Harthill Royal - Gibbshill Park

Harthill Royal FC

Gibbshill Park

East Main Street

Harthill

ML7 5QW

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Ground Number: 1400

Saturday 15th March 2025

Harthill Royal 1-0 Dalkeith Thistle
East Of Scotland D2

HARTHILL ROYAL FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Harthill Royal Football Club were established in 1992, though a previous club, Harthill Royal Bar preceded them. Their Gibbshill Park ground was previously the home of Polkemmet Juniors F.C. (1937–1954, 1974–1988) and known as Beechbank Park. They were Scottish Juniors East Region Division 2 champions in 2000, winning promotion to Division 1 but would only survive for a single season. They bounced back by winning the Lothian Region Division B in 2003 but again would only last a single season at the higher level. In 2006 they were Lothian Region Division Two runners-up but a restructure of the leagues saw them placed in the 15-team East Region, South Division. Harthill spent all of their time in the bottom tier of the Juniors, with a best finish of 3rd in 2007–08. Further restructures occurred until following the pandemic they were placed in the West Of Scotland League Division 4, finishing bottom. They joined the East Of Scotland League Division 3 in 2022, starting in Division 3. They won promotion to Division 2 at the end of last season following a 3rd place finish. Local cup honours include two Dechmont League Cups and the Brown Cup in 2003.

Harthill is a rural village split between North Lanarkshire and West Lothian in Scotland, with most of the village in North Lanarkshire. It is located about halfway between Glasgow, 21 miles to the west, and Edinburgh, 25 miles to the east. It lies on the River Almond about 2.5 miles west of the small town of Whitburn. It has a population of around 2,600 and grew as a result of the coal mining industries of North Lanarkshire, and some of the original old miners' homes remain. Polkemmet deep mine coal pit closed during the miners' strike in 1984 due to a mistake by the pickets, who stopped the firemen from going in to keep the pumps maintained and the water at bay, which led to an unrecoverable flooding of the pit. The village was briefly home to a senior football club, East Lanarkshire F.C., which played in the Scottish Cup in the late 19th century and was runner-up in the 1899 Lanarkshire Consolation Cup.

MY VISIT

In terms of getting value for money for this year's Scottish Hop, it was never going to be as good as last year when going with Richard and Daniel. Travelling by car was a complete non-starter as far as costs were concerned but that did kill off the chance to use some of the cheaper Travelodges in obscure locations. Some hotels were asking £300 a night in Glasgow City Centre, others were miles off route. I got what I thought was a decent deal at the Best Western, £162 for two nights and with free cancellation. It was reasonably located for Friday night's game which was my main concern. I also checked that we could get back there on Saturday and it checked out. It was also harder to find twin rooms than doubles. I like Colin, but not that much!

From our game at Cumbernauld Colts, we had to get a shift on to make the bus unless we fancied an hour wait for the next one. The buses were less than ideal up here based on Friday's experience. We were back at the hotel by 10.30 but it involved a bit of a walk at the end. After getting my blog up, I found my wallet which has slipped inside the lining of my bag, so I was pretty happy about that. It was a decent night's sleep overall with me waking up just before my alarm at 7. The shower was great, really powerful and it freshened and woke me up. We left at 8, Colin dragging his heels as ever. We got the 08.13 from Stepps into Glasgow, the fare very reasonable. We then headed to Wetherspoons, a revisit for me. Firstly the Counting House and then the Society Rooms. I wanted a Scottish breakfast but they'd stopped doing them and so when the first pub was out of muffins, we headed to the other one. I made sure to get some haggis with it though, £5.49 with a can of Monster was great value. It was excellent as ever with the haggis adding an extra dimension to the breakfast. I went to the toilet and came back to find Colin asleep in our booth. After waking up, we got on our way to the bus station. It was the Edinburgh airport bus to Harthill, quite pricey at £8.30 but a lovely bus compared to the standard one that cost a lot more for a much shorter journey from the airport yesterday. On reflection, it was a good deal as it involved a fair bit of motorway. Colin had yet another sleep on the way so at least I got some peace. Harthill services was pretty scabby and dilapidated but it gave way to pleasant woodland before residential housing towards the ground.  Cash only was an irritant but I had enough to get in, a can of Strongbow, a can of Irn Bru and a Doner pie for £14. The young Harthill ultras gave their team a good welcome with some Pyro and plenty of noise.

 

It was a real relegation battle with Harthill sitting bottom and Dalkeith Thistle one place outside the relegation zone in 13th. The hosts had lost their last two including a 2-0 defeat at Bathgate Thistle a fortnight ago. The visitors had lost three in a row including last week's 4-0 loss to Edinburgh College. It wasn't the brightest first half, but Harthill had the best of it. The hosts were awarded a penalty on the hour but the effort hit the right-hand post. Harthill finally took the lead on 66 minutes, a low shot from the edge of the area by #11. That was how it stayed with Dalkeith rarely threatening. 

THE GROUND 

GIBBSHILL PARK is a pleasant venue with nice scenery. There are two covered areas, a seated stand and a small covered area behind the goal where the ultras gather. The bar is restricted to cans for £3 whilst the food has lots to offer at great prices. There is also a small range of merchandise. The area is fairly well linked by buses to Glasgow, Edinburgh and elsewhere.