'Wales has some of the best football grounds'

An amateur photographer from Sheffield who has visited hundreds of football pitches says many in Wales are "magnificent" and among the very best.

Mike Bayly, 50, works as an IT consultant but also has a passion for groundhopping - travelling the country to explore lesser-known football grounds and connect with the communities behind them.

In 2013, he set out to write a book on Britain's best football grounds, guided by votes from fans across the UK.

He said the "warm welcome" from grassroots clubs, especially in Wales, kept him returning year after year, and has led him to visit around 40 of the country's grounds.

Mr Bayly grew up near the Welsh border in Ludlow, Shropshire, and supported Kidderminster Harriers.

He moved to Sheffield for university in the 1990s and has lived there ever since.

His passion for football evolved into groundhopping in 2012 after meeting like-minded friends, and he began attending random matches for the "love of the game" and the people he met.

"It was quite nice to go to a game where you didn't have anything emotionally riding on it," he said.

Although he does some freelance photography for a magazine and volunteers with a local club in Sheffield, the football fan described it as "a passion more than anything" and "a labour of love".

In 2013, Mr Bayly decided to write a book on Britain's must-see football grounds.

He collected thousands of public votes and then went on a journey to visit the top 100, which sparked his interest in photography and led him to buy a second-hand camera to capture the "striking landscapes".

The book also explored the history behind each ground. Mr Bayly said he was especially drawn to the "unique beauty of Welsh non-league grounds", which reminded him of the grassroots football of his youth.

He added: "I really appreciated just how stunning Welsh football is.

"It's a beautiful country that's been close to my heart from a very young age - the grounds are just magnificent."

The Welsh grounds featured in Mr Bayly's book include Garw SBGC, Merthyr Town FC, Blaenrhondda AFC, Blaenau Ffestiniog Amateur FC, Abertillery Bluebirds FC, Cefn Druids AFC, and Treharris Athletic Western FC.

One of the first matches he photographed was in 2014 at Treharris Athletic Western FC, a Merthyr county club whose now-demolished ground appears in the book's "ghost ground" section.

He said: ",Their ground was stunning, I was blown away."

Mr Bayly also described the grounds at Blaenrhondda in Rhondda Cynon Taf and Abertillery Bluebirds in Blaenau Gwent as "majestic", and said the most memorable and welcoming clubs and the "real gems" were often found in the lower Welsh leagues.

He also praised the history-rich grounds at Merthyr Tydfil and Penydarren, and called Garw SBGC in Pontycymer "remarkable" for its dramatic 40-foot drop to the pitch.

Accessed by zigzag steps, Mr Bayly said it offered stunning elevated views and was a "bucket list moment" for most groundhoppers.

When asked about his favourite ground, Mr Bayly said it was "tricky" and "hard to pinpoint just one".

Among his top picks were Fraserburgh FC in Scotland, Cadbury Athletic in Birmingham, and several picturesque grounds in Innsbruck and Salzburg, Austria.

However, Mr Bayly named Blaenau Ffestiniog Amateur FC as one of his all-time favourites, as it reminded him of childhood visits to the local railway.

He has visited the ground three times and is always struck by the warm welcome and stunning surroundings.

Mr Bayly added: "It's an incredible landscape, because it's naturally stunning.

"I am always genuinely in awe of all of its surroundings."

Mr Bayly also said he was "incredibly inspired" by how the ground has been shaped by decades of slate mining.

Mr Bayly said groundhopping was a "small but dedicated community", with some enthusiasts visiting up to seven different grounds a week. Others, often season ticket holders, only explore new clubs when their own team plays away.

"What never failed to amaze me was that I could visit the most remote places in Britain - whether on Anglesey or the Scottish Isles - and I'd always bump into someone from the community and have a chat," he said.

Mr Bayly said groundhoppers came from "all over Europe" and it was "not just a British thing".

He explained how he regularly exchanged ideas with fellow fans through shared interests in football and photography.

Some groundhoppers, he said, had attended "thousands and thousands" of games worldwide, which is "far more than I could ever do or would ever want to do".

Mr Bayly said he typically visited a new ground once a week, although in recent years has scaled back to "one or two a month".

"I stayed in touch with a few people on social media, and without groundhopping, I would never have had the opportunity to do that," Mr Bayly added.

A few years ago he arrived at a football ground in north Wales and, after asking to take photos, the club was "so surprised" Mr Bayly had come all the way from Sheffield that they gave him a pin badge, a cup of tea, and a KitKat - "kind gestures" he will never forget.

"I've always been made to feel very welcome wherever I've gone in Wales, and that's why I will continue to go back every year," Mr Bayly added.