Holsworthy - Upcott Field

Holsworthy AFC

Upcott Field

North Road

Holsworthy

Devon

EX22 6HF

01409 254295

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Ground Number: 1288
Friday 29th March 2024
Holsworthy 0-0 Bude Town
South West Peninsula West

HOLSWORTHY FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1891 by local businessmen who narrowly opted to play football over rugby. They started out in local leagues, winning the North Devon League in 1924 before moving to the Plymouth & District  League which they won in 1969 & 1970. From 1971 until 2003, they played in the South Western League, finishing as high as 4th on four occasions. In 2003, they moved to the Devon County League, winning it at the first attempt. After another three decent seasons, they moved up to the South West Peninsula Premier, lasting three seasons before being relegated to the Division 1 West in 2010. Despite not pulling up any trees, restructuring saw them uplifted to the East Division in 2019. In 2022, they enjoyed their best-ever finish - 10th at step 6.

Holsworthy have not entered the FA Vase in many years, though they reached the 1st Round on three occasions in the late 70s & early 80s. Local cup wins include the Sutton Transformer South West Cup and the Hansen Cup in 1979, the Devon Premier Cup in 1972 & 1979, the Devon Senior Cup in 1954, the Devon Junior Cup in 1939, the Devon League Charity Shield in 2005 and the Torridge Cup on six occasions. Holsworthy is a market town in the Torridge district of Devon, around 35 miles west of Exeter. It has a population of around 3,000. Holsworthy has one of the largest livestock markets in South West England, held on the same site from 1905 until 2014, when the site was sold for retail and residential development and the livestock market moved out of town. Cricket is also played in the town, dating back to 1873. The railway arrived in 1879 and was operated by the Devon and Cornwall Railway Company. Holsworthy railway station closed in 1966, but the viaducts on either side of Holsworthy remain.

MY VISIT

For this hop, finding accommodation was tricky. A combination of many small but popular towns and the fact that it was Easter weekend did not work in my favour given the limited accommodation choices. A lot of hoppers were making their way back to Plymouth & Exeter, the latter being chosen as the base for the coach which was transporting the hoppers to the games. The cheapest options were Travelodges in obscure parts of Plymouth, but what you saved in room costs, you spent in fuel. In the end, I went for convenience. The fact that Colin was coming with me helped. I was able to get a room with two beds at the Queen's Hotel in Holsworthy, just seven minutes walk from my Friday night game. Parking was a bit patchy and there wasn't a huge amount in the town but after a day's driving, it would be nice to be able to dump the car, relax and have a few drinks.

From our game at Torridgeside it was a fairly easy half hour journey to our final game of the day at Holsworthy. We listened to the summary of Wycombe's 3-1 defeat at Portsmouth, glad we'd come away instead. We needed a place to park and as it was free after 6 so ended up paying £2 for 21 minutes. It was a five-minute walk to the White Hart Hotel where we had a pleasant room for around £65 for Colin and I in a three-person setup. We dumped our bags and looked around the town which was small and quiet. Our hotel was full of groundhoppers and they benefited as much as anyone this weekend. It was seven minutes walk to the ground from there with it being £6 entry, £4.50 double burger, £1 programme and £4.25 a pint of Thatchers. There was still time for a walk around and chats with various hoppers. It was disappointing to only have had Thatchers Gold all day. Their Stan's Trad is far nicer but you barely see it. I also got a nice hat for £7.

It was a move over to the West Division for this game and Holsworthy were sitting in 12th. They'd lost their last six, including a 2-0 defeat at Penzance on Saturday. Bude Town were 10th and were unbeaten in three, their last game a 1-1 draw at St Dennis on 16th March. The first half was as dull as ditchwater with lots of effort but no quality. Bude had what chances there were in the first, the second it was more Holsworthy. Generally, though, it was a poor game but the club had hosted brilliantly. It was also by far the biggest attendance of the day at 906. The game summed up the town. It was pleasant but not a lot going on and more like a village, The shops were disappointing food-wise, so I settled for some cider from Morrisons Daily which I took back to the room. I typed up my blogs, though the mobile internet was slow and looked forward to tomorrow's games.

THE GROUND

UPCOTT FIELD is a tidy venue with a stand holding around 150. Aside from that, it's open-standing. There is a bar which offers a small range of drinks, a BBQ and tea bar. A decent range of merchandise is available too. Parking is quite limited and the town is pleasant but not especially exciting. Overall, it was a nice club to visit and they really made an effort to make people feel welcome.