The Built Different Index: Longest Away Trip

The Longest Away Trip factor ranks all 92 clubs by the single furthest one-way journey they face during the league season. The longer the trip, the higher the club ranks.

Because travelling hundreds of miles for 90 minutes of football — possibly in the rain, possibly for a goalless draw — is commitment in its purest and least sensible form.

This ranking is based on the clubs competing across the Premier League and EFL in the 2025/26 season, so every furthest trip reflects that season’s league line-up. Promotion and relegation can turn a difficult journey into a completely different postcode.

And right at the top, we have a fixture that should come with its own travel documentary.

Bournemouth take top spot

Bournemouth lead the table, with Newcastle United their furthest away trip at 355 miles one way. That’s 710 miles there and back.

Before traffic.

Before roadworks.

Before somebody realises the train home was cancelled three weeks ago but nobody bothered to update the app.

Bournemouth rise six places from their overall Built Different ranking to finish first in this factor, with a factor score of 368.

A trip from the south coast to St James’ Park is less “away day” and more “national tour”.

And if it gets moved for television?

Lovely.

Newcastle get the same journey in reverse

Second are Newcastle United, whose longest trip is, naturally, Bournemouth. Also 355 miles.

Same distance. Completely different service-station strategy.

Newcastle rise two places from their baseline position and score 364, just four points behind Bournemouth.

There is something beautifully symmetrical about the two clubs sitting first and second.

One at the bottom of the map.

One near the top.

Both staring at the fixture list and thinking, “Seriously?”

Brighton and Sunderland join the 345-mile club

Brighton & Hove Albion come third, with Newcastle their longest trip at 345 miles.

Sunderland are fourth, with Bournemouth also 345 miles away.

Brighton drop two places from their overall top spot, while Sunderland climb 14.

These are the trips that expose the difference between footballers and supporters.

The team gets a coach, a flight, a hotel and a carefully planned recovery schedule.

The fans get a paper cup of coffee and a platform announcement beginning with “We regret to inform you…”

Same fixture.

Different sport.

Barrow and Gillingham make League Two look enormous

Fifth and sixth belong to Barrow and Gillingham.

Their furthest fixture is against each other, at 335 miles.

That means a League Two match can require almost as much travel as Bournemouth to Newcastle.

No private jet discourse.

No luxury travel itinerary.

Just hundreds of miles for a fourth-tier fixture that could be decided by a deflection off someone’s knee.

Barrow rise 27 places from their baseline ranking.

Gillingham climb 39.

This is exactly what the Index is supposed to uncover.

Premier League distances get attention because Premier League everything gets attention.

League Two fans are quietly crossing the country anyway.

Bradford and Plymouth create another monster journey

Bradford City sit seventh, with Plymouth Argyle their furthest away day at 325 miles.

Plymouth come eighth, facing the same journey in reverse.

Bradford climb a huge 41 places.

Plymouth drop two.

A 325-mile one-way trip at League One level is serious work. That’s a full day before anybody has even kicked a ball. And if the match is called off late?

Best not to think about it.

Middlesbrough and Portsmouth complete the top ten

Middlesbrough and Portsmouth take ninth and tenth.

Their furthest trip is each other, at 320 miles.

Again, nicely balanced.

Again, absolutely horrible.

For Middlesbrough supporters, Portsmouth means heading almost the full length of the country.

For Pompey fans, it means the same thing with the compass reversed.

At least both sets of supporters can agree on one thing: whoever schedules it for a Tuesday night has a dark sense of humour.

Plymouth are everyone’s problem

One of the clearest patterns in the table is the number of clubs whose longest away day is Plymouth Argyle.

• Blackpool: 320 miles. -Huddersfield Town: 315 miles.
• Barnsley: 305 miles.
• Bolton Wanderers: 295 miles.
• Doncaster Rovers: 295 miles.
• Lincoln City: 295 miles.
• Rotherham United: 290 miles.
• Peterborough United: 285 miles.
• Wigan Athletic: 285 miles.
• Stockport County: 280 miles.
• Leyton Orient: 275 miles.
• Mansfield Town: 265 miles.
• Luton Town: 255 miles.
• Port Vale: 245 miles.
• Burton Albion: 235 miles.
• Northampton Town: 230 miles.

Plymouth do not just have long away days.

They create them for everybody else.

Home Park is less a stadium and more a geographical final boss.

Rotherham are the biggest risers

The biggest jump belongs to Rotherham United.

They climb 51 places, moving from 75th in the overall Built Different table to 24th here.

Their furthest trip is Plymouth, 290 miles away.

That is a 580-mile round trip.

For context, that’s not “leave a bit early”. That’s “pack a toothbrush”.

Rotherham’s rise shows how a single factor can completely change the story of a club.

Overall, they sit towards the bottom.

