Nailsea & Tickenham - Fryth Way

Nailsea & Tickenham FC

Fryth Way

Nailsea

Bristol

BS48 2AS

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Ground Number: 1234

Saturday 7th October 2023

Nailsea & Tickenham 4-3 Buckland Athletic

Western Premier

NAILSEA & TICKENHAM FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was formed following a merger between Somerset County League side Nailsea Town and Weston Super Mare & District League club Tickenham United. Nailsea Town were the prominent side and had progressed through the Somerset County League since joining Division 3 in 1991. They were promoted as runners-up behind Wrington & Redhill in 1998 to Division 2 and then as champions to Division 1 in 2000. They secured a second consecutive promotion the following year with a third-place finish. A couple of seasons were spent in the Premier Division before they were relegated back. A second chance came in 2011 as they finished as runners-up to Berrow. The club remained in the Premier Division following the merger which gave them the impetus to really improve results. Following runners-up spots in 2016 and 2019 with two third-place finishes in between, they won the title in 2022 to win promotion to the Western League Division 1. Last season, they enjoyed a fine debut season, finishing as runners-up to Brislington and with it, promotion to the Premier Division.

Nailsea and Tickenham made their FA Cup debut this season, beating Tring Athletic before losing to Highworth Town in the Preliminary Round. This was also the season of their FA Vase debut and they remain in the competition following victories over Bitton and Brislington. The other well-known side in the town is Nailsea United who play in the Somerset County Premier, a couple of tiers below. Further down are a re-established Nailsea Town, AFC Nailsea and Selkirk United. However, they have only come to prominence in the last few years. Nailsea is a town in north Somerset, 8 miles southwest of Bristol. Nailsea had a population of just under 16,000. The town was an industrial centre based on coal mining and glass manufacturing, which have now been replaced by service industries. The Land Yeo river flows to the east of the town. One of Nailsea's best-known celebrities was Adge Cutler, the Somerset folk singer, whose backing band was The Wurzels. He worked at the Coates cider factory which was part of the town for around 50 years. The Wurzels' album Live at the Royal Oak was recorded at The Royal Oak, a public house on the High Street. Cutler is buried in Christ Church graveyard.

MY VISIT

Originally on this day, I was planning on going to Fleetwood Town v Wycombe Wanderers. It had been twelve years since I had been and I thought that my blog needed an update. However, u[on checking on Thursday, I noticed that I already had a pretty full entry, I presumably did that whilst we were bored during lockdown. Given that it would be a pricey day out, I decided against it. Earlier that day, I'd already crossed off another two possibilities involving overnight stops at Axminster and Briton Ferry as work was chaotic and I'd agreed to stay on and help out potentially. I did however find a late addition to the Friday night possibilities in Windsor v Berks County. The game was being played at Beaconsfield Town, one of my closest grounds. Seeing as they were charging a fiver and had a newly-formed Windsor & Eton take their place at their home ground, I thought it was a no-brainer.

As for Saturday though, I was left with plenty of options. I thought I'd left it too late to get a good deal on the coach, so a train it would have to be unless I fancied a drive. I considered Sherborne & Downton as they were available at reasonable fares but were fiddly and lacked decent pubs. I had a search through the Football Traveller, with a preference for cup games. I eventually found one in the Surrey Intermediate Cup in Horsley v University Of Sussex. It was the best ground I had left to do in the Surrey League and although there weren't any pubs of interest near the ground, I had the option of breaking my journey en route and going around London. The 2 p.m. kickoff also allowed me the possibility of watching the second half of the Fleetwood v Wycombe game. However, it was poor value for money on the train so I had another look at coaches. A National Express from London to Bristol was available for little more than £16 return, so I went for that with Nailsea and Tickenham in mind.

Had I known that the Metropolitan Line was out of action due to engineering works, I'd not have gone for it, but what was done was done. I spent ages looking at where else to go from, as I wasn't happy about relying on rail replacement buses when I had important connections to make. West Ruislip was eventually selected, not much extra time but a few quid more in petrol. In the evening, I went to Windsor v Berks County. Like the trains, poor old Windsor were in a sorry state, the crowd numbered about 20 and they were 1-0 down within a few minutes. Fans had decamped to the newly established Windsor and Eton in the Thames Valley League, leaving behind a team that had been relegated from the Combined Counties Premier North last season and were near the bottom again. An own goal amongst other errors ensured that Windsor lost 6-3 to Berks County though I'd lost interest by the end. I'd much rather have been down in Axminster watching a 5-4 game but I had to make do with what I had.

