Gardening Time
After last week’s trip to Northallerton Town, we switch our attention to the Allotment.
Don’t worry, we haven’t gone all green-fingered and tending to the turnips and cabbages.
Allotment is the nickname for one of Newcastle’s Northern League teams, West Allotment Celtic.
In recent years, they have led a nomadic life since leaving their home village but are now within touching distance at nearby Palmersville.
The East Palmersville Sports Pavilion is technically the home of Forest Hall FC, who are members of the Northern Alliance First Division.
A ground-sharing agreement was struck and Allotment have played here since the start of the 2021/22 season.
Time for us to go and see what the Allotment matchday experience is like…
West Allotment – The Journey
The day started with something I hadn’t done in about six years… I used an ATM!
Mrs Hopper usually does the honours but she had decided to give today’s game a miss to help catch up with her work.
Expecting to be stood there like Mr Magoo, I was pleasantly surprised that I could actually still read everything (with my reading specs on, of course).
With cash on hand, I caught the 11:10 X1 to Newcastle, arriving on John Dobson Street at 12:10.
I had been nervous about catching the connecting bus which was scheduled for 12:15. Traffic can be a little heavy at times heading into the city and I had mapped out plans to catch the Metro if necessary.
No need, I had five minutes to spare, plus the five minutes that the next bus was late.
The #63 bus arrived at 12:20 and I got off at Clousden Hill at 13:00.
Whilst technically not in West Allotment, I will talk a little bit about the village that the team is from, rather than their current home.
West Allotment
West Allotment is a small village in the northern suburbs of Newcastle.
In 1974, governance of the village passed from Northumberland to North Tyneside.
The village is located 4 miles west of Whitley Bay on the northeast coast and seven miles northeast of Newcastle city centre.
A mile beyond West Allotment is the beautiful Northumberland scenery, stretching up to the Scottish borders.
As evidenced by the football club’s crest, West Allotment is yet another ex-mining community. There are very few towns around these parts that I don’t say that about!
Cobalt Business Park is situated to the south of the village. This is the UK’s biggest office park containing a multitude of businesses and offices. Silverlink Biodiversity Park is a local nature reserve that is also part of the Cobalt Park site.
Formerly a rubbish tip, Silverlink was developed into a park in 1996 and declared a nature reserve in 2005.
You have to love that kind of transformation!
The village’s name pertains to the land it was built on. Originally part of Tynemouthshire Moor, it was allocated to the Preston Township as part of the Enclosure Act and given the simple name of Allotment, or Northumberland Place.
The village expanded with the discovery of coal and miners houses were erected, starting around 1820.
In the late 1800s, more land was acquired by Backworth Colliery Ltd and the new estate was called West Allotment. The original ‘slum’ housing was demolished in the sixties and new estates have since sprung up to take their place.
Nowadays, West Allotment is mostly a residential area for people who work at Cobalt Park or commute into Newcastle.
The Clousden Hill
After getting off the bus at Clousden Hill, I headed to the pub just across the road, also called Clousden Hill.
With two hours to kick-off and no clubhouse at East Palmersville, this was the perfect stopping point for a pre-game pint, or two.
The inside is spacious and nicely decorated. The staff were friendly as I ordered my pint of Amstel (£4.80).
I sat down at a table with a good view of the Crystal Palace v Liverpool game on one of the big wall TV’s dotted around.
I started stroking an old doggy who seemed to love having his ears scratched. His owner was playing on a fruit machine next to me.
After watching him win the £100 jackpot, I said “Very nice, mate!”
He told me he had put £80 in to win that. I can’t imagine spending £80 on a fruit machine! He then proceeded to keep playing and went back down to £80 before the unthinkable happened. He won a second jackpot!
This time, with £180 showing on the screen, he took his money and his dog, leaving me wondering at just how different we all are.
With my second pint drained and the Palace match nearly over (Liverpool won 1-0), I headed out and made my way to East Palmersville.
Diet? What Diet?
The ground is easy to find. Just walk along Great Lime Road (from East or West) and turn up Palm Court.
Before that, I needed a little sustenance and despite being on a diet, I knew where I was heading next.
Just off Great Lime Road, is the East Palmersville Chippy and my mouth was watering at the forbidden fruits within. (Are potatoes fruit? They sound like tomatoes, right? Yeah, must be!)
I ordered a steak pie and small chips (see, I was good!), costing £5.10.
Very nice they were, too.
