Cheltenham Town FC

Cheltenham Town 1 Rochdale 1 - Football League Two

Firstly I have to report that Cheltspur is alive. Dave Whitton almost met up with yer Womble mate and myself for some liquid refreshment on Saturday. Unfortunately I received a text message in the last minute of the match advising that he had been delayed at work. He has been doing a Saturday project. However he did provide some local advice in respect of Cheltenham pubs.

Taking advantage of the recent Daily Mail offer, we arrived in Cheltenham at 10.20. We headed straight to the Whaddon Road ground in order to purchase discounted match tickets (mid-day being the deadline). I would estimate a steady 35 minute walk from the railway station.
Our next port of call was the Sudeley Arms where from a decent selection of real ales, I enjoyed 'Jouster Ale' from Goffs Brewery

We followed this with a visit the Kemble Brewery Inn (yes still there Cheltspur and after 20 years I think you should revisit). CAMRA information describes this pub as 'small, so hard to find (a former back street butchers shop) but worth the effort'. This description is spot on as we missed the correct road at the first attempt. Here I sampled 'Cats Whiskers' from Whittingtons Brewery

Moving on to the High Street we visited 'The Swan' and another Goffs ale, this time it was one of their 'ales of the round table' 'Mordred'. Followed by the 'Restoration Inn' - 'Dirty Tackle' from the Wychwood Brewery The Swan is a deceptive venue in that it has a very modern appearance and yet it clearly caters for all and on our visit had a very mixed clientele. One of whom, a CAMRA activist informed us that the 'Cotswold Arms', just up the road, was hosting ' The Cotswold Beer Festival'. At this establishment I opted for 'Dance' from the Severn Vale Brewing Co
After this refreshment excursion, it was off to Whaddon Road for the League Two encounter with Rochdale. I think Matt would agree that even when considering the poor fare dished up by Spurs recently, this match was not a classic. 7th placed Cheltenham failed to match the enterprise of 15th placed Rochdale and it was a surprise when the Robbins snatched the leads shortly before half time. Rochdale shared the spoils with a goal shortly before full time and may, with better finishing earlier on, have claimed all 3 points.
The stadium is decent enough for this level and although there is plenty of seating available we opted for a rare terraced opportunity. However this is not a big stadium and I guess it might struggle like many to cope if Cheltenham progressed. Having said that they hosted Newcastle in the FA Cup recently and I guess the Geordies would have been allocated the seated end (completely empty on Saturday).
After the match It was back to the Sudeley Arms to warm up with a pint of Brains 'SA' . One bar had been taken over by some very noisy Rochdale fans who had adjourned to this venue in advance of Rickie Lambert's equalizing goal - still they seemed happy enough !
From here we made our way to the Adam and Eve where I delighted in 'Moonlighting' from Arkells Brewery . This is very much a locals pub, in the time we were there everyone seemed to know everyone (I knew Matt and he knew me) it was friendly though and stocked a fine selection of Arkells beers.
I don't want anyone to be under the impression that this trip was all about beer, My travelling companion loves his apples and apart from enjoying his regular Stowford Press he also got some 'Black Rat' cider from the Moles Brewery in The Swan and at 6% this was a very chewable cider !





Attendance: 3184
Admission: £13.00 Terrace (a saving of £2 for advanced purchase)
Programme: £2.50 (obtained for you Andy, Stan and Glyn, the barman in Phil Butler's local, the Prince Albert in Ely)
Pork Scratchings: £1.50 (in Kemble Brewery Inn - not cheap but very nice and filling - probably better value than a couple of bags of crisps)
Fare: £10 return from Paddington (Daily Mail offer)

Selby Town FC

Selby Town 1 Pickering Town 1 (AET) - Northern Counties East, League Cup Quarter Final

King Henry I, fourth son of William the Conqueror, was born in Selby in either 1068 or 1069. Much of the historical wealth of the town is based upon its position upon the banks of the tidal River Ouse. In the past, Selby had large shipbuilding and mining industries. For a time, Selby was the leading coal mining area in the UK and featured some of the most advanced mining technology in Europe.

For half term we opted to spend a few days in York and as most will know, this superb location has plenty to offer. Less well known is the North Yorkshire town of Selby.

