Vince Taylor runs the rule over Cray Wanderers ’ new Flamingo Park
Flamingo Park Photo : Vince Taylor
It may have taken 164 years , but Cray Wanderers , the oldest club in London , have a ground of their own at last . Beginning in 2024 / 25 , their permanent new home will be Flamingo Park , a formerly semi-derelict sports ground which Cray have brought back to life in impressive fashion . Located off the A20 Sidcup by-pass in Chislehurst , Flamingo Park is by no means the finished product and the changes that have taken place so far only represent phase one of an ambitious project that will eventually see extra stands and a new clubhouse building . However , after spending the past 26 years as paying guests at Bromley ’ s Hayes Lane , the Isthmian League Premier Division side are now in the happy position of being their own masters for the first time in the club ’ s long history .
In Cray Wanderers ’ recently published club history Wandering No More !, it is calculated that the club have played at least ten different home grounds since their formation in 1860 . For a lot of that time , competitions such as the Kent Amateur League , London League and London Spartan League were not too strict when it came to ground facilities . Indeed , Cray ’ s ground at the Sidcup Conservative Club in Oxford Road , Foots Cray ,
Grassmeade was Cray ’ s home from 1955 to 1973 Photo : Bob Lilliman
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