Upper Beeding - Upper Beeding Memorial Ground

Upper Beeding FC

Upper Beeding Memorial Fields

High Street

Upper Beeding

West Sussex

BN44 3WN

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1563

Tuesday 7th July 2026

Upper Beeding 1-5 Mile Oak

Friendly

UPPER BEEDING FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1925. They played their football in local leagues for many years, seeing success in the Brighton, Hove & District Football League. In 1983, they played a game against Brighton & Hove Albion that featured several famous players, including Joe Corrigan, Eric Young, Jimmy Case, Terry Connor and Neil Smillie. In the 1990s, they moved to the West Sussex League, winning Division 5 in 1992 and progressing up the divisions. This culminated in them being crowned Division 1 champions in 1997 and Premier Division champions and League Cup winners in 1998. In 2001, Upper Beeding joined the Sussex County League, playing in Division 3 for five years. Following seasons of struggle, they returned to the West Sussex League. Despite only finishing 5th, they returned to Step 7 in 2015 with the league having been renamed the Southern Combination Division 2. They have been there ever since, with their best finish of 5th coming in 2017.

Upper Beeding is a village near Horsham in West Sussex. It has a population of around 3,800. Upper Beeding is on the northern edge of the South Downs National Park, which was created in 2010. The South Downs Way and Monarch's Way long-distance footpaths run through the parish; the area is popular with walkers, cyclists and equestrians. The village has a rich history. In AD 858 it is thought that Aethelwulf, father of Alfred the Great, died here and was buried across the River Adur in Steyning. There was a priory in Upper Beeding during the 11th century, but no trace of it now remains. After the Norman Conquest, the manor was granted by William the Conqueror to William de Braose. De Braose rebuilt the Saxon church in 1073, giving us the present St Peter's church. During the medieval period, a busy toll road ran through Upper Beeding, and the toll house was one of the last such houses to be in service in the country. It was later dismantled and re-erected at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum.

MY VISIT

There was not a huge amount on offer on my first Tuesday game in nearly two months. Most of the games were being played at schools or sports centres with clubs opting to give their pitches a rest. The nearest 'new tick' at a proper ground was in deepest Sussex, which was far from ideal. The one consolation was a 7 PM kickoff, which meant that I could at least start heading home at a reasonable hour.  After getting home on Saturday, there was much catching up and working out to do. I uploaded my blog, worked out my finances and had a few ciders. I needed something to relax me ahead of another terrible Sunday whilst my passenger enjoyed his usual four-day weekend. I watched some old On The Buses episodes before bed, hoping for a reasonable night's sleep. I got that in the end, more or less. Sunday was its usual gruelling self; hell on earth, it was so busy. I was glad when 1 PM came, and I could go home. I offered Colin Upper Beeding on Tuesday and Ilminster Town on Friday, both my nearest unticked grounds on those days.

I was asleep around 9 and woke up around 3.30 to see England still playing, leading Mexico 3-2 and down to ten men. The game must have been delayed for an hour, but I was glad to see them hold out. The less-than-ideal, but manageable time of Saturday 10 pm will see us face Norway after they beat Brazil. It was a better day at work on Monday, and Colin confirmed that he fancied Upper Beeding on Tuesday but not Friday as he wanted to save money. Fellow hopper Chris also turned down my offer of Burbage and Huncote, so it looked as if it would be a Friday night in. I consoled myself with the fact that I could walk to town and back and have a couple of pints if nothing else came up. When I was double-checking the fixtures, I saw that Rayleigh Town were at home. That was a slightly shorter journey, but I had already spent a while researching the Upper Beeding history and planned the journey, so I resisted changing. I kept an eye on Portugal v Spain and was hoping that later on, Belgium would beat the USA. FIFA had controversially suspended a ban for USA player Balogun following a call from Donald Trump. It should come as no surprise, as Infantino is just the same as Blatter when it comes to corruption and dirty tricks.

I awoke on Tuesday in a bit of a panic, waking at 5.15 and thinking I'd overslept before realising it was my day off. I was glad when I checked the results and saw that Belgium had beaten the USA 4-1 overnight. I went back to bed for a bit before getting up and having a shower and breakfast. I got going a bit later than planned for my ten-mile walk to town and back. I was back at around 1.40 and had a lunch of Romanian sausages. I tried to fit a fan in my car to stop my phone overheating when it's on my dashboard. However, it was hopeless as the gaffer tape wouldn't stick on the hot dashboard. I spent the afternoon at home, a little longer than expected, as Colin was over half an hour late for our meet. At least he messaged me, I guess. I looked out for his bus on the app and timed the pickup perfectly. I arrived just as the bus pulled out. There was no apology from my passenger; he just continued listening to something on his headphones. When he did finally give me his attention, he said it wasn't his fault the bus times didn't line up. There was plenty of delay, as you'd expect on the M25 in rush hour. The journey was made worse by a dodgy phone signal. We came off at junction 9 and went through a load of villages to Crawley.  We parked in ASDA and walked six minutes to the Jubilee Oak Wetherspoons. There I had chicken wings and lime cordial for the bargain price of £3.50. Drinks service was fantastic, though food was a little slower. When my wings came, they were excellent, fryer fresh and very tasty. Crawley was a pleasant-looking town too.

