Collumpton Rangers - Speeds Meadow

Cullompton Rangers FC

Speeds Meadow

Duke Street

Cullompton

Devon

EX15 1DW

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1516

Saturday 14th February 2026

Cullompton Rangers 5-0 Newton Abbot Spurs

SWP East

CULLOMPTON RANGERS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1945 and initially played in the East Devon Victory League, before joining the Exeter & District League. They were Division 1 champions in 1960, earning promotion to the Premier Division. After finishing as Premier Division runners-up in their first season, they went on to win the league title in 1962 and 1964. However, they were relegated after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 1967. After another relegation, the club were Division 2 champions in 1973 and won Division 1 again in 1979, earning promotion back to the Premier Division of the renamed Devon & Exeter League. They made the step up to the Devon League in 1992. Although findimg the going tough at times, they finished as runners-up in 1998 and 1999. In 2007, they were founder members of the South West Peninsula League, first in the Premier Division and, latterly, in the East Division. They enjoyed their record finish of 4th last season.

Cullompton Rangers' only FA Cup appearance came in 2009, when they fell at the first hurdle, losing 5-1 to Gillingham Town. The FA Vase 2nd Round has been reached three times. Local cup honours include the Devon Premier Cup in 1999 and the East Devon Senior Cup in 1994. Links with Wycombe Wanderers include Craig Woodman, who made 119 appearances for us between 2007 & 2010 and is still plying his trade for Cullompton at the grand old age of 43. Other notable names to play for them include former Birmingham City player Scott Hiley and Adam Stansfield, who started his career with the club but sadly passed away in 2010 whilst playing for Exeter City. The town of Cullompton is located in Devon, around 13 miles from Exeter. It has a population of around 10,000.

 

MY VISIT

Exeter had long been a part of the country I had wanted to explore, but I had been put off due to the ludicrously high price of train tickets. The cheapest it could be done for was around £70, and that was with taking specific trains with specific splits. Though the Great British Rail Sale was not as productive as in 2025, I was able to snag a pair of £10 singles from London Waterloo for this Saturday. It was a bit slower and more clunky than I would have liked, but for that price, I couldn't complain. It was annoying that I couldn't go from Reading, as that meant I could leave the car at home, but those tickets were far more expensive. I could potentially go back to Wycombe and catch a taxi from there, but the plan was to go back to Amersham and drive home, which would restrict my pub-going a bit. There were tons of pubs I fancied, but at the time of booking, I had six weeks to make a decision. As for the games, Cullompton Rangers was the overwhelming favourite, with Bovey Tracey also a contender. I also had eight others in lower leagues, though none on 3G at the time of my initial research. I was even considering accepting the loss of the £20 spent on train tickets, after a string of wet weather.

From my game at Kenilworth, I listened to and watched the Mansfield Town v Wycombe Wanderers game, which ended 0-0. It was a train to Coventry by which time I'd all but finished my blog, but the battery was almost dead. I decided to leave it until later, walking to the Bloomfield Tavern, where I had a pint of Derbyshire Buck cider, very pleasant too. There was only one cider I fancied, just as well as I didn't wanna get home too late. I only had time for one Wetherspoons, and it was to be the Earl of Mercia, as this had both special offers on food and Black Dragon cider. It did indeed come up trumps, though I was lucky to get a table for Black Dragon cider and a Spice Bag. I decided to take another break in the journey to stop in Leamington Spa. It wasn't nearly as nice as it sounds; perhaps the roadworks and scaffolding coloured my view, but it was a disappointing town. The Benjamin Satchwell Spoons was doing a brisk trade, which was why I was there. A can of Fierce Iron Bru was a change from cider, and it left me with enough capacity, according to my app, to have one more. So back to the station it was and more FM17 on the hour journey. I was back at 9.20 and walked via the bog to the bus stop. It was around ten minutes' wait for the bus home. I got through the door just before 10 and had a pint before bed. It was work as usual, and with a 3.50 am alarm, I needed a nap the following afternoon. I drew up a list of options for Tuesday in the evening, the weather looking crap again. It was the local side, Holmer Green, that got the nod. Harleston probably would have been OK, but with a lot of rain just before kickoff, 4-degree temperatures and a three-hour sleep before work the next day, I decided against it.