Harry Hotspur was keen to accompany Dad on this Tuesday evening excursion and so it was that we set off for what is my first ever Northern Counties East League club.

Arriva run a frequent bus service from York city centre to Selby. Service 415 takes 45 minutes.

To reach the Flaxley Road Ground from the bus station takes about 10 minutes passing the enormous Selby Abbey before proceeding along the main street. The ground is situated behind the Leisure Centre.

The ground was built in the early 1950s and is certainly showing it's age. There is no main stand but the majority of one end is given over to seating, most of which is of the bench variety. The remainder of the ground is either terraced or flat surface, This said there is a certain charm about the place.

Hotspur (again in ball boy mode) and I witnessed the NCEL League Cup Quarter Final versus Pickering Town. Pickering are still in the FA Vase and are certainly a very good side. On the night though, Selby were more than a match for them and this provided arguably the best match I have seen this season. A real 'cup tie' with surprisingly no goals in the 90 minutes, we headed into extra time and were treated to a cracking drive for Selby's opener (104 minutes) cancelled out by an equally fine strike from Pickering (116). Replay tomorrow (21 February) at Pickering.

The last bus back to York enabled Hotspur to catch up on his beauty sleep and he was shovelled into bed at the Travel Inn just after 23.00 hrs.
























Attendance: 52
Admission: £5.00 (Hotspur £2.00)
Programme: £1.00 (obtained for you Andy, Stan and Glyn, the barman in Phil Butler's local, the Prince Albert in Ely)
Tea: 50p
Steak Pie with Mushy Peas: £1.50
Bus Fare: £3.70 off peak return from York (Hotspur £1.85)

Bedlington Terriers FC

Bedlington Terriers 1 Billingham Synthonia 0 - Northern League Division One

Northern League

Bedlington was an industrial town with an iron works and several coal mines. However in more recent times the town has undergone many changes, and is now more of a Dormitory town. Bedlington was bought by Cutheard, bishop of Durham, between 900 and 915, and although locally situated in the county of Northumberland became part of the county of Durham over which Bishop Walcher was granted royal rights by William the Conqueror. Bedlingtonshire was made part of Northumberland for civil purposes by acts of parliament in 1832 and 1844.

With Spurs having a Sunday lunchtime appointment at the Stadium of Light and GNER imposing engineering work on the east coast main line, an overnight stay in the North East facilitated a visit to a new venue.

The Northumberland town of Bedlington is easily accessible by frequent bus services from Newcastle (Haymarket Bus Station).The X31 service departs every 20 minutes and takes just less than half an hour to reach Bedlington. There is a very convenient bus stop close to the ground and for a Saturday afternoon fixture, the 16.57 departure should not pose a problem post match. For £6.50 an explorernortheast rover ticket enables unlimited travel throughout the region stretching from Berwick in the North to Thirsk in the South.


Roger Davies from South Wales arrived by taxi (not from Wales) and Terriers did ok with admission money from the Spurs contingent.

There are a number of pubs in the town centre, the Pittsburgh Steeler and I opted for the 'Northumberland Arms' which unlike that pretentious (recently renamed) venue in London N17 serves real ale in proper glasses with no bouncers on the door . Guest ales are regularly available at reasonable prices and I opted for Batemans.

The Welfare Park ground is a tidy venue with plenty of cover dotted around. It has to be said though that the stench in the Portakabin toilets is not in keeping with the fine traditions of the Northern League and although the visiting Billingham Synthonia fan and I shared a joke on the subject, we both agreed that the clubhouse facilities would have been the better option.

Synthonia certainly tested the home side and dominated the early play. However it was the Terriers that scored the decisive goal against the run of play in the first half. The visitors also contrived to miss a penalty and this top of the table clash was won by the home team.

Attendance: ?
Admission: £4.00
Programme: None !!!!!! (Bedlington will be fined for this breach of league rules) However not to worry Stan as you will get Jarrow Roofing v West Allotment Celtic and Ashington v Durham City courtesy of Andy & Ian Scott respectively.
Tea: 80p
Burger with onions: £1.80
Fare: £6.50 (explorer ticket)

2006/7 update - Smid's visit (30/12/06)