand to four or more cask and six keg beers plus two or three ciders and sometimes a perry, all from small independent producers, by Friday/Saturday. There’s an extensive range of bottles and cans too (many are fridged so can be drunk in). The only food is crisps. 0.4 of a mile (so 7 to 8 minutes walk) from the stadium.
Cobbett’s Beer Shop & Micropub, 23 West Street, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1BY. Tel: 01306 879877. Map: Cobbett’s.
Lincoln Arms: Convenient for both Dorking (Main) and Dorking Deepdene railway stations, being about a hundred yards from each. A station inn dating back to 1867 it still operates as a two bar pub and 20 room hotel. Cask beers are commonly from local Surrey breweries such as Tillingbourne and Surrey Hills. Keg is from the multinationals. Food in the pub classics/burgers style is served 6.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. weekdays (plus noon – 2.30 p.m. Thursday and Friday), all day Saturday from noon – 8.00 p.m. and noon – 5.00 p.m. Sunday. One bar has a pool table, the other bar darts. Opens from noon every day, closing 11.00 p.m. except Sundays when it’s 10.00 p.m. Paved garden and smoking area to rear, car park, children allowed until 9.00 p.m. Around 12 minutes walk (0.6 of a mile) from the stadium.
The Lincoln Arms, Station Approach, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1TF. Tel: 01306 882820. Map: Lincoln Arms.
Old House: Was a Courage and then a Young’s pub, but obtained by Punch Taverns in 2021. A single bar pub but with four separate areas coming off it, five handpumps serve beers sourced from Surrey and more widely across southern counties. Offerings from Dorking, Laine and Sly Beast breweries frequently feature. Food served noon – 3.00 p.m. (4.00 p.m. Saturday) and 6.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and noon – 4.00 p.m. Sunday. Outside is a patio garden, including some shelters for inclement weather. Families welcome until 9.00 p.m. but it’s an Over 21s rule thereafter. 0.4 of a mile (so around 8 minutes) walk from the ground. Opening hours are: 3.00 p.m. – 11.00 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; noon – 11.00 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday; noon – midnight (when there’s live music) Friday; noon – 7.00 p.m. Sunday.
The Old House, 24 West Street, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1BY. Tel: 01306 889664. Map: Old House.
White Hart: Locally nicknamed The Snakepit, this is a wet led pub a few yards off the High Street and possibly as close as Dorking gets to a traditional back-street-boozer. A horseshoe bar serves two distinct areas, one of which houses a pool table. Has three large screens showing Sports TV. Three hand pumps, with almost always something on from Surrey Hills Brewery on one or two of them. For the cider option expect something like Thatcher’s Haze on keg. Small partially covered courtyard to rear. Opening hours are from 11.00 a.m. every day except Sunday when it’s noon, closing 11.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday, midnight Friday and Saturday and 8.00 p.m. Sunday. Fifth of a mile (five minutes walk) from Meadowbank.
White Hart, 5 Dene Street, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 2DR. Tel: 01306 881960. Map: White Hart.
Likelihood the Natives Will Understand You: Small Town Surrey? They’ll all be armchair fans of one of the major Premier League clubs and thought the Super League was a great idea.
Top-Tip: No point seeking a Wetherspoon for that cheap Spoons food and drink to set up the evening – Dorking doesn’t have one.
Local Amenities: Think slightly bigger than Sherborne, but without the abbey, castle and stately home heritage and appearances in Thomas Hardy novels. So lots of estate agents, coffee & cake cafés, some antique shops… and not much else.
Other Points Of Interest: As followers of the Poultry Fancy (but which is possibly a rather small percentage of this readership) will already know: Dorking chickens are one on the oldest breeds of hen in England. Hence the chicken on the badges of both the town and football club.
[No responsibility is taken for any inaccuracies. This page is entirely the product of bias and prejudice. ]