On longest-distance suffering, they are Champions League.

Gillingham and Barrow haunt League Two

Plymouth dominates the League One journeys. In League Two, the main villains are Barrow and Gillingham.

Crawley Town’s longest trip is Barrow: 320 miles.

Bromley and Colchester United both face 290 miles to Barrow.

Barnet travel 265 miles.

Cambridge United and Swindon Town face 245 miles.

Bristol Rovers and Milton Keynes Dons get 235 miles and 225 miles respectively.

Going the other way, plenty of northern clubs have Gillingham as their longest run.

• Fleetwood Town: 280 miles.
• Accrington Stanley: 255 miles.
• Harrogate Town, Salford City and Tranmere Rovers: 250 miles.
• Oldham Athletic: 245 miles.
• Crewe Alexandra: 220 miles.
• Shrewsbury Town: 215 miles.
• Notts County: 170 miles.

League Two: where the budgets are tighter but the coach mileage is absolutely thriving.

Newcastle carry half the Premier League north

For many Premier League clubs, the furthest trip is Newcastle United.

• Brighton: 345 miles.
• Crystal Palace: 300 miles.
• Chelsea and Fulham: 290 miles.
• Arsenal, Brentford and West Ham: 285 miles.
• Tottenham: 275 miles.
• Aston Villa and Wolves: 205 miles.

Newcastle sit at one edge of the football map, which means a lot of southern clubs eventually have to make the long climb to St James’ Park.

The reward?

One of the best away days in the country.

The cost?

Basically the entire weekend.

Brighton become the northern clubs’ long one

For several clubs in the North West, the furthest trip is Brighton.

• Burnley: 275 miles.
• Everton and Liverpool: 270 miles.
• Manchester City and Manchester United: 260 miles.

So while Newcastle causes problems for the south, Brighton returns the favour for the north.

Football geography is nothing if not petty.

Wrexham take the biggest fall

The biggest fall belongs to Wrexham.

They drop 51 places, from 21st overall to 72nd in this factor.

Their furthest league trip is Ipswich Town, at 225 miles.

Now, 225 miles is hardly around the corner, but in this table, it’s almost suspiciously manageable.

Compared with Bournemouth to Newcastle, Barrow to Gillingham or Bradford to Plymouth, Wrexham’s worst journey starts to look positively civilised.

That’s the problem with a table built around suffering.

There is always someone having a worse day.

Bristol City also take a tumble

Bristol City fall 40 places, with Middlesbrough their longest trip at 245 miles.

Again, not exactly local.

But the competition here is brutal.

A 245-mile trip puts you well into the lower half when other clubs are pushing 300, 320 and 355.

Imagine travelling nearly 500 miles there and back, then being told you have not suffered enough.

Football heritage.

The Sheffield clubs get the same bad news

Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday both have Portsmouth as their furthest away day.

That’s 215 miles.

United score 64 in this factor, while Wednesday score 60.

Same city.

Same longest destination.

Four points apart.

Finally, a Sheffield argument that can be settled without mentioning trophies from before colour television.

The Midlands have got off lightly

At the bottom end of the table, geography becomes noticeably kinder.

Aston Villa and Wolves both top out at 205 miles, travelling to Newcastle.

Nottingham Forest’s furthest trip is Bournemouth at 195 miles.

Stoke City also face 195 miles, to Portsmouth.

Derby County travel 180 miles to Swansea.

Leicester City’s longest is 175 miles, also to Swansea.

Walsall’s furthest is Barrow, again at 175 miles.

These are still proper journeys.

But compared with 355 miles?

Basically a school run.

Birmingham and Coventry finish at the bottom

The two shortest “longest” journeys belong to Birmingham City and Coventry City.

Both have Middlesbrough as their furthest away fixture, at 165 miles.

Birmingham finish second-bottom with a factor score of 8.

Coventry sit last with 4.

That is the weird achievement at the bottom of this table.

Every club has to travel.

But for Birmingham and Coventry, even the worst one is relatively restrained.

No 300-mile epic.

No cross-country pilgrimage.

Just Middlesbrough.

A sentence rarely used to describe the easy option.

So, what does the Longest Away Trip table tell us?

It tells us the football pyramid is not just competitive. It is enormous.

The 92 clubs are spread across a map that gives some supporters a two-hour journey and others a weekend expedition.

Bournemouth fans face 355 miles to Newcastle.

Barrow and Gillingham have 335 miles between them.

Birmingham and Coventry never go beyond 165.

Same league system.

Very different commitment.

And that commitment matters.

Because an away following is easy to admire when it fills the stand.

It is even more impressive when you realise how long it took to get there.

The early alarm. The motorway. The delays. The late return.

All for the chance to watch your team concede from a corner after six minutes.

That’s not normal behaviour.

That’s Built Different.

The Full Table