I carried my bounty with me and headed back towards the ground, which I had passed on the way.
West Allotment Celtic – East Palmersville Sports Pavilion
Getting In
Entry is by way of a gate in the fence by the car park.
Cash or card is accepted and after having my card scanned, I entered the ground.
On a table just past the gate hut, was a man selling draw tickets and programmes… woohoo!
I purchased a programme, a pin badge and a draw ticket (the winning number was #597, I had #591-595!) These items were all cash only.
Another guy was standing next to the table selling copies of the Football Pink. This is a recently relaunched publication that details all the northeast’s non-league teams.
It also features an article about groundhopping to Shildon.
I have no idea who may have written that (heavily edited) particular article… 👀
Programme
A superb effort from West Allotment Celtic!
£2.00 gets you twenty glossy pages of content, with just three full-page adverts.
There are words from the manager and the chairman, a club history and a double-spread on visitors, Carlisle City.
There is a section on the women’s team plus the usual stuff, like fixtures and the league table.
Great value and production, which shows it can be done.
West End
I began my lap of the ground at the west end, having entered in the southwest corner.
A small covered terrace sits directly behind the goal and is the solitary feature at this end.
It is of the ‘temporary’ structure variety, made of metal, but nonetheless, something I hadn’t expected to find.
My ‘lap’ came to a premature end in the northwest corner. There is a fence blocking further travel that way. This is where the players enter the pitch from the dressing rooms.
For the ease of this review, I will carry on as if I had just walked past the fence (which I probably could have done).
North Side
The northern side of the ground is bereft of any spectator structures but the technical dugouts are here, set on either side of the halfway line.
Three of the six floodlights are also on this side.
East End
The eastern end is just a path with grass and a fence behind it.
As Forrest Gump might say, “That’s about all I got to say about that”.
South Side
This brings us around to the south side, where there are two more of the ‘temporary’ type stands.
This time, they are covered and seated structures, holding fifty seats each.
Other than the seats, they are the exact same design as the standing structure behind the goal.
The other three floodlights are on this side of the pitch.
The playing surface is natural grass, while the capacity at East Palmersville is set at 1,500 with one hundred seats.
Back in the southwest corner, there is also a snack van, where I dutifully deposited my chip shop tray in the bin provided.
The dressing rooms (and toilets) are located at the west end, outside of the ground.
With my bladder pressing the action, I decided to do my video afterwards (DOH! I should have known I’d forget.)
After telling the guy at the gate to remember my face (I’m not paying again haha), I relieved myself, before re-entering. (I blame the second pint.)
West Allotment Celtic – East Palmersville Sports Pavilion Gallery
West Allotment Celtic Tidbits
The West Allotment Celtic Football Club was formed in 1928.
It was formed to take the place of West Allotment Primitive Methodists FC, following WAPM’s resignation from the Forest Hall & District Churches League. Financial difficulties, following the General Strike in 1926 had caused the problems.
The old club merged with WA Juniors to form West Allotment Celtic.
WAC started life in the North Shields & District Churches League, winning the League Cup in 1934/35. The following year saw the club move to the Tynemouth & District League.
In 1938, the club moved again, this time to the Northern Amateur League’s Second Division.
During this time, the club was playing at the Farm Ground, which would remain their home until 1968, when they moved to Backworth Welfare.
The club won instant promotion to Division One but the outbreak of the Second World War halted further progression.
The club enjoyed a successful spell in the 1950s, winning the Championship four times, along with NFA Amateur Cup and NFA Minor Cup titles.
In 1975, the club won the NFA Amateur Cup again, helped by the goalscoring exploits of Benny Williams. He managed to score an eye-watering 400 goals in 412 appearances for Allotment.
The won the NFA League title in successive seasons in 1981/82 and 1982/83. This prompted the club to move onto the next level, in the Northern Alliance.
1985 saw the first silverware at the new level, as they beat Ponteland United in the Alliance Challenge Cup Final at St. James’ Park, home of Newcastle United.
In 1986/87, they won the title for the first of eight times, including a hat-trick of wins between 1998 and 2000. The last of these title successes in 2003/04, saw the club make the move into the Northern League’s Division Two.
Nomadic Life
The club moved in as tenants at Hillheads, home of Whitley Bay in 1995.
In 2001 they moved to Whitley Park in Benton, where they stayed until the end of the 2016/17 season.
Immediate success again, as WA Celtic lifted the Division Two title in its debut year of 2004/05.
