Treowen Stars - Bush Park

Treowen Stars FC 

Bush Park

Uplands

Newbridge

Newport 

NP11 3RH

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Ground Number: 1560

Saturday 27th June 2026

Treowen Stars 5-0 Taffs Well

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TREOWEN STARS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Treowen Stars were formed in 1926 in the village of Treowen, Newbridge, in the Welsh Valleys. They played most of their early football in the Abertillery & District and West Monmouthshire Leagues. They were able to build up their facilities in the 1970s. The Monmouthshire League merged into the Gwent League in 1980, and by 1985, Treowen Stars were Division 3 champions. They then won Division 2 and Division 1 in consecutive seasons from 1990 until 1992.

After some ground improvements, they joined the Welsh League Division 3. It was a third successive title in 1993 and a fourth successive promotion in 1994 as they finished as runners-up to Taffs Well in Division 2. The club finished as high as 4th in 1997 & 1998, but gradually, results declined. They suffered consecutive relegations in 2001 & 2002 and dropped out of the league altogether in 2006. After four seasons in the Gwent League, they won the Division 1 title in 2010 to return to the Welsh League. They remained in the bottom tier until 2020, when all football was stopped due to the pandemic. When they finally got back, they found themselves in the newly established Ardal South East, at tier 3 of the Welsh football system. They won this division in 2025 and last season finished 9th in the Cymru South.

Treowen Stars have reached the last 32 of the Welsh Cup on four occasions. They reached the Welsh League Cup Final in 1994, losing to Barry Town. They put that right in 1998, with a 4–3 victory after extra time over BP Llandarcy, at Coychurch Road in Bridgend. Newbridge (Welsh: Trecelyn) is a town y in the county borough of Caerphilly. It lies within the historic boundaries of the county of Monmouthshire and has a population of around 6,500. Newbridge, as its name implies, was the name of land around the "new bridge" built across the Ebbw River towards the end of the 18th century. Newbridge was then a predominantly Welsh agrarian community of rural farms and sheep pasture with a low population.

Towards the end of the 18th century, Newbridge was established as a farming community around a new bridge across the Ebbw River. Like many towns in the area, it underwent a population explosion and socio-economic change with the arrival of coal mining in the 19th century. The mines attracted workers from the English West Country and West Midlands, Cornwall, Scotland, Mid Wales and further afield. The Celynen Collieries Workingmen's Institute and Memorial Hall together became, like many miners' institutes, the communal heart of the town. The local collieries enjoyed a reputation for highly skilled miners, a productive workforce and non-radical politics, and the community had thriving shops, churches, chapels and sports teams. Mining eventually ceased in the mid-1980s, after surviving the 1926 general strike, the 1930s Depression and post-war nationalisation, but became unsustainable following the UK miners' strike (1984-1985). The Institute became a drinking club.

Since the end of coal mining, new leisure facilities have been constructed in Newbridge. Residents have also reported the return to the area of birds such as herons, buzzards and kestrels. After some delays, the Ebbw Valley Railway, originally running from Ebbw Vale Parkway (as of 17 May 2015 extended to Ebbw Vale Town) to Cardiff Central railway station, opened in February 2008. Newbridge is one of 8 stations on the line. A bridge linking the main town of Newbridge with the school and leisure centre over the Ebbw River was completed at a cost of over £3 million and was opened by boxer Joe Calzaghe and his father, Enzo Calzaghe, in November 2009. Other famous people to have grown up in the town include Steve Strange, frontman of the New Romantic band Visage.

MY VISIT

Originally, I was planning on having another week off and starting my season in July. Colin was busy visiting family, and it might have been nice to start the season on Futbology terms for once, as you are unable to alter from July 1st, making the statistics disjointed. However, I was glad when Essex-based Richard offered Treowen Stars v Taffs Well. It probably would have cost over £50 on my own, but depending on passengers, it was either £33 or £22 with Richard. We also had Jake coming with us for sure, whilst Mick, Dan and some others were off on a long trip to Queen Of The South. A trip I'd have liked to have been on, but the car was full. I wasn't envying the early start that Dan would have on Sunday, with limited sleep. I assume that the others have jobs that allow them the luxury of a Sunday off.