Out of all the new grounds I had considered, the Shawbury United game had already bitten the dust, due to Telford Town being unable to raise a team. I was going to keep an eye out to see what happened at Harleston Town & Melbourne Dynamo, just out of interest. As for my chosen game, a pitch inspection was scheduled, and with light rain all day, I wasn't confident. It wasn't enough to stop me from walking the ten miles to town and back, helping me undo some of the damage from all my snacking. Both the Holmer Green & Malbourne Dynamo games fell victim to the weather; however, the Harleston one went ahead. Nevertheless, it was abandoned after ten minutes due to a player injury, which is never nice. I was glad I took the option of a night in and was asleep well before 9. The week really started to drag on Wednesday with no game, and I could have done with a few drinks, but I decided to wait until Friday as usual. There was no reward at the end of the week, though, as Penn & Tylers Green v Oxhey Jets was called off due to the persistent rain. It was supposed to be a charity game in memory of club legend Andreas Latta. But the weather took the side of cancer and cost a great cause a four-figure sum, such is its arrogance and vicious spite.

It was a boozy Friday evening, I'd much preferred to have been out at football, but instead I got a third successive promotion with Hull United on FM17 and earned a debut in both the FA Cup and FA Vase. This carried on the next morning until I left for the Wycombe game at 10.40. A pint and some wings in Spoons, a pint of Old Rosie in the Rose and Crown, a Romanian mixed grill and a can from Tesco made it the usual indulgent pre-match. A great Wycombe win, 4-0 against Doncaster Rovers, put me in a good mood. It was a couple more drinks on the way home, and I'd walked 16 miles in all. Finally, a nightcap to send me off before a hard day at work the next day, which was intolerably busy. It was my day off on Tuesday, and the standard walk to town and back. I was glad to get my car booked in for the MOT & Service next week, though it was annoying to be a bit too late to take advantage of some better prices. I prioritised getting it done as soon as possible, though ahead of some long-distance drives in the coming month. I had planned to go to Chalfont St Peter v Holmer Green in the evening, but once again, it was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. The same could be said of New Milton Town v AFC Stoneham on Wednesday, which was postponed early afternoon. It's been a very frustrating start to the new year with only one midweek non-league game so far, which was, of course, played in torrential rain. It was a dull Wednesday and Thursday, with the week dragging again due to no football.

Final plans were put in place on Thursday evening. I decided that I'd probably leave the car at home to be safe and not have to do a stinking sober trip home. It was a super busy day at work on Friday, but with it being so constant, time flew. I had a few drinks to help me relax and was still considering taking my car to save time, finally settling on coming back via London, Wycombe and Taxi. On the day, I woke at my usual work time, missing out on a lie-in when I couldn't get back to sleep. I got out of bed at 6.50, getting ready and leaving at 7. Bus, Chiltern train and tube got me to London Waterloo well on time for my train. 40 minutes early in fact, naturally, the Wetherspoons was my refuge with a £3.49 pint of Stowford Press going down a treat. I was at platform 9 in plenty of time, a good job as it left a minute early. It was a pleasant enough train, shockingly though, no plugs or USB charging, so I would be limited in playing my Football Manager 2017 save with Hull United, seeking my fourth promotion in a row from the NCEL Premier. It was a pleasant enough journey, though, and the free WiFi was useful. I got good news at 10 am, first choice game at Cullompton was on. Not the most interactive club, with replies turned off on Twitter by default. It was interesting to note, though, that former Wycombe player Craig Woodman was still playing for them at the grand old age of 43. A couple of cans of Stromgbow aided my research during the picturesque journey. The comfortable surroundings aided my research into the club, which I left until the journey down due to the perilous state of the weather.

