Morpeth Town - Craik Park

Morpeth Town FC

Craik Park

High House Road

Pegswood

Morpeth 

Northumberland

NE61 2YX

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1514

Saturday 24th January 2026

Morpeth Town 1-0 FC United of Manchester

NPL Premier

MORPETH TOWN FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1909. They joined the Northern Alliance in 1936 and were runners-up in the league two years later. Then, in the first season following the outbreak of war, they won the North Division in 1940. Fortunes varied over the years, with Morpeth finishing bottom of the division in 1950, 1952 & 1954, but finishing as runners-up in 1966, 1974 & 1982.  They won the title in 1984 & 1994, and it was after the latter of these that they ended their 58-year stay in the Alliance and joined the Northern League. Starting in Division 2, they won the title in 1996, scoring over 100 goals in the process. Morpeth finished a credible 6th in their debut season and matched that again in 2006. However, four years later, they were relegated back to Division 2. They spent three seasons there before winning promotion back in 2013 following a 3rd place finish. The club was far more successful in Division 1 this time as they finished as runners-up to South Shields in 2017 and Marske United in 2018. Following the latter, they were promoted to the NPL D1 East, which they won in their debut season. Morpeth Town has been in the NPL Premier with a record high finish of 8th, achieved last season.

Morpeth Town's best FA Cup run came in 2021. They beat Hyde United, Lancaster City & Radcliffe before losing to York City in the 4th Qualifying Round after taking them to a replay. In the same season, they had their best FA Trophy run, beating Pickering Town, Bromsgrove Sporting, Warrington Town, Lancaster City and Boston United before losing again to York City, this time by a 3-2 scoreline in Yorkshire. In 2016, Morpeth Town won the FA Vase, beating Padiham, Billingham Synthonia, West Didsbury & Chorlton, 1874 Northwich, South Shields, North Shields and Bowers & Pitsea before defeating Hereford 4-1 at Wembley Stadium. Locally, they've won the Northern League Cleator Cup in 2017 and the Northern Alliance Subsidiary Cup in 1987. They've also won three Northern Alliance Challenge Cups, three Northumberland Senior Cups and two Northumberland Benevolent Bowls. The best-known player to have turned out for Morpeth is the nomadic striker Trevor Benjamin, who played for sixteen different Football League clubs, which is a record.

Morpeth is a historic market town in Northumberland, lying on the River Wansbeck. It has a population of around 14,000. The earliest evidence of settlement is believed to be from the Neolithic period, and some Roman artefacts have also been found. The first written mention of the town is from 1080, when the de Merlay family was granted the barony of Morpeth. The meaning of the town's name is uncertain, but it may refer to its position on the road to Scotland and a murder which occurred on that road. By the mid-1700s, it had become one of the main markets in England, having been granted a market charter in 1200, but the opening of the railways in the 1800s led the market to decline. The town's history is celebrated in the annual Northumbrian Gathering. In 2008, the town suffered a severe flood, which was repeated in 2012, resulting in the construction of new flood defences. The Morpeth Olympic Games, a professional event consisting mainly of athletics and wrestling, were staged from 1873 until 1958, barring interruptions during the two world wars.

ABOVE: Craik Park sometime between 2004 & 2006, when I was in the area following a Wycombe Wanderers game at Darlington or Hartlepool.

 

MY VISIT

A visit to Morpeth Town had long been on my priority list, as at the start of the season, it was one of only two clubs that I needed to visit to complete the top seven tiers of English Football. Workington Town had since muddied the waters by moving stadium and making my mission that little bit tougher, and Bamber Bridge was another ground in the far north that I needed. Therefore, I was going to take any chance that I could to visit. That opportunity came on 11th October when fellow hopper Daniel announced that Mick was driving him to Morpeth. There were a few drawbacks. Whereas Mick would make a 13-mile detour to pick Dan up from home. I wanted to meet as close to the route as possible, and so that would either mean Bishops Stortford or Brampton on the A1. The latter was a longer drive, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about parking restrictions imposed due to the proximity to Stansted Airport. Dan was also desperate to go and watch Newcastle U18's at their academy and had roped Mick into driving him there. I didn't fancy it and so explored going up to Morpeth early, which thankfully was doable. Lastly, I was disappointed that my mate River had chosen this day to visit Wycombe towards his mission to complete the 92. Most other weeks, I'd have been there to show him around our humble town and club and have a few pints, but it was not to be.

It was trickier than usual journey home from Cockfosters, owing to the Picadilly Line being out of action. I got a bus first to Edgware, then to Harrow, both bus stations being carbon copies of each other, functional with little architectural merit. The news that Wycombe had won 2-1 at Northampton made me happy, though I was just keen to get home and relax ahead of work tomorrow. I was back at 7.50 and had a couple of pints and a curry before bed. It was a standard Sunday at work, jam-packed as the day wore on. Monday was a bit calmer, and in the evening I learned that Colin would be coming with us, a real help with the petrol up to our meeting point. It was the standard Tuesday off with a walk to Wycombe and back. Due to getting an unusually decent night's sleep, 10.5 hours in all, I didn't go out until 10.20. It was a nice day to ten-mile walk, and I had a nice pizza for lunch when I got home. I also got good news from Amersham Town that their game v Windsor & Eton was on, my first midweek football of 2026. The game started brightly in dry conditions, but then the rain came down and the quality deteriorated. The rain eventually eased, and there was a late rally, but it ended 0-0. It needn't have been that way, but a whistle-happy referee and a reluctance to try long shots in tricky conditions made it so. It was good to meet both Anwar & Colin there, and I had drop-offs at Amersham Station and the gorilla sanctuary on the way home. As a result of my mammoth sleep on Monday night, I only got around four hours on Tuesday night. At least it was my shortest shift of the week at work, although I was met with yet more rain upon leaving. Thursday was another fairly relaxed day.

I was surprised when Daniel demanded that we meet at 6 am, despite it only being 3H20 to his kids' game, which he was still desperate to attend.  It did open up the possibility of a Sunderland Over 40's game at Boldon CA, my first choice. Or was it at Jarrow Roofing? Either way, a great opportunity to update an old blog. Either that or a long pre-match, although I would be getting up at my normal work time. I started a new Football Manager 2017 save at the twelfth level of English football. I've not played it for years and opted for Hull United and their 12.5k groundshare at the local rugby stadium. I had left the FM loop around six years ago when the games got too complicated for my liking, but I had a yearning for a lower-league story. I didn't have time to play a game as the whole squad and coaching team were given an overhaul, and I switched off to watch Corrie. It was a brutal day at work on Friday, as seems to be the case in recent times. I finished at 2, came home, had lunch and posted an eBay parcel that I'd made a small profit on.  I was planning on a few pints on a Friday night, and maybe cracking on with my Football Manager game. Fellow hopper Dan had been watching yet more youth football at QPR's training ground, but his Newcastle game was called off due to them playing in the FA Youth Cup. I only found out about this halfway through revising my Jarrow Roofing blog. It would mean an extra two hours in bed, but even