Wow - what a place! I couldn't believe it. St George's Park is the English Football Association's national football center built on a 330-acre site at Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The center was officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in October 2012. Did I say it cost £130 million to build!? We had better win a World Cup again soon right??!
I have lived 15-20 minutes away for 2 years, driven past several times and noticed a small road sign pointing to "Hilton" and "St George's Park" (the latter also showing the three lions badge of the England national football team) - but from the road you can see nothing. Driving in the property I understood why - the drive i twisting (it was dark at night) and eventually we could see the lights of the Hilton hotel but even then finding the entrance and the most convenient parking lot was not trivial - everything is no more than 2 storeys high and the Hilton itself is in a natural dip in the landscape.
Found our way in and then took an accompanied tour of the whole facility or at least all the indoor facilities and nearby outdoor - there was no way to survey the whole 330 acres. Apparently the site includes California Redwoods brought back from "the New World" and planted by the then aristocrat owner in about 1850.
Definitely worth a visit some time - I wonder what gym membership costs??
Review #100 2019 read more