Welcome to Volume Two of my blog which covers all clubs and stadiums outside the English League System along with the wonderful people responsible for keeping them going and their maintenance.

Since I was a little lad I've been fascinated in football and more so where games are played. With my love of travel and curiosity of the game I wanted to visit as many grounds and see games wherever possible.

I was fortunate that my Dad also loved the game and spent so much of his spare time taking me to matches. As I got older the boundaries widened owing to my location and increased wages to Europe and indeed the world. The sight of a stand or a floodlight pylon in the distance immediately heightens my senses and eagerness for a closer look.

I hope this site gives you the chance to share in my pleasure and experiences and maybe one day set you on the road to adventure. If you get half as much out of the hobby as I've done, I can guarantee some great memories, good friends and stories to pass on to future generations.

Give your local club a try today. They'll be delighted to see you!

Everlasting thanks primarily to my late and very much missed and dearly loved parents; my Dad Bob Bernard and my Mum; Ann, who put up with endless years of football chat and my brothers Nick and Paul who gave me the chance and encouragement to do what I have. Thanks to all my friends who offer encouragement and Sally and Stan who inspire and give me great pride. Stan is showing a keen interest in my hobby as he grows into a young man!

Please feel free to post any comments (please use sensible language - I want everyone to be able to enjoy reading) or ask any questions relating to visiting grounds or events. If you want to see any ground reviewed please let me know. It will take quite some time for everywhere to appear, but make sure you keep having a look as the site is continually updated.

If you click on a lot of the pictures you will get a larger version on your screen.

I have also added links to video clips on YouTube where appropriate for those of you who are bored of reading or are filling in time at work. I haven't always gone for the most obvious choices, but items that will be in some cases unusual but always historically interesting.

Click here to see volume one of HAOTW for everything in the English League System.

Rob Bernard

London

May 2020

Sunday 22 February 2015

East Craigie (Scotland)



East Craigie FC is a non-league football club from the east of the city of Dundee. The club compete in the Scottish Junior FA system, priding themselves as one of the oldest ‘junior’ clubs in existence; having being formed in 1880.


‘The Shipbuilders’ competed in the Dundee Junior League and Tayside Premier League for most of their history, with future Aston Villa star Jimmy McEwan starting his career at Craigie Park.

Following SJFA restructuring in 2006-07 East Craigie were placed in the North Division of the East Region. However, in 2011 the club faced closure in 2011 as the management team departed to Tayport, while the long serving committee looked for new volunteers.


The crisis was averted as East Craigie continued. In August 2014 Keith Prophett raised nearly £700 for the club with a sponsored parachute jump.

East Craigie FC will play in the SJFA East Region North Division in the 2014-15 season.



My visit

Thursday 22nd January 2015


Following my overnight stay in Broughty Ferry after the Dundee v Kilmarnock game I decided a good walk was in order on a bracing morning. After a climb uphill from the seaside and a look at Broughty Athletic’s Whitton Park home, I headed along Arbroath Road towards the city.

Not for the first time I misjudged the scale of the map on my phone app. The walk seemed to go on forever, and I had one eye on the clock as my train from Dundee down to York left at 11.09. After nearly a couple of miles I walked past the Eastern Necropolis and up the hill of Old Craigie Road to eventually arrive at Craigie Park.


 








The ground was locked but I got a view through the metal gates and over the wall further up. It was a basic venue but with character with grass banks along the road side and behind the cemetery end goal. At the allotment end by the entrance were the only buildings, containing changing rooms and a tea bar.

I was delighted to walk back down to the main road and jump aboard the number 73 bus down the hills and into the city centre before a walk along the waterfront with its imposing granite buildings.











Dundee was a city in transition and certainly has a fascinating history to tell. I made a promise to return and visit the other junior clubs as well as a match at Tannadice Park a couple of years henceforth.







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