Dalton United - Railway Meadow

Dalton United FC

Railway Meadow

Beckside Rd

Dalton-in-Furness

Cumbria

LA15 8DP

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1461

Saturday 23rd August 2025
Dalton United 0-3 Storeys
West Lancashire D2

DALTON UNITED FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1963 and played in local leagues prior to joining the West Lancashire League in 1973, joining Division 2. They were champions in 1976, joining Division 1, which at the time was the top tier. In 1984, they were champions and would retain the title the following year. The division was renamed the Premier Division in 1998, and Dalton United were runners-up to Kirkham & Wesham, later to become AFC Fylde, in both 2000 & 2001. In October 2004, they became the first team to beat AFC Fylde since January 2003, a record that had spanned 21 months. The run finally ended when Dalton beat AFC Fylde 1–0. Results tailed off, though and by 2011, they finished bottom of the league and were relegated to Division 1. Despite a 3rd place finish in 2012, Dalton finished bottom of the league in 2017 and went down to Division 2. They remain there to this day, a 4th place finish in 2019 is the closest they have come to returning.

Dalton United entered the FA Vase for two seasons in the early 80s, their sole win coming when they beat Rylands 2-1 in 1981. Local cup wins include the Richardson Cup in 1983 & 2009 and the  Wilson Carradus Trophy in 2011. The club is based in Dalton-in-Furness, a town in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, which is 4 miles north east of Barrow-in-Furness. Along with the rest of the Furness peninsula, it was historically part of Lancashire. It is in the parish of Dalton Town with Newton, alongside the nearby hamlet of Newton-in-Furness. It has a population of just under 8,000. Dalton railway station, which serves the town, is located on the Furness Line, giving connections to Barrow, Ulverston, Grange-over-Sands and Lancaster. There are longer distance services to Preston and Manchester. Crooklands Casuals, of the West Lancs Division 1, also play in the town.

MY VISIT

From our game at Askam, it was a ten-minute drive to Dalton. It looked like a lovely place to visit, but I was just passing through the town. I later returned at half-time to go to the cash machine and off-license. As expected, there was a bit of a queue to get parked, but soon enough I was in. I was pleased to see a cake stall where I got an Oreo Brownie for £2 and a fridge magnet for the same price, along with the £3 admission. I was rapidly running out of cash and so was glad that they had card payment at the bar for my superb chilli cheeseburger for £5.50 and a pint of Cold River with a keepsake glass for £4.70. It was the food of the season and probably the best burger I've had in a football ground.

Dalton United were 9th in the table and had won two, drawn two and lost two of their games so far. In their last game, they had won 1-0 at Hawcoat Park. Storeys had travelled up from Lancaster, a trip of around 45 miles. They were in 3rd, having won five and lost one of their games so far. They'd won their last four, including a 9-3 win over Caton United in their last game. Storeys dominated proceedings and took the lead after 14 minutes, a neat shot into the bottom right-hand corner from Waring. There were chances for both sides, but they were spurned, and the game petered out. Storeys confirmed the result with two goals in three minutes around the 80th minute. Firstly, a header from a corner by Last, then an own goal by Barker.

 

THE GROUND

RAILWAY MEADOW is a decent ground for the 13th tier of football and has seen service a couple of levels up. The pitch is fully railed and has some hard standing. Bar and food facilities are top-notch, and there is plenty of parking. The town is a short walk away and has a large range of places, and is very pleasant.