Bideford - The Sports Ground

Bideford FC

The Sports Ground

Kingsley Road

Bideford

Devon

EX39 2NG

01237 474974

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1410
Saturday 5th April 2025
Bideford 2-1 Didcot Town
Southern D1 South

BIDEFORD FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was officially formed in 1947, although a previous club, Bideford Town played in the town from the 1890s up until the war. They spent a couple of disappointing seasons in the North Devon League before joining the Western League in 1949. They were Division 3 champions in 1950 and Division 2 champions in 1952 to see them rise to the top tier. A 4th placed finish in 1953 was a promising start. From 1961, the league was reduced to a single division. During that time, Bideford won the title in 1964, 1971 & 1972. After the latter of these wins, they would spend three seasons in the Southern D1 South before returning to the Western League. They went on to win the title another six times but it wasn't until the last of these wins in 2010 that they'd return to the Southern League. This time they were Division 1 South & West champions in 2012. After narrowly avoiding relegation in 2013 they would enjoy their record finish of 8th in 2014. In 216, Bideford were relegated back to Division 1. They've finished mid-table ever since with 8th in 2018 being the best since returning.

Bideford have reached the FA Cup 1st Round on four occasions. The most notable run happened in 1973 when they played a massive thirteen games in the competition. A 4-1 victory over Penzance in the 1st Qualifying Round was followed by a 6-1 Replay win against Newquay in the 2nd Qualifying Round. It then took five games for them to overcome Falmouth Town in the 3rd Qualifying Round with Bideford winning 4-1 in the 4th replay, played at Plymouth Argyle. It was just the four replays to beat Trowbridge Town in the 4th Qualifying Round, the 3rd replay was won 3-2 away from home. Their run came to an end as they lost 2-0 at home to Bristol Rovers in the 1st Round. Their best run in the FA Trophy came in its inaugural season when they reached the 2nd Round before losing to Weymouth. The FA Vase Semi-Final was reached during the 2003/04 season before Bideford lost 7-3 on aggregate to Winchester City despite an exciting 3-3 draw in the hone leg. Local cup wins include four Western League Cups, two WFL Alan Young Cups, six Devon St Lukes Bowls and nine Devon Professional Cups.

Several notable players have turned out for Bideford including Torquay United defender Robbie Herrera who is currently youth team manager at Plainmoor. Their record attendance of 5,975 came for a 1949 FA Cup game against Gloucester City. Bideford is a port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon. The population is just over 18.000. The Bideford witch trial in 1682 involved three women, Temperance Lloyd, Mary Trembles and Susannah Edwards, accused of witchcraft which resulted in one of the last hangings for witchcraft in England. Sadly for Bideford, both Katie Hopkins and Rose West were raised in the town.

MY VISIT

This game had long been on the list as it completed the Southern League D1 South. There were six grounds in this league that I'd needed this season and I had been to Tavistock and Willand Rovers with Didcot previously and it had been a great day out and saved me money. Sadly, they didn't go to either Helston Athletic or Mousehole so I had to make my way to Thatcham to get their coach. They were equally friendly as were Kidlington when I went with them to Exmouth Town for their FA Trophy game. I had been with Colin for both of my Didcot trips and thanks to Braintree-based hopper Dan's employer being overly generous with his holiday allowance, he was coming too. I'd be the only one of us working the next day as he had booked it off. It would have been a very late night for him and I'd get a lift with him at least part of the way, allowing me to get home quicker.

From our game at Queens Park Crescents, Colin & I made good tracks home with me dropping him at 9 and getting home 15 minutes later. A great start to 'silly season' and I was able to get my blog done before bed. Thursday was not such a bad day. Due to having to choose my holiday at work a year in advance, I played them at their own game and booked Easter 2026 off before they could realise. I also attempted to cancel my holiday for mid-June as I had trouble finding anywhere decent and good value to go. Friday was a slog at work and I was glad it was the weekend. Rather than a few drinks, I had some Friday night football in the form of a Sunday League Cup Final at Langford FC. I also put an order in with my favourite cider firm in Ross-On-Wye. If I can get it in time for Huddersfield Town v Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday, I could be tempted to stay in and watch that.