 

From there it was 35 minutes drive to the ground, with us getting there ten minutes into the game. Luckily, it was easy to park and walk up to the pitch. We had missed a goal as Mile Oak were already 1-0 up. Rather than the home colours of yellow v orange, Upper Beeding were in claret, and Mile Oak were in green. The visitors had the ball in the net, but the well-worked move and finish by #20 was ruled out for offside. Both halves had lengthy drinks breaks, and after the first, the hosts improved considerably. They skimmed the bar with a shot in the first half, before equalising on 50 minutes with a low shot from the edge of the area. Mile Oak restored the lead on the hour, a good sweeping move. It was 3-1 on 64 minutes when a ball from the left was knocked home from within the six-yard box. A finish from a right-sided cross made it 4-1 on 84 minutes, and it was 5-1 to the visitors with the last kick of the game. We left at 9.05, stopping at a petrol station on the way for drinks. The Switzerland v Colombia game was dull compared to the Egypt v Argentina game from earlier, so we changed to Greatest Hits Radio. I dropped Colin off at 10.35, getting home at 10.50. It took me ages to get to sleep, not good ahead of a 3.50 work alarm.

THE GROUND

UPPER BEEDING MEMORIAL FIELD is a pleasant venue to watch a game at. Three sides of the pitch are railed, but there are no dugouts. There is a club building, but I think it's just dressing rooms. The area has very nice views, and the backdrops look great. There is a small car park or street parking. In terms of facilities, there was nothing at the ground, but there was a petrol station around the corner.

Haverfordwest County - Bridge Meadow

The Ogi Bridge Meadow Stadium

Bridge Meadow Lane

Sydney Rees Way

Haverfordwest

Pembrokeshire

SA61 2EX 

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1562

Saturday 4th July 2026

Haverfordwest County 0-4 Hamilton Academical

Friendly

HAVERFORDWEST COUNTY FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1899 as Haverfordwest FC. They changed their name to Haverfordwest Town in 1901 and then Haverfordwest Athletic in 1936. They adopted their current name of Haverfordwest County in 1956. For many years, they played in local leagues such as the Pembrokeshire League. In 1936, they joined the Welsh Football League, a competition primarily based in the south of the country. They were in Division 1 at the start of the 1950s but suffered a drop to Division 2 West in 1954, spending two seasons here before they won the title in 1956. The top tier was renamed the Premier Division in 1964. In the mid 1970s, Haverfordwest became a yo-yo club between the Premier and Division 1, with them stabilising in the higher league at the start of the 1980s. They won the Premier Division in 1981 and then again in 1989, by which time it had been renamed the National Division.

 Haverfordwest County were founder members of the League of Wales in 1992 but only stayed for two seasons. Having accepted an offer which involved the redevelopment of their Bridge Meadow ground, and unable to find a suitable alternative ground of League of Wales standard, they resigned from the League in 1994. Three seasons were spent in the Welsh League with two runner-up spots to Briton Ferry Athletic and Carmarthen Town respectively, before they were champions in 1997. The club achieved the first of their record 3rd-place finishes in 2004. The 2010s saw a period of decline, with the majority of the decade spent back in the Welsh Football League. In 2018, they came close to promotion after finishing as runners-up to Llanelli. The following year saw the Cymru South established, with Haverfordwest winning promotion in their debut season. They finished as runners-up to Swansea University but went up as the champions failed to gain a licence to play in the Cymru Premier. They've been in the top tier ever since, finishing 3rd again in 2025.

In 2004, Haverfordwest County qualified for Europe via league position in the League of Wales and played in the UEFA Cup, losing over two legs 4–1 to Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar of Iceland. They qualified for the Europa League through the Welsh European playoffs in 2023, beating Macedonian outfit Shkëndija on penalties following a level scoreline across the two-legged tie. Their run came to an end when they were narrowly beaten over two legs by Faroe Islanders B36 Tórshavn in the 2nd Qualifying Round, with the 'home' legs played at the Cardiff City Stadium. Last season they played in the UEFA Conference League, losing to Maltese side Floriana. Domestic cup honours include two Welsh League Cups and seven West Wales Senior Cups.

Haverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire and has a population of just under 15,000. The location of the town is deliberate: it was the lowest bridging point of the Western Cleddau before the Cleddau Bridge opened in 1975. Haverfordwest is a market town, the county town of Pembrokeshire and an important road network hub between Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock, Fishguard and St David's as a result of its position at the tidal limit of the Western Cleddau. The name of the town means "ford used by goats", from Old English hæfer ford. In local dialect, it is pronounced: "Harford". Another local team,  Merlins Bridge, play in the local Pembrokeshire League. Haverfordwest RFC, which formed in 1885, play rugby union at their Pembroke Road ground, and Haverfordwest Cricket Club play at Dale Road.

