Hoppers Do It Together
Strike Chaos Birtley Town may have been our final destination this weekend but it didn’t happen without hitches. First off, we had initially planned a trip to Wigan Athletic for their home game with Portsmouth. Train strikes put paid to that particular trip, so alternative plans needed to be made. I selected four local games…
Oh I do Like to be Beside the Seaside Blackpool is a famous Lancashire seaside town on the northwest coast. It is the home of the wild stag/hen night, Pleasure Beach rides, trams, the illuminations, the Tower, Madame Tussauds, a zoo and so much more. Located twenty-seven miles north of Liverpool and forty miles west…
From Beheadings to Uranus This week, our travels would take us to West Yorkshire, home of FC Halifax Town. When I start writing about our groundhopping adventures, one of my favourite things is researching a town’s history and discovering new trivia… Halifax didn’t let me down! The market town has a rich history and was…
Accrington Stanley, Who Are They? I’m sure Accrington fans get sick of hearing that phrase from the old milk advert, but it’s a good question and we went to check out “exactly!” who Accrington Stanley are this weekend. Situated between Blackburn (4 miles west) and Burnley (6 miles east), Accrington is a former cotton and…
Whickham Wanderers This weekend our wanderings took us to Whickham. No, not a spelling mistake and a long way from the Buckinghamshire-based team. Whickham is another team based up here in the northeast, just to the west of Gateshead. The town is located two miles southwest of Dunston, the scene of one of our most…
Consett and Match Fourteen miles to the southwest of Newcastle on the edge of the Northern Pennines, lies Consett, County Durham. This would be the scene for our next adventure in the northeast and what an adventure it turned out to be! Consett and the surrounding area have an abundance of coal, limestone and iron…
Back Wom Stoke City is a club that has become synonymous with long ball football, and cold Tuesday nights, all based in a grim city. Doesn’t sound great, does it? Except for me, it’s completely different. Stoke-on-Trent is my second home, or “wom” as it’s called in Stoke. Maybe I see it through red and…
Heeding Out to Dunston Dunston is a small district on the western edge of the city of Gateshead, or the Heed as it’s known locally. It sits on the southern bank of the River Tyne and the Metrocentre is just over half a mile to the west. This is where we would be heading for…
An Everton First and Last Not often can you confirm a first and a last at the same time but that’s precisely what Everton did yesterday. A pre-season fixture between the Toffees and their Portuguese opponents would be the first fixture of the season at Goodison Park and the last ever to be played there….
The Importance of Coal Located fifteen miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne and three miles west of the North Sea coastline, Ashington is another northeast town built on coal. The heritage of this industry has left an indelible mark on the entire region and although now defunct, the communities that were built on it will…