It was an easy journey home from Langford with me getting home within an hour including dropping Colin off.  After updating my blog I was in bed and asleep by midnight. I woke at 6.30, well before my alarm. After getting dressed and having breakfast, I left at 7.35. I got petrol at ASDA before meeting Daniel and Colin for the lift over to Didcot. We were there at 8.50 with the coach leaving at 9.20. It was a nice trip down with a twenty minute stop at Weston Super Mare Services although Colin slept most of the journey having overslept this morning too. Dan had to go and pick him up from home after initially telling him to meet at Rickmansworth Station. The second half of the coach journey saw us watch Reading v Wycombe Wanderers with the Chairboys dominating the early stages. There was some beautiful countryside as we got nearer the ground. We arrived around 1, though it was tricky for the coach to park in the narrow streets. It was around five minutes to Wetherspoons 400, The Rose Salterne. It excellent with a good range of cider and a nice pub. I stayed in the pub to watch the Wycombe game whilst Daniel and Colin went down to the river. I soon joined them after downing my second pint of Stowford Press. It was a glorious place, a cider stall where I got a pint of Medium and a pouch of dry cider from Green Man. Also a superb Tandoori Bad Boy Scotch Egg and a mint chocolate chip cookie from another stall. All on the credit card to worry about later, it had been a brilliant pre-match beating the previous winner Tavistock. The welcome was lovely compared to the surly welcome at Tavistock and it was a great ground too. The tea bar looked great so the cookie went in the bag for later.

 

Bideford were in 15th place. They were unbeaten in three, having drawn 3-3 against Shaftesbury on Saturday. Didcot Town were in 10th and were in mixed form. On Saturday they had beaten Bristol Manor Farm 2-1. The match started evenly but Bideford headed home from a corner on 11 minutes. On 23 minutes, it was 1-1 with Didcot poking home from a corner against the run of play. The game was even from then on. Ten minutes from time, Bideford retook the lead, beating the offside trap to finish well  That was it as far as goals were concerned. Bideford deserved their win and it had been a good day, bar the Wycombe result. It had been a good day but we had to wait for the players. We eventually left just after 6 with me not especially looking forward to the 3.55 alarm earning less than minimum wage that day. It never happened under the scumbag Tories but the Labour Camp party had subjected me to this for a couple of weeks at least.

THE GROUND

THE SPORTS GROUND is a nice venue, albeit an oval one due to other sports being played there. There are two stands. One is an elevated stand holding around 150 media and club officials. The other side is a stand holding around 350, a combination of seating and standing for around  350. The rest of the ground is open and parking is quite limited. The nearby town is served by buses and has a great range of places to eat and drink.

Langford - Forde Park

Langford FC

Forde Park

Langford Road

Henlow

Bedfordshire

SG16 6AG

Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 370
Friday 9th May 2014
Ampthill Town 0-1 Barton Rovers
North Beds Charity Cup Final








LANGFORD FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1908 although they did play friendlies against other local villages for years before that. They joined the Biggleswade & District League upon formation and would finish runners-up here on three occasions. They then joined the Bedford & District, winning titles in 1932 & 1950. In 1951, they joined the South Midlands League for the first time. Starting in Division 1, they won promotion in 1955 following a 3rd place finish. They'd only last one season in the Premier Division before relegation. Langford would remain in Division 1 until 1969 when they would finish 3rd and spend another two seasons in the Premier Division. Yet another 3rd place finish in 1973 would see them enter the top tier again.

Langford finished as high as 3rd in the Premier Division in 1975 but were relegated after finishing bottom in 1980. Once more a 3rd place finish would see them promoted again in 1985. This time they would win the Premier Division in 1989. Langford would last until 1998 in the top tier before relegation. By now the league had merged with the Spartan League to become the Spartan South Midlands League. The club would finish as Division 1 runners-up to Haywood United in 2004. Langford finished 6th in the SSML Premier in 2008 but was relegated in 2011. They have been in Division 1 ever since, their highest finish being 4th in 2017.

Langford have twice reached the FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round - losing 4-1 to Purfleet in 1993 and 3-0 at Wembley in 1995. Their best FA Vase run came in 1995 as they beat London Colney and Hoddesdon Town before losing 1-0 to Whitstable Town in the 2nd Round. Local Cup honours include the South Midlands League Trophy in 1989, the SML Challenge Trophy three times, the Britannia Cup in 1950, the Bedfordshire Intermediate Cup in 1969, two Bedfordshire Junior Cups, eight North Bedfordshire Charity Cups, seven Biggleswade & District Knock-Out Cups and the Hinchingbrooke Cup in 1973. Their record attendance of 450 came for a 1985 friendly against QPR to celebrate the opening of Forde Park. They previously played at various venues including The Leys, Vicarage End and King George V Memorial Playing Fields.