Successful manager Terry Mitchell moved on to manage the Youth Academy at Hartlepool United and has since been at several Northeast clubs, including Blyth Spartans, Consett and Gateshead. He is currently with Darlington.
A yo-yo spell began in 2010/11 with relegation and promotion happening in 2013/14 and another drop occurred in 2016/17.
Another change of scenery was on the cards for the club in 2017, with the move to Druid Park, the former home of the original Newcastle Blue Star.
The 2019/20 season saw Allotment fifteen points clear at the top of Division Two when the Covid-19 lockdown measures brought a premature end to the season.
Fortunately for the club, they took matters into their own hands the following season and got promoted as champions.
2020/21 was the season the club came home (almost!)
After beginning the season at Newcastle Benfield‘s Sam Smiths Stadium, WAC completed their latest move to the East Palmersville Sports Pavillion, in Forest Hall.
Covid-19 prevention measures meant the club had to wait until the 2021/22 season before they could host their first game at the Pavillion.
A £100,000 grant allowed renovation work to bring it up to the required standards and finally gave Allotment a ‘home’ base to build on after years of moving around.
West Allotment Celtic’s first competitive game at their new home ended with a 5–3 win for Thornaby.
The club is currently managed by the superbly-named, Gavin Hattrick.
They Played for West Allotment Celtic
As recently as last season, former Newcastle United player, Michael Chopra was with the club.
West Allotment Celtic – Pre-Game View of East Palmersville
With an ageing bladder that doesn’t care about my hobby or this website, I completely forgot to do a video of the ground on my return from the little boys’ room.
Instead, I will post the video of the teams coming out, which shows the three main structures and the dressing room building.
West Allotment Celtic v Carlisle City – The Game
Form
West Allotment currently feature at the wrong end of the table and will want to start putting that right, today!
Before kick-off, they were twentieth of twenty-two and need to start getting a few wins on the board.
In the last two outings, eleven goals were conceded, scoring just two in return. A 5-1 loss at Blyth Town was preceded by an even bigger drubbing at Prudhoe YCS (6-1).
September provided mixed results, with four points gained (a 1-2 win at Whickham and a 0-0 draw with Guisborough). They suffered defeat in the other three games played last month.
Visitors, Carlisle City, have fared a little better and are mid-table entering October.
That said, they will desperately want to put thoughts of their last match to bed following a heavy 0-5 defeat at home to Redcar Athletic.
September was a relatively productive month for the Sky Blues, picking up eight points from the five matches played.
It started with a 3-0 loss at Whickham but picked up thereafter. Wins at home to Blyth Town (3-2) and Birtley Town (3-1), were followed by successive draws against Easington Colliery and West Auckland Town.
Going into today’s game, I can’t envisage anything other than an away win with goals for both sides.
Pre-match prediction: West Allotment Celtic 1 Carlisle City 2.
Kick-Off
Summary
The first half had very little in the way of excitement, with teams limited to a couple of chances, although Harvey Walsh did hit the bar for Allotment.
Scott – Carlisle City’s Super-Fan
With little happening on the pitch, my attention was drawn to a man standing at the east end of the ground.
With just eighty people in attendance, he stood out.
Why? Was it the orange-rimmed sunglasses and sky-blue bucket hat?
Nope, it was his constant singing.
Despite the crowd being just eighty strong and standing on his own, there was a constant barrage of chanting coming from the east end.
I went over to stand by him and introduced myself. He said his name was Scott and we got talking.
During the conversation, Scott told me about how Carlisle City had saved his life. Having been depressed and about to take his own life, a couple of friends persuaded him out of it and asked him to come to Carlisle City with them.
Despite being a Cardiff fan, born in Wales and having tattoos to prove it, he has lived in Carlisle since he was young.
He took to life at Gillford Park and found himself a new passion. He now raises money for the club and follows them to every game, home and away.
And he always lets them know he is there!
I also managed to have a quick word with City chairman, Brian Hall (see, I said hello for you, Steve Clare!) Although he was quite busy tweeting updates for the club’s social media account, he was happy to chat about his time at the club.
With halftime approaching, Allotment took the lead through Max Cowburn, after being assisted by Bradley Morns.
Well, I had predicted 1-2, so that’s the one, right?
Half Time – WA Allotment 1 Carlisle City 0
After half-time, the action was better and there were two further goals.