I woke up sleepy after less than six hours of sleep and regretting my decision. However, once I got on the road and toward London, I felt better. I parked up in a nice street and walked to the station. I was expecting a train every ten minutes as advertised, but the sign said 18 minutes wait. It made things very tight and I would have to get a move on. I made it to the coach station ten minutes before departure and happily, my gate was near the front. I thought that I'd be getting on the coach outside but it only had capacity for half of the passengers and the rest of us had to wait for a second coach. A Kingsferry coach turned up and we got away eight minutes late. There was, however, plenty of space and everyone got a double seat to themselves. I figured the delay was worth the extra comfort. It was a seamless journey and we were in Bristol ten minutes ahead of schedule. I used the toilet before getting the 12:00 bus to Nailsea.

 The connections were excellent, every 15 minutes and part of the £2 fare cap. On the bus, I tried to book a coach to Manchester for a couple of weeks time but the timings weren't as good as they used to be. I'll likely go to Eastbourne United v Bearsted in the FA Vase that day as it'll be the last ground I need in the Southern Combination Premier. I also looked at a day trip to Belfast but again, the timings were not working out. I got there at 12.50 and after popping into Poundland, I was at Wetherspoons 277, The Glassmaker, by 1. I ordered a chicken wing basket with a pint of Black Dragon for £9.82. A further pint of Hunts Hazy Daisy set me up for the walk to the ground. I was there on good time, around 2.30 with entry being a reasonable £7. A further pint of Cheddar Valley was had pre-match, with local heroes The Wurzels urging me to Drink Up Thy Zider over the loudspeakers.

Nailsea and Tickenham sat in 10th and were in disappointing form. They'd certainly been amongst the goals recently with a 4-3 defeat at Street and a 3-2 loss at Saltash. They'd also lost 2-0 to Barnstaple and 1-0 at Falmouth. Their last win came on 29th August as they won 3-1 at Shepton Mallet. Buckland Athletic were in 7th. They were in better form, their only defeat in six coming in the last game as they were beaten 2-1 by leaders Falmouth Town. Before that, they'd won 3-0 and 5-1 against St Blazey and 6-0 at whipping boys Millbrook. They'd also drawn 3-3 against Street. It was fairly even, early on. Buckland looked the more likely and they took the lead on eight minutes, a lob from 30 yards by Webber, great opportunism. Buckland were now by far the better side, Grant doubling the lead from the penalty spot on 19 minutes. A couple of minutes later, the Nailsea keeper was sin-binned for his protests and it looked to be a difficult afternoon for his side. Nailsea pulled a goal back on 37 minutes, a ball forward and a shot into the centre of the net to reduce the arrears. Some £1 chips and friendly dogs meant half time flew by. Another long ball was latched on to by Joe Berry, on 48 minutes his finish made things all square. Berry had his second a few minutes later, taking advantage of some rotten defending to give his side a 50th-minute lead. It was 4-2 a couple of minutes later in a remarkable turnaround. The game died down a bit after that but on 86 minutes it was 4-3 after Buckland's Rob Farkins squeezed home a shot. Despite this Nailsea looked the more likely to score in the lengthy added time.

The game eventually finished at 5.03. I was delighted that Wycombe had won 4-1 up at Fleetwood and so it was a good mood as I walked the few minutes to the local bus stop. It was less than 15 minutes till the next bus. It was on time, a novelty for me. As I had a fair bit of time to kill, but really only one more pint permissible, I opted for something a bit out of the city. I'd visited the Orchard pre Bristol City a couple of years ago and was very impressed. To boot, it had recently won Bristol Cider Pub of the Year recently. It was a picturesque bus route on the X7 and certainly an area I'd like to explore further. The walk to the Orchard was less attractive, but what a pub. Tons of cider, I opted for a Broadwood Foxwhelp which was excellent. I was seriously considering coming back next week. I'd not have had to suffer the disappointment of having to start sobering up if I had come on the train. I was expecting a simple trip back but due to the riverboat not being in service, it was a bit of a palaver on the bus. I was pleased I'd allowed plenty of time as I'd needed it. I was back just under 20 minutes in advance, stopping at Greggs for food and making my coach in good time. It had been a good day overall, despite the earlier issues.

THE GROUND

FRYTH WAY is a pleasant and picturesque ground to visit. There's just the one covered stand, capacity around 100. It's a friendly club and good value food and drink are available. Further afield are an unimposing but decent Wetherspoons called the Watchmaker. There's also a nice-looking Micropub and other things. Nailsea is well linked to Bristol and there's plenty of street parking near the ground.