Welcome to the series for Lower Tiers, where I attempt to visit every EFL ground to find the greatest football experience there is to offer and rate each ground on five different factors: Pricing, Atmosphere & Quality of the game, Food, Facilities and the overall experience of the matchday. This time, rather than being a “Tour of the 72” article, it’s “Tour of Non-League, as I made the most of my time in North Norfolk by visiting King’s Lynn Town for their National League North fixture against Radcliffe on the 25th of October 2025. I’ve already been to fellow Norfolk side Norwich City, but how does this experience compare?
Pricing & Ticketing 7/10
An adult ticket for this National League North fixture in a standing area was £18, helpfully available either online or at the gate, as you’d expect for a non-league fixture. It’s slightly steeper in price if you were planning on sitting during the game, with a £2 increase for seats in the premier seating areas behind the dugouts (also home to the director’s box in the front of it), which seemed to be home to the more elderly and vocal supporters, some not so pleasant words were said towards the referee from this area!
Comparing this to other Step 6 sides, these prices seem pretty much average, although prices for an Under 16 being just £5 is incredibly reasonable, enhancing the youth demographic within the stadium, building a future base of supporters for the club.
Additionally, it was a nice touch to still see a club at this level provide a printed copy of a matchday programme for £3.50, as more and more clubs switch to digital alternatives, keeping the tradition alive and kicking.
Atmosphere 3/10
Of course I wasn’t expecting an unbelievable atmosphere, but I’ve heard some good things about King’s Lynn supporters, particularly during their tenure in the National League. As King’s Lynn is surrounded by quite a rural area, I can see why the appeal to local supporters isn’t quite as strong, also given the proximity of Championship side Norwich City, but the atmosphere wasn’t quite up to the level of some other Step 6 sides. Perhaps this was just an off day for “The Linnets”, given their woeful run of form going into this fixture, but there wasn’t quite the matchday buzz.
I will certainly give them credit, as a group of around one hundred people, mostly younger teenage lads certainly tried to get the atmosphere going opposite, but most chants weren’t supportive of their side, with them being directed at their backroom staff, particularly the board, due to their presumed lack of investment in the club and squad for this campaign.
Behind the dugouts, supporters were noticeably quite gobby towards a few of the Radcliffe substitutes and players, even rattling Radcliffe winger Jon Taylor enough to react back! Unfortunately, there wasn’t a noisy away end to bounce off, but fair play to every single one of the Radcliffe supporters who made the long treck down to Norfolk from the Manchester area, who were rewarded with a valuable three points in their push for promotion.
Food 9.5/10
Wow. King’s Lynn Town FC I was in awe. The food at the ground was within a shadow of a doubt on par if not better than ninety-nine percent of EFL grounds I have visited. Firstly, within the bar/fan zone area right next to the turnstile I entered from, there’s was a plethora of locally sourced bites to grab, eventually deciding on the steak pie whilst my companion for the trip opted for a sausage roll. Now, the price completely stunned me, at just £3, they were doubled that during my trip to Watford FC a week later! A very solid start indeed with a great steak pie, but I kept room for more.
To the side of one of the goals, there was a pop-up food zone, home to a “smash burger” stand, a pizza slice van and a dessert shop, selling all sorts of baked goods. An £8 smash burger was first on my list to try, and it was decent overall, not the greatest burger ever at a football stadium, although it did the job.
My final stop was the dessert van, and I came across a football first for me, apple crumble at the footy! I can whole-heartedly say that this takes a spot in my footy scran top-tier, because this was class. Anyways, enough waffling about food, here’s more football related content!
Facilities: 6/10
Compared to most non-league grounds I’ve visited, King’s Lynn is a step ahead in terms of what’s on offer inside the ground. There’s a substantial seating area behind the dugouts, which is also home to the press box and the director’s seating, with a solid view of the action on the pitch, a large terraces area opposite, although slightly restricted by support pillars holding everything up, hindering the view.
The away end seemed average, a small terrace behind the goal houses them, with a small food hut in the heart of it, but the main positive for me, was the plethora of food outlets available, although I won’t speak any more about that!
Surrounding the ground is a few parking spaces, mostly belonging to matchday staff and players rather than supporters, and that’s pretty much it. Perhaps there aren’t any spaces, due to the likelihood that match-goers will walk in from the local area rather than travel, but the closest area to park was about a ten-minute walk from the ground, either through a quite large park filled with some historical ruins, or through the housing estates.
Overall Experience 6.5/10
Due to their recent struggles with form, the mood for most of the matchday seemed sour and toxic, particularly after they fell a goal behind, with one fan prior to kick-off saying “The clubs a f****** mess” to his mate, whilst walking past me on his way to the terrace on the side of the goal, which just about summarised the current feeling for someone completely out of the loop like me! Most locals and staff were personable, albeit rather frustrated with what was happening on the pitch, slowly losing their patience as the minutes ticked by.
The game itself was a classic non-league game of football, plenty of scrappy moments on the pitch, with no pretty-looking tactics on display from either side, going over an hour before breaking the deadlock. Both sides had stronger spells going forward, with King’s Lynn specifically being short of luck, thanks to some heroics from Radcliffe goalkeeper Mateusz Hewelt and a couple of chances from close range going narrowly wide.
Radcliffe on the other hand, took their chances well, and with their depth of EFL experience in their squad (including Hallum Hope, Callum McFadzean and David Ball) guiding them to victory despite a last gasp attempt at a comeback from King’s Lynn, when Gold Omotayo narrowed the deficit back to one.
Overall, King’s Lynn struggled to create anything too threatening for too long in the game, however since visiting, they have freshly appointed a new manager in Ian Culverhouse from St Albans, and hopefully with him at the wheel, they can return to the top half of the National League North table.
King’s Lynn 1-3 Radcliffe
Goals:
King’s Lynn – Omotayo 90’
Radcliffe – Hulme 67’, Clegg 75’, Maynard 90+2’
Lineups:
King’s Lynn: A. Chapman, R. Hall Johnson, T. Dickens, T. Wilson, B. Clements, C. Wilson (G. Omotayo 83’), M. Clunan, R. Crane, M. Williams, S. Collins (M. Gyasi 70’), A. Marriott (D. Kamara 83’)
Radcliffe: M. Hewelt, O. Thornley, B. Roscoe, L. Maynard, D. Gardner (J. Partington 90+1’), M. Sargent, (R. Smith 46’) J. Taylor (C. McFadzean 83’), R. Clegg, M. Afuye, J. Hulme (A. Dudley 80’), D. Ball (H. Hope 80’)