Langford is a village in Bedfordshire, about ten miles south-east of the county town of Bedford. It has a population of just over 3,000. The village is of Saxon origin, first mentioned in 944 AD and at one time it had one or more fording points across the river. The name is based on the words long ford from the length of the settlement. On Wednesday 16 November 1960, BAC Jet Provost G-AOUS crashed. The aircraft hit the village playing field after the wings had snapped beforehand. 34-year-old Lt-Cdr John Richard Stanley Overbury, the company test pilot, at Luton, was killed. He was married and lived at 'Bircham' on Old Wood Road, in Whipsnade. He had been at Luton as a test pilot since 1957. The Plough, Church Street, first licensed in 1846 is the one remaining pub. The building was formerly a farmhouse. The late A.W. Lawrence, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, youngest brother of T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), lived in Langford with his wife for a time in the 1980s

MY FIRST VISIT

As I have stated before on here, I really do like a Friday night game of football, especially when it is local-ish. I had seen two Cup Finals already this week, one excellent, the other not so good and was happy enough to see another, even if I would be doing it without Anwar who decided to save money for tomorrow's mammoth trip to Wales. A nice little bonus was a good pub that I had been to before - the Engineers Arms - which did up to seven real ciders. I could go early and have a pint or 2 with some food before the game. I had a hard day at work the day of the game, and it will only get busier so I heard. I finished at 1 and went home, having a bath and doing the preparation work for tonight's blog after I had some lunch. I had some bad news when Anwar phoned to say that Carmarthen Town's game tomorrow had been moved to Port Talbot's ground which we had already been to. So plans were hanging in the air with my favoured plan being Bangor City if my fellow groundhopper was up for it.

 

I left home just before 5 disappointed I had already spent a couple of hours typing up and researching both teams for the intended game. The drive there wasn't bad for a Friday night with around 15 minutes delay and I got to Langford's ground at around 6.20. So then for the main reason I came here, the mile walk to the Engineers Arms pub. There I had a Garlic Chicken pizza, a pint of a new cider - Hogan's Panking Pole and a half of one I had before - Cornish Orchards pear cider. On the way I heard of my mate John who was walking 40 miles from Barrow to Keswick. I was pleased for him and wished him luck - I found just over 20 from Wycombe to Oxford tough going and there was no way I'd be able to do double that. I got to the ground at 7.15 and paid £6 to get in, plus £1 for a programme. I walked around the ground and got some pictures before finding a place near the halfway line to watch the game from.

Ampthill Town was a club I had seen already this season when they beat Hanwell Town 3-1 in the FA Vase 5th Round. This tie was postponed multiple times and eventually played when I had a free Saturday. This represented a record progression in the competition for them as they reached the Quarter Final this season before losing to Eastbourne United. The best they could manage in the FA Cup was the 1st Qualifying Round in 1983, 1985 and 1986  when they lost to Thame United, Oxford City & Halesowen Town. It was also a best-ever league finish for them this season as they finished runners-up behind Hanwell Town in the Spartan South Midlands Premier Division. The club was founded in 1881, joining the United Counties League in 1965, before switching to the South Midlands League in 1991.



Barton Rovers were a team that I had seen for the first and only time in August 2008. It was their game that ended my 7-year unbroken run watching Wycombe Wanderers home and away. I missed an away game at Chesterfield to see them beat Burnham Ramblers 2-1 in the FA Cup. Wycombe won 1-0 that day but the football was so bad under Peter Taylor that I couldn't be bothered trekking up and down the country to watch it. In 2008 they signed some well-known former Luton Town players including Tony Thorpe, Scott Oakes and Liam George. Founded in 1898, they joined the Isthmian League in 1979 after spending years playing in the South Midlands League. They switched to the Southern League in 2004 and that season had their best-ever league finish, finishing 8th in the Southern League Eastern Division. They had some good runs in the FA Vase in the 1970s, reaching the final at Wembley in 1978 before losing to Newcastle Blue Star. A few years later they got all the way to the FA Cup 1st Round before losing 2-0 to then Football League opponents Torquay United. They also had a good run in the FA Trophy reaching the 3rd Round in 2001 before a heavy 6-1 defeat to Forest Green Rovers. This season had been the best for many years as they missed out on the playoffs by a single place after three mid-table finishes in the past three seasons.