Haverfordwest has been English-speaking for centuries. South Pembrokeshire is known as 'Little England Beyond Wales', but because the markets traded with Welsh farmers in the north and east, there has always been a significant Welsh-speaking influence. The suburb of Prendergast seems to have originated as an extramural Welsh dormitory, dating from the times when all agricultural trade had to pass through the borough, and the fearful Normans before the destruction of Anglo-Norman power in 1136 tried to prevent Welshmen bearing arms from entering within the castle walls after nightfall. Famous people from Haverfordwest include the footballers Simon Davies and Mark Delaney.

MY VISIT

Haverfordwest was the one ground that I had needed to complete the Cymru Premier last season, what with Caernarfon sharing at Llandudno. Their homecoming, along with Ammanford's promotion to an expanded top tier, meant that I was back to a target of three for this season, but hopefully got Ammanford done as part of this trip. This was the most westerly ground by some distance as far as the top three tiers were concerned in south Wales. I had planned to go last season, offering to drive a car full of hoppers from Essex if they could get to me. However, PuffPuff turned it down on behalf of his crew, saying that he didn't want a late night with work in the morning. That didn't stop him doing several trips out of Stansted Airport with far later finishes, or lumbering other drivers with long trips as long as he was picked up and dropped off at his front door, whatever the detour for the poor driver. I had first become aware of Haverfordwest when watching them on S4C against B36 Torshavn in 2023. They were extremely hard done by some refereeing decisions, if I recall correctly. I do love watching the Welsh sides try and upset the odds in European games, and the Welsh broadcaster must be applauded for providing an English-language commentary on YouTube; in fact, covering the tie at all is great.

The previous evening was spent at our hotel; I felt better after a few drinks. I was cheering on Cape Verde, but Messi, being the genius that he is, got the early goal for Argentina. But Cape Verde had been the sensation of the World Cup and equalised. I was a few drinks deep by now and also tired from my 3.50 alarm. With the gorilla snoozing, I myself got into bed and watched a bit of the game. I fell asleep, and when I woke up, Argentina were leading 3-2. I watched the end; sadly, no more goals, but they'd given it a brilliant go. I awoke after a decent night's sleep at around 7.30. I looked for a decent twin room for our stay in Dublin, but nothing was available at a fair price. Colin was happy to share a double bed, but that was a no-no for me; the same with dormitories and places with bad reviews. That said, I'd have been happy to go on the piss and spend the night in the airport, but the flights were more expensive. This way of booking also ensured that Colin paid for his own room rather than owed me money.

I had a shower, and that made me feel a lot better. Colin didn't bother for some reason, just putting some deodorant on. We left at 9.40 with Colin sleeping the entire 25-minute trip to the Mardy Inn Wetherspoons in Gorseinon. This was number 528 for me and the usual breakfast muffin, black pudding and energy drink that I have when driving. Colin had forgotten how to use the app, so I had to help him order. Service was mixed, but the food was hot, and I was happy despite the absence of my favourite chilli sauce. After filling up with petrol, we then had a 70-minute drive to Haverfordwest with Google Maps messing up during the journey and dumping us in a retail park full of zombies. It was a short ten-minute drive to the car park on the other side of the ground. We were there at 12.15 and walked to the William Owen Spoons, with the journey taking longer with Colin navigating. It was a great place for steak pudding, chips and peas along with a pint of Black Dragon for around £10.50. From there it was to Poundland for drinks and other essentials and then the Sheep Shop for some local Pembrokeshire cider.

From there it was around ten minutes to the ground, a good atmosphere and a decent crowd along with £8 entry. Both sides had beautiful warm-up tops, but sober, I couldn't justify the £30 for something I'd never wear. I did get a pint of Cold River cider, excellent value at £3.70 and a sensible strength. Haverfordwest had by far the better of the opening quarter, but couldn't score. Later on in the first half, Hamilton had a good spell. The visitors took the lead on 39 minutes, a low drive from the edge of the box by Dom Thomas. It was 2-0 on 43 minutes, a looping shot over the keeper by Cammy Blues. The attendance was given as 459. Both sides had good spells and chances during the early stages of the second half. Hamilton made it 3-0 on 74 minutes, a ball from the left and a finish by Kyle McDonald. A couple of minutes later, Dom Thomas made it 4-0 with a low shot. That was how it stayed, but Haverfordwest were no way four goals worse than Hamilton. We rushed back to the car, and I drove home without a break as I wanted to drop Colin at the bus stop. A slow lorry held us up at the start, but we made up the time. I dropped Colin off at 7.35, ten minutes before his bus. The ungrateful sod left rubbish in my car and buggared off without even saying goodbye or thank you. Sometimes I wonder why I bother, but then he had made the trip half price - petrol, hotel and servicing worked out at £68 each for the two games, making it most affordable.

 

THE GROUND

BRIDGE MEADOW is a pleasant venue to watch a game. There is a brick-built stand which holds around 350, plus a metal stand on the other side holding around 150. The rest of the ground is open hard standing, and the scenery is very pleasant. There is a decent range of merch, but not many small, low-price items. The bar is excellent; for example, a pint of Cold River cider is £3.70. The food is similarly well-priced. For a better range, the pleasant town is 15-minutes walk away and had a decent Wetherspoons. Car parking is plentiful, and public transport links are good as Haverfordwest has a train station.