Townhopping: Cray Valley, football travels and ME

Words: Tom Stanworth

Images: Tom Stanworth

I’m a relatively new Cray Valley Paper Mills fan and have a passion for groundhopping, exploring places, and amateur photography.

I’ve hugely enjoyed combining all these things on the Millers’ away trips in the past season.

My journey to becoming a Cray Valley fan began with the FA Cup first round proper tie vs. their local EFL side Charlton Athletic at The Valley in November 2023.

I chose to join the Cray Valley fans in the away end despite knowing very little about the club, primarily to take in the atmosphere and take fan-oriented photos.

It was a great experience watching the Millers pull off a superb 1-1 draw which prompted me to get to some of their league games.

Later that season I made the transition from groundhopper to fully fledged Millers fan, drawn in by the club’s close-knit, welcoming fans and committee members, the exciting – and ultimately successful – title run-in, as well as the club’s roots in industry.

Cray Valley Paper Mills FC was founded in 1919 as the works football team of W. Nash Paper Mill, St Paul’s Cray, Kent which eventually closed in 1981.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition. Cray Valley Paper Mills fans at Dover Athletic.

Following the club’s last season playing at the mill’s sports ground in 1980/81, they led a “nomadic existence” until eventually finding a new long-term home in Eltham, South East London, in 1998.

In the intervening period “Paper Mills” was officially abbreviated to “(PM)” in the club’s name. But it’ll always be Paper Mills to me!

Promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division opened up some great away destinations in the 2024/25 season, some of which I’d never been to before, and others I’d not visited since I was a kid. Or in the case of Bognor Regis - not since a lads’ holiday to Butlins in my misspent youth!

I arrive at the town in the morning, check out the local attractions and photograph things that catch my eye before heading to the match.

I enjoy the challenge of finding interesting things in towns that might initially appear to be mundane. For instance, before the Hendon game I took a walk beside the Welsh Harp Reservoir, then checked out some eccentric 1920s and ‘30s houses designed by renowned architect Ernest Trobridge.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition/ Folkestone Invicta vs Cray Valley Paper Mills.

On the way to the Brentwood Town FA Trophy tie I visited Hopefield Animal Sanctuary and saw a wide variety of rescue animals now living their best lives.

More orthodox attractions I’ve visited include Dover Castle, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Chichester Cathedral and Historic Dockyard Chatham.

Once at the ground I enjoy wandering round and taking photos – picking out the quirks, characters, landscape and architecture.

General admission at non-league grounds allows for discovery of the best photo opportunities and I enjoy trying out ever more wacky compositions, including my trademark through the goal net shots.

I also love chatting with friendly opposition supporters, with fan culture being far less tribal compared with the EFL and Premier League.

I visited all 22 Isthmian Premier grounds, having caught up the one ground I missed out on with the Millers – Canvey Island’s characterful Park Lane ground, aka the Steve’s Taxis Stadium.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition. Canvey Island vs Dover Athletic.

However, Canvey’s goalless draw with Dover Athletic in March didn’t quite deliver the same level of excitement as their 4-4 thriller vs. Cray Valley back in October – a game I couldn’t make due to work commitments.

My favourite opposition club is Bognor Regis Town – well supported, with particularly friendly fans who really get behind their team, and an excellent ground.

Lewes is the best town and ground combination for photos, while Hastings United has the best piece of football architecture – the magnificent grandstand which is one of the oldest football structures in England built 1926.

The match action has been great too, with the Millers exceeding expectations in their first ever season at Step 3 to finish in the playoff places.

The most exciting away-day moment was all-action centre-back Kiki Oshilaja’s superb 99th minute back-heeled equaliser at Dover in November after the home side had taken the lead in the 98th minute.

The campaign ended in heartbreaking fashion with defeat at Dartford in the playoff semi-final. Nevertheless, it’s a season to be proud of.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition. Bognor Regis Town drummers vs Cray Valley Paper Mills.

It’s been an absolute joy to go on these townhopping outings, particularly as it wasn’t feasible for me to do so until relatively recently due to the complex, debilitating and much-misunderstood illness Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/M.E. which I’m recovering from after onset 15 years ago triggered by burnout.

Thankfully I’m now in the latter stages of recovery, having made huge and very hard-earned progress in recent years.

At its worst, the illness meant that anything over and above a very light level of physical exertion would lead to energy crashes requiring days of rest to recover from, and I was unable to undertake any employment for a couple of years.

For a long time, my Saturday afternoon football experience consisted of sitting on the sofa watching Soccer Saturday and placing £2.50 in-play bets (with reasonable success I might add!) as the exertion of getting out to matches would have wiped me out.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition. Lewes vs Cray Valley Paper Mills.

A big part of the recovery process once your energy starts to return is bouncing the boundaries of your physical capabilities to make sustainable increases in your activity levels.

I got back into going to football matches regularly in spring 2022 as my energy and resilience levels had reached a reasonable level and I found I could handle getting to a game even on a bad day.

I then started getting into football photography towards the end of that year – initially using my iPhone SE – and went from there.

Groundhopping in and around London then led to mixing it up with some day trips for games further afield towards the end of the 2023/24 season. And then adventures in the Isthmian Premier with the Millers in 2024/25 – a milestone season for the club and for me personally.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition. Billericay Town vs Cray Valley Paper Mills.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition. Dulwich Hamlet vs Cray Valley Paper Mills.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition. Horsham vs Cray Valley Paper Mills.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition. Wingate and Finchley vs Cray Valley Paper Mills.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition. Chatham Town vs Cray Valley Paper Mills.

©Tom Reed/ Terrace Edition. Cheshunt vs Cray Valley Paper Mills.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition. Carshalton Athletic vs Cray Valley Paper Mills.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition. Bowers and Pitsea vs Cray Valley Paper Mills.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition/ Hastings United vs Cray Valley Paper Mills.

©Tom Stanworth/ Terrace Edition. Potters Bar Town vs Cray Valley Paper Mills.

Tom Stanworth is on X and Instagram: @tmstanworth

The ME Association website is www.meassociation.org.uk

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