Hoppers do it Anywhere
Raising the Bar This week sees us return to Lincolnshire, with Gainsborough the destination. Our game is a Northern Premier League Premier Division match between Gainsborough Trinity and Prescot Cables. Like last weekend’s game between Scunthorpe United and Brackley Town, Gainsborough Trinity are hunting for a playoff spot, while the visitors are threatened with relegation….
Plan B-B This weekend sees us in Lancashire for a visit to Bamber Bridge Football Club. Originally, I was due to visit Bolton Wanderers for their game against Stevenage, but the game was rearranged due to international call-ups. With train tickets already booked, The Toughsheet Stadium instead became tough shi… well, you get the picture….
A Change of Plans We were due to visit Redcar Town’s Mo Mowlam Memorial Park back in November, but the game was postponed. Today, we tried once more, as Town were due to take on Chester-le-Street Town in the Northern League Division Two. However, the weather once again thwarted our best-laid plans, and with standing…
An Elusive Double Century Today, we will visit Guiseley AFC’s home ground, Nethermoor Park, in what will (hopefully) be a landmark achievement for Hoppers Guide. Of course, our 200th ground visit should have happened two weeks ago. Plan A was to visit Hallam FC, the world’s oldest continuously used football ground. A combination of bad…
Third Time Lucky Having attempted to visit Stockton Town on two previous occasions, hopefully, today goes smoothly and I finally achieve the goal. If you are reading this, then we can safely assume I did… The first time I attempted a trip to Bishopton Road West coincided with the local bus company staff deciding to…
A Giant Axe to Grind Lancaster City play in one of the more interesting ground names in the UK… the Giant Axe. How did that name come about? I’m looking forward to doing a little research and finding out the answer to that and other things. Discovering the history and strange little facts is part…
Almost Done! Newton Aycliffe and Stockton Town are the only teams left for me to visit who play above Northern League level. Today was all about making that just one left to visit, as I headed south to Newton Aycliffe. The visitors were Belper Town, a friendly Derbyshire club we have already visited and made…
After the Storm Today would see me heading to Whitby, a town I have wanted to visit for many years. The great British seaside is often overlooked, with holidaymakers understandably, preferring the sunnier climes abroad. However, there are nuggets scattered around the United Kingdom’s coastline, and Whitby is one of them. Steeped in history, with…
This is Sparta! This week saw Hoppers Guide return to Croft Park, the home of Blyth Spartans. As a Stoke City fan, I could never head here without remembering one of the bleakest days in the Potters’ long history. It was 6th February 1978 and an FA Cup 4th Round game Stoke City should have…
Esh Where? No, not Esh Where… Esh Winning. The UK has some strangely named places, and County Durham has a few of them, including Pity Me and No Place. They sound like places in a Hammer House of Horror production! I will get back to the etymology of the village name later on but we…