The game started off at a pretty slow pace, the first real chance coming when Barton hit the bar on 25 minutes. Ampthill broke straight up the other end and had a chance of their own but the game still didn't wake from its slumber. Ampthill came close again on 37 minutes when the ball hit the bar and came down rolling across the line. It was a great shot from outside the area and deserved to go in. But it remained goalless at half-time. At the break, I went and put my bag back in the car and fetched myself a Bovril from the tea bar. The game continued in its same dull fashion and the first incident of note was when the referee's son fell off the wall and cut his head. An ambulance was called as a precaution, but I know from experience having cut my head open twice when I was younger that it hardly takes anything as the skin is really soft - or maybe that's just me with a soft head! Certainly, I was questioning my wisdom at travelling 100 miles round trip to see such a poor game. In the end, there was a deciding goal 10 minutes from time. Barton Rovers' number 10 ran onto a loose ball and put it into the net for a winner. It was a scrappy goal to win a scrappy game and I didn't even hang around to see the cup being presented. I left at 9.40 and after filling up with petrol was home by 11. I had a quick look online and watched TV before going to bed just after midnight.

MY SECOND VISIT 

My second visit to Langford was mainly a trip to help out fellow hopper Colin. Langford was one of the trickier ones by public transport, and I was happy to have him help pay for travel costs. It was also an opportunity to update my blog and watch some Friday night football, which is always good. Whereas it had been a slow commute home due to the schools stopping early, the trip to the game was super quick. I left at 5.40 and after picking Colin up I was in Langford by 6.50. A fiver was a fair price for entry and included a programme. We had around half an hour to kill before the game started.

 

Crawley Green Sunday A were 4th in the Leighton & District Sunday League Division 4. They had a chance of the title with so many games in hand. Last week, they beat Slip End United 4-1. Ollie United were top of Division 5. They had won 12 out of 13 games so far. Last week they beat Glider (Dunstable). Distant 2nd-place Eaton Bray Rangers were the only side to beat them in the league this season. The club was set up for a noble cause, fundraising for the 'Solving Kids Cancer UK' charity. It was set up in the memory of Ollie Sweeney, who lost his life to cancer at four years old. Crawley Green played at the Crawley Green Sports and Social Club. Ollie United played at Leagrave Park in Luton. There were roughly five miles between the grounds, with both teams having travelled around 15 miles from their home venues to get to this game.

 

Crawley Green started brightly but didn't create much. Ollie United had the first real chance, a good attack down the right resulting in a fairly easy chance that was put wide from six yards out. Ollie then came close again before Crawley Green forced a great save out of the keeper following a free kick from 25 yards. Just before halftime, Ollie United headed just wide of the right-hand post and were the dominant team. Then Crawley Green created a good chance but put the ball wide from a few yards out. The second half was a bit more muted but Ollie United had a flurry of chances around the 65-minute mark with great saves and goal-line clearances. Another poor miss from Crawley Green ensured they didn't score on the break. Excellent defending denied them a minute later as a player was crowded out. The next attack from Crawley Green resulted in a handball in the box but the tame spot kick was easily saved. A header from a corner produced another chance for Crawley Green. A long period of added time failed to break the deadlock and so it went to penalties. It was Ollie United who triumphed, prompting happy celebrations for a great club.

Not a bad 0-0 but Ollie United win the Bedfordshire Lower Sunday Cup 4-2 on pens against Crawley Green. pic.twitter.com/BK4cKc1lxF

— ⚽Russell Cox💙 (@RussWWFC) April 4, 2025

THE GROUND - 2014

FORDE PARK is a basic ground with just 2 small stands on one side, one seating and one standing. They probably hold around 300 between them. The tea bar was fairly good and reasonably priced. I didn't try the clubhouse, but there is an excellent pub nearby called the Engineers Arms which also does pizzas for a fiver. This is probably the best option as the chippy was rubbish the last time I went and there isn't a huge range of hot food in the ground.

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