I was at Honiton at 12.15 for the rail replacement. Despite being late leaving, it was well organised but very busy. It was a frustratingly slow trip once we got near Exeter due to traffic. Then people took ages getting off the bus. Ten minutes late, I headed to the first Wetherspoons, The Chevalier Inn. Unlike other Wetherspoons in Devon, it was awful, with most stuff out of stock. A pint of Thatchers Gold was quaffed for £3.80. Next up, George's Meeting House, it had some good ciders, but they weren't in the meal deal. A spice bag and Aspalls came quickly, and I headed for the bus stop with five minutes to spare. However, the bus didn't turn up despite Google Maps claiming it did. The next one was five minutes late, and finally, I was on my way, behind schedule. I had been following the Reading v Wycombe game, and despite us coming back from 2-0 down to level, we lost the game 3-2. It was a long, old route, very rural. There were huge gaps between stops, but I got off just short of the town. It was a fifteen-minute walk to the ground. I arrived a few minutes past but heard the referee blow for kickoff as I got near. 

Cullompton Rangers were in 4th place, going well but in mixed form. Their last game was a 4-0 win at Ilfracombe Town, but that was a month ago. Newton Abbot Spurs were 7th and amazingly, this was their first league game since December 28th, when they'd drawn 1-1 at Teignmouth. The visitors had possession but didn't create much. Instead, Cullompton took the lead on ten minutes, a right-sided cross headed home. It was 2-0 around 27 minutes in, a good cross and #10 headed home at the back post. Similar to the first, but I had a far better view this time. It was a similar goal for 3-0, just before halftime. I had a bottle of Rattler Gold at halftime, a new one for me. A well-worked move and a low shot made it 4-0 on 49 minutes, although there was no communication on lineups or goals. A penalty with fifteen minutes to go saw Cullompton lead 5-0, this after a trip just inside the area. There was still silence from both teams and the FA Full Time being the hopeless system that it is, I had no idea who had grabbed the goals when I came to publish this blog.

THE GROUND

SPEEDS MEADOW is a well-kept but basic ground. The main covered area is on the far side, a brick-built stand with bench seating. This holds around 150. On the near side is some cover in front of the bar for me under 50. The bar itself offers a reasonable range at reasonable prices and also serves food. The ground is adjacent to the M5 and main train line, though Exeter is the nearest station. The town is 20 minutes walk away, where the Pony and Trap is worth a visit. 

Kenilworth Sporting - Kenilworth Sporting Ground

Kenilworth Sporting FC

Kenilworth Sporting Ground

Gypsy Lane

Kenilworth

Warwickshire

CV8 1FA

Official Website

FA Full Time

Twitter

Ground Number: 1515

Saturday 31st January 2026

Kenilworth Sporting 3-1 AFC Birmingham
Midland D3

KENILWORTH SPORTING FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club can trace its lineage back to 2017, when it was formed as Coventry Plumbing, or Coventry Plumbing and Heating FC, to give them their full name. They won the Coventry Alliance Division 3 in their first season before they moved to Kenilworth. A 3rd place finish behind Stockton and RS Sports in Division 2 saw a second consecutive promotion, but they were at the bottom of Division 1 when the pandemic stopped play in early 2020. A rebrand over the summer saw the club renamed Kenilworth Sporting, and they moved to the Midland League Division 3. They were top of the league when the game was once again halted, but this was good enough for promotion to Division 2. They spent two seasons here, finishing 5th and 6th before dropping down to the Stratford-Upon-Avon Alliance, winning Division 1 in 2024. Since then, they've been back in the Midland Division 3, where they finished 4th last season.

There has been non-league football played in the town as far back as 1936, when Kenilworth Town started out playing in the Coventry and District League at the nearby St John's Playing Fields. With no permanent home, they were unable to progress due to not having a home of their own. Despite this, the club was able to continue after the Second World War, and between 1946 and 1962, Kenilworth Town moved home five times. This included stints at The Oval, St John's Junior School, Scott Road, and Thickthorn Manor. During this period, the club also changed its name, becoming Kenilworth Rangers.

A stable residence was finally found in 1962 when they moved to Gypsy Lane. They initially leased the land before purchasing the freehold in the early 1990's. During this time, they changed their name to Kenilworth Rangers, and it was under this name that they joined the Midland Combination Division 2 in 1989. They changed their name back in 1992, shortly after they won promotion to Division 1 following a 3rd place finish. In 1996, they were runners-up to Richmond Swifts, winning promotion to the Premier Division. They spent four seasons here before relegation at the turn of the millennium. Some seasons of struggle followed before the club changed its name to Kenilworth Town KH. The KH in Kenilworth Town KH stood for Kings Heath.

