The ground is in walking distance of Charlton railway station, which is served by Charing Cross, London Bridge and Waterloo East stations. On Saturdays there are also services from Cannon Street station.
Come out of Charlton station into Charlton Church lane, (all exits lead onto this road), and turn right and cross over to the other side. Take the next left into Floyd Road and then right into Valley Grove for the away section entrance.
Regular services, especially from Cannon Street, for £4.10 day return you can buy on the day.
From Southend stations ask for a £13.50 super off-peak travelcard which will do for the game, Charlton is in Zone 3 so give yourself a couple of hours door to door.
There is some confusion on what Travelcard you should purchase on the day, ringing National Rail enquiries I was told that the £13.50 version would be accepted at Charlton stations, some lines don't accept the 'super version'.
The next up is 18pounds so a couple of pints difference but check when you buy, the guy I spoke to didn't sound 100% sure!
Cannon Street is on the District and Circle Lines, two stops from Tower Hill, and open on Saturdays from 07.30 to 19.30, but always check for engineering works beforehands.
It can get quite busy on the platforms after the game, plenty of pubs or chippies to wait behind a touch and catch a later train.
Examples:
Charing Cross 12.50 - Charlton 13.14
Cannon Street 13.00 - Charlton 13.20
Charlton 17.12 - London Bridge 17.28
Charlton 17.17 - Cannon Street 17.17
Charlton 17.34 - Charing Cross 17.58
Station top left; ground, well, quite close.
Remember, it's in a Group Save area that can cut the fares in half. Find out more here: www.daysoutguide.co.uk/groupsave.aspx
Although Charlton station is very close to the Valley, many people use the Jubilee Line to get to North Greenwich station and then take a short ride on buses 161, 472 or 486 to get to the ground.
The Jubilee Line is only out between West Hampstead and Stanmore so OK for a change at Startford and only three stops to North Greenwich, you could buy some tickets for an O2 gig if you have the time, or see the Michael Jackson exibition, or maybe not.
All the usual Railcards will keep the cost down, and from the new year some of us will be able to use our Oyster cards on similar journeys, but maybe not
next season at Charlton!
(Many thanks to www.footballgroundguide.com for their help with this article.)