I caught the first one in the video below. The goalscorer was Bradley Morns, turning in a good performance following his earlier assist.
The referee and his assistants weren’t having the best of days, making questionable decisions for both teams. This left both sets of players, staff and supporters feeling a bit miffed, resulting in a booking for Carlisle manager, Dan Kirkup.
My new mate, Scott had the home fans laughing as he chanted “The referee’s a w*nker!” after booking Kirkup.
He made me laugh when he followed this up with “Have you ever seen a crowd?” after City conceded the second.
With my pre-match prediction looking rather silly, all that was left to do was for Allotment to grab a third and rub my nose in it.
I managed to record this one, too, with Alfie Livermore latching onto a through ball by Owen Mitchell.
A well-deserved victory for Allotment that has allowed them to narrow the gap on the teams directly above them.
They will look to build on this victory in the coming games.
If and when a Match Report becomes available, I will post it here.
Attendance – 80
Entrance Fee – £7.00
Programme – £2.00
League Table After Today’s Game
Up Next
A trip to Newcastle Benfield and Sam Smith’s Stadium on October 8th is next up for Allotment.
This is followed by a home game against Birtley Town on the 12th and away to Penrith on the 19th.
October is rounded off with a home fixture against Tow Law Town on the 26th.
For Carlisle City, there will be a trip to Scotswood to face Newcastle Blue Star on the 8th of October.
A home game against Whitley Bay is on the 12th.
Successive away trips to Guisborough (19th) and Shildon (22nd) are followed by a return to Gillford Park to host Seaham Red Star on the 26th.
West Allotment Celtic Thoughts
I was warned by a couple of people that East Palmersville wouldn’t be a great place to watch football.
I can see why they would say that but I have to say, I enjoyed it.
As always, people were friendly. There was no clubhouse, so it was difficult to socialise with the locals. A great pub just down the road renders that problem moot.
That said, the ones I stood by and interacted with during the game were as I’ve come to expect in the Northern League.
It may be a cliche but the northeast really is a friendly area to come and watch non-league football.
Facilities aren’t great here but they are adequate. There are covered areas for standing or sitting, whichever is your preference.
There are hot snacks and drinks supplied, although, the nearby chippy meant I didn’t get to try anything on offer in the ground.
Pin badges and a superb programme are available.
My biggest gripe would be having to leave the ground to use the toilet facilities. Maybe they could work out a way to have a path to them, or even install a couple of Portaloos.
It was disappointing to see a couple of people standing watching the game through the wire mesh fence instead of supporting their local club financially. Maybe worth finding a way to block off the view and make them pay or miss out.
All in all, I enjoyed my day at East Palmersville and Scott, Carlisle’s super fan, maybe helped a bit. As did the lovely, sunny Northumbrian weather.
EDIT: There is a bar at East Palmerville! It turns out there is a cosy little bar inside the Building where the toilets are located. Thank you to West Allotment Celtic for letting me know.
Homecoming
One thought that crossed my mind while I was watching the game that could be considered…
Cobalt Park is a wealthy area, on the outskirts of West Allotment. If the club want to return to their spiritual home, what better place to stage a comeback?
The businesses in the park earn millions of pounds annually and could be asked to contribute to costs, in exchange for sponsorship.
While I realise that some of the surrounding area is a designated nature reserve, I’m sure some tracts of land could be utilised, if done sensibly.
Something that those in charge, along with council officials may want to consider, perhaps?
Palmersville / Forest Hall – After the Game
After the final whistle, I headed out of the ground and back onto the Great Lime Road.
Following a short walk into Forest Hall, I was soon at the bus stop. The 17:20 #38 bus appeared on schedule and I was back in Newcastle city centre half an hour later.
Another short walk to Eldon Square allowed me to catch the 18:05 X1 to Hetton.
I arrived back through the front door by around 19:10, with another successful hop in the books.
Next Up for Hoppers Guide
Next week, we will again be travelling north of the Tyne.
This time it will be a first visit to Blyth Town and their Gateway Park ground.
We have already visited and enjoyed Blyth Spartans and hopefully, the same will be true of the town’s other club.
I’m looking forward to seeing the home of a team that is enjoying their first stint in the Northern League Division One.
Following last season’s promotion, they currently lie in third place and will be attempting a second successive promotion.
The opposition will have other ideas, though. Boro Rangers are one place and six points above Blyth and could go above Redcar Athletic if they win their game in hand.
Onto the next!