The name change occurred in 2005 following a merger between Kenilworth Town and Kings Heath FC. At the time, Kings Heath was a Birmingham-based club that had lost its home ground, so the two entities joined forces to compete in the Midland Football Combination. In the autumn of 2006, the club resigned from the league after six games and the reserves - effectively the old Kings Heath FC took over, playing in Division 3. A 4th place finish in 2009 and then a runners-up spot behind Hampton in Division 2 saw two promotions in a row. They spent a season in Division 1 before resigning from the league in 2011. They played in the Stratford-Upon-Avon Alliance for a single season before rejoining the Midland Combination at the Division 2 level in 2012, winning the title in 2014. They had a single season in the newly-formed Midland Division 2 but resigned after a single season following relegation.

Kenilworth is a market town in Warwickshire, 5.5 miles southwest of Coventry and 4.5 miles north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of the county, the town lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the River Avon 2 miles north-east of the town. It has a population of around 22,500. The town is home to the ruins of Kenilworth Castle and Kenilworth Abbey. Kenilworth derives from the Old English cynehildworð, meaning 'Cynehild's enclosure'. A settlement existed at Kenilworth by the time of the 1086 Domesday Book, which records it as Chinewrde. During the Blitz in World War II on the night of 21 November 1940, a German aircraft dropped two parachute mines on Kenilworth; the large explosions in the Abbey End area demolished a number of buildings, killing 25 people and injuring 70 more. The bomb damaged area of the town was redeveloped in the 1960s. Kenilworth was struck by an F0/T1 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide outbreak on that day. Kenilworth Wardens FC is based at Kenilworth Wardens, a Community Amateur Sports Club in Glasshouse Lane to the east of the town. They play in the Coventry Alliance Premier Division. Footballers Tim Flowers and Kelvin Langmead hail from the area.

MY VISIT 

Originally, on this day, it was going to be a couple of days in Yorkshire. A few months ago, I noticed that Campion had a Friday-night game in late January. With accommodation in Bradford being well-priced, it would be a great opportunity to visit the excellent Jacobs Well pub. I booked the Travelodge on flexible terms just in case something happened, and made plans for a couple of games at Ripon City and Knaresborough Town on the Saturday. Sadly, that flexibility was needed; every single one of the NCEL midweek games was off, and with snow and rain forecast for Friday, I cancelled a couple of days before. With the Football Traveller not arriving until after 10 pm on Wednesday, I had to make my decision on Thursday. London saw games all in tricky areas to reach, away from the clump of Spoons that I needed to visit. Wimbledon Casuals was the best option, but it was a bad journey by public transport, and outside the TFL zone. Eventually, I found a reasonable double - a revisit to Bedworth United for a Midland U21 game and a decent new ground at Kenilworth Sporting in the afternoon. It wasn't ideal with sporadic social media and poor value train fare, but it did at least have some good pubs. As usual, fellow hopper Daniel kept trying to change my mind to do East Thurrock Community or Corinthians, but they were also poor value on the train, plus in a less interesting part of the country for a day out. In any case, they could be done in midweek towards the end of the season.

It was a long, old journey home from Morpeth, and the journey really dragged. I was glad when Mick dropped us off in Huntington at 8.40. I drove home via Colin's and got in at 10.10. A nightcap of a pint of cider took the edge off an unwanted bedtime before work tomorrow. I only got a few hours of sleep, waking early, but I felt fine. It was a standard Sunday, the public coming out en masse and making it unpleasantly busy, albeit without malice. Monday was calmer, although still busy, and at least I booked my flight out to Dublin for March in the afternoon. I was hoping for a good night's sleep, but didn't get one, waking up at my normal work time on Tuesday. I could hear the rain coming down, and I would have to make a decision about my trip this weekend soon. It was drizzly with heavier rain forecast later, and I couldn't be bothered with my usual walk to town and back. Instead, I stayed in and won the Humber Premier League Division 1 with Hull United on FM17, an old game revived after many years.