My first Saturday off from football in two years saw me make a long-wanted trip to St Albans. The first bus to Hemel Hempstead was slightly late and a bumpy ride, but it was only £3. We passed through the pleasant village of Bovingdon, which I'll consider revisiting against Holmer Green if the date falls well. The second bus was late again and untracked. 90% of the people on their got freebies courtesy of their bus pass, again it was a reasonable £3 for the 45-minute journey, which was more like an hour with delays. Both St Albans pubs were disappointing due to a lack of quality control in the ciders. Award-winning The Mermaid had a pint of Hecks Dabinett for £5.30, whilst The Robin Hood had a pint of Celtic Marches Alice for £5.60. The former was the better, but both pubs deserved visiting for the effort. I was peckish, so I made my way to Hatfield via the 301 bus to get to Wetherspoons, The Harpfield Hall. This was an excellent Spoons. I had a pint of Black Dragon with a hot honey chicken bowl. A bus back to Hemel saw me revisit their Spoons before getting a bus home. A couple more drinks were had in the evening, and a walk was taken to Penn and back, where I bumped into an old mate. I was pretty bladdered by the time I got to bed at around 10.

 

Work-wise, it was the usual low reward for hard work, but I didn't mind that as the days flew by. The government does very little for low-paid workers, and Sundays can be absolutely horrible, but I like the people I work with as a rule, and I am guaranteed Saturdays off. After a marathon of World Cup games, either side of the excellent England 4-2 Croatia game, I'd mainly been just looking at the results as all the games I fancied were on at tricky times. Most delightful were Cape Verde, who had managed draws against Spain and Uruguay on their World Cup debut. The second game against Ghana was as dull as ditchwater, and there wasn't much else to write home about, with the results sadly predictable. The big event of the week was the release of the Wycombe fixtures, with the season slowly starting to cough into life, my planning accelerated. A last-minute European and UK trip was mooted for my birthday week, but it very much hinged on my getting time off. I was glad when Friday afternoon rolled around, and it was a pleasant walk down Wycombe for a couple of pints and a good portion of fish and chips for £11.49. I came back and had a few more, meaning that I got a good night's sleep despite the heat.

I woke around 5.30 and watched TV for a bit. After getting up and having some breakfast, I left just before 9. Richard had said he'd be there between 9 and 9.15, but I could see from Jake's tracking that he was running behind. He arrived at 9.30 and, like me, used the toilet before we set off. It was a bargain £22 for the journey, thanks to a full car, and Richard was amenable to my suggested Wetherspoons stop. The journey was pleasant, although there was a bit of a delay when we got near Newport on a part of the M4 that always seems stuffed. We parked in Asda and made our way to the Sirhowy Wetherspoons in Blackwood. There I had a Korean burger, wings, chips and a bottle of Aspalls for £10.52. A £2.74 pint of Strongbow saw me nice and relaxed, though it was disappointing not to see any Welsh cider on the menu. It was 10 minutes to the ground, street parking was fiddly due to the narrow roads, but it was a beautiful area as Wales always seems to be. It was a hell of a walk up the steps to the ground, it was a good job PuffPuff didn't attend, as I think it would have taken him a week to walk up to the pitch.

No admission fee was charged; this was a clash between Treowen Stars, who finished 9th in the Cymru South last season and Taffs Well, sporting a very nice shirt, who finished 14th in the Ardal South West. In lieu of the free entry, I purchased a well-presented programme for £2. It was a lethargic start, but Treowen took the lead on 28 minutes with a low shot into the bottom right-hand corner from just inside the area. They doubled the lead on 32 minutes through a penalty. The half-time break only lasted ten minutes before we were back underway. It was all one way traffic by now and Treowen blasted home a beauty into the top right corner from 20 yards on 57 minutes to make it 3-0. On 68 minutes, a low strike from the edge of the area made it four. On 71 minutes, a cross was swung in from the left and the ball was headed home from ten yards out, 5-0. That was it for goals, another wonderful day in Wales, just as it was at the beautiful Taffs Well in 2015. We were back in the car by 4, heading home to the bubonic plague that is an English Sunday, but not before a few drinks back home.

 

THE GROUND 

BUSH PARK is a decent venue. Like many Welsh grounds, there are no floodlights. There are two stands, one an old-fashioned proper stand along the side, which has an area at the side that looks like an old dugout and would suit wheelchairs if they could make it up the steps. There is a more modern metal stand behind the goal; this does at least have the club badge in it. All in all, around 150 seats are available. There are basic refreshments available in the ground. Down a considerable flight of steps, or up them to get into the ground is a bar and dressing rooms. There is a small car park, plus street parking. Public transport links are reasonable, with Newbridge station being around 20 minutes walk away.