Hutchison Vale (Scotland)

Hutchison Vale FC is a Scottish football club based in the west of the city of Edinburgh. Their origins go back to 1969 when Lloyds & Scottish was formed as an amateur works team before renaming itself Lothian Thistle FC. The club progressed to senior status when they joined the East of Scotland League in 1995.

In 1997, Thistle won promotion to the league's Premier Division and began a link-up with Hutchison Vale youth football club to produce players through its own system. The club changed its name before the 2011-12 season to Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale FC to reflect the partnership with Grant Carnie, who was given the manager's job.

The club continued to try and upgrade their home Saughton Enclosure ground with proposals being put forward to re-align the floodlights and the addition of a seated grandstand. Grants were being sourced from the relevant authorities. The side won the East of Scotland League title in 2013-14 and 2014-15, but were ineligible to win promotion to the Lowland League.

The 2016-17 season saw LTHV win a third league title, before going on to reach the third round of the Scottish Cup the following season under new boss Raymond Carr. Stirling Albion were defeated before St Mirren ended the run with a 7-1 win at Saughton, as well as ending as league runners-up. 

The club was joined by the mass ranks of former SJFA clubs for the 2018-19 season. Ryan Harding was appointed as manager for the 2021-22 season, as the side narrowly avoided relegation. The club had moved to Ainslie Park, the home of The Spartans, while Saughton Enclosure was revamped.

The club dropped Lothian Thistle from their name ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, finishing fifth. Steve Craig arrived as manager in September 2024 before departing at the end of the season. Hutchie returned to Saughton Enclosure for the 2025-26 season.

Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale FC will play in the East of Scotland League Premier Division in the 2025-26 season.

My visit

Tuesday 29th January 2013

A visit to the Saughton Enclosure was possible on my circular tour of the football grounds of Edinburgh, thanks to the superb bus network. The £3.50 all-day pass was now proving extremely beneficial, especially after the long walks I'd already undertaken. 

After calling into Ainslie Park, the home of Spartans, who would later act as landlords for Hutchison Vale, a short walk to Crewe Toll allowed me to take a direct service, which arrived with a couple of minutes, past Murrayfield and to the gates of Saughton Park.

The park itself was very nice, with the Water of Leith running to the south and playgrounds and football pitches of both grass and 3G surfaces filling the large grassy area. The enclosure was, in fact, an athletics track at the far end. The gates were closed, but viewing was easy through the railings of the basic but neat venue. 

It had a shallow grass bank around the track and the changing rooms behind the goal at the near end. It would have improved no end if a stand could have been erected. My day continued with another bus ride, this time up to Tynecastle to buy the tickets for the match the following evening.