Around 4, I headed out with a can in my bag, which was imbibed on the walk to town. Then, a £1.99 pint of Stowford Press at Wetherspoons whilst I started reading Neville Southall's autobiography. £5.60 for a pint of Old Rosie supported my favourite local pub before a new takeaway. Domiza Pizza was excellent for a ten-inch chilli blaze for £6.99, my new favourite pizza place in Wycombe. Finally. A can of Crumpton Oaks ended my excessive pre-match libation, but I was in a good mood. It turned out to be my 1375th first-team Wycombe game, and I made it to my seat bang on kickoff. Within two minutes, Wycombe led Wigan 1-0. A sloppy challenge saw Cameron Boyd Munce convert a penalty. It was pretty turgid for a long time, with Wigan dominating but not threatening. But then Wycombe bundled home through Cauley Woodrow to complete a routine 2-0 win. It was a short day at work the next morning, and I was back home by 11.30 to walk into town and back, getting 15 miles of exercise in. It was during this walk that I decided to pull out of my weekend in Yorkshire, owing to rain and snow on Friday. It gave Colin the chance to sort out alternative transport to Hartlepool on Saturday and saved a wasted journey. As it turned out, I finished work earlier than usual on Friday, and Campion tweeted that it was game on, and it did indeed go ahead. I spent the evening firming up plans and researching club history, which was enjoyable but time-consuming.

It was a sober and early Friday night with me in bed at 9. It took me another half hour to drop off, so it was my normal work time when I awoke naturally. I still had another 90 minutes to go and so went back to sleep, getting up at 05.35. Not the finest night of shut-eye that I've ever had, and it took me a while to get ready, leaving ten minutes late. I noted Campion had won 2-1 in my absence last night, but it'll get done one day. I had to jog some of the four miles to the station and arrived 10 minutes early. The train was semi-busy, surprisingly so for so early in the day. The 07:28 to Birmingham got me to Leamington Spa at 08:28, where I changed onto the 08:40 to Leamington, which was a lot nicer and cleaner than the previous one after a couple of Banbury passengers had left it in a right mess. I was off at Bedworth at 09:09 for my revisit to see their U21 team. Whereas the South West had been wiped out by the rain, the helpful match secretary confirmed game on at Kenilworth during half-time of the Bedworth game. It has been a good day so far and though the 12.45 train was busy, it was on time. I was in Kenilworth just after 1 and walked ten minutes to the Dictum of Kenilworth. Another Wetherspoons, wings, chips and a pint of Stowford Press were £7.47. The visit was as quick as I could make it. It was then 20 minutes walk to the ground, drizzle started just as I arrived. With the game kicking off upon arrival, the bar would have to wait.

 

Kenilworth Sporting sat 8th in the table, having won eight and lost four. They'd won two of their last three, including a 2-1 win at Gornal last week. AFC Birmingham were 12th, having won four, drawn two and lost eleven. They'd not won in ten and had lost 4-1 at Leamington Hibernian last week. The hosts were all in blue, whilst the visitors were in pink and black. With the rain stopping briefly but starting again heavier, it was a wet game. Kenilworth took the lead on 28 minutes, the visiting defence all at sea. A simple loose ball from the left was put home from within the six-yard box. Even heavier rain greeted Kenilworth's second on 43 minutes, the ball lashed into the roof of the net from six yards, this time from a right-sided cross. I went inside at halftime, easily the bar of the season with a fantastic selection. I had a pint of Napton Chisel in a plastic club glass, I think for £4.40. I then queued up to pay for my entry and excellent programme for £4 as I'd arrived late. Kenilworth came close with a great lob on 55, which came from forty yards, but was well saved. A few minutes later, AFC pulled one back with a penalty, but on 70 minutes, it was 3-1, another penalty. That was how it ended. Following this, I had a 25-minute walk back to the station.

THE GROUND

KENILWORTH SPORTING GROUND is a venue fit for step 4 of non-league football. It is fully railed, and there are two covered metal stands, holding 100 each, one seated, the other standing. The latter is used as the dugouts, but could be easily changed. Food is available in breakfast form, and merchandise includes pin badges, cups and programmes. The highlight, though, is the bar, which has five ciders including Rattler, Old Rosie, Napton, Aspalls and Carling Dark Fruits. There's also a great choice for beer drinkers. Parking is plentiful, and the ground is 25 minutes away from both the town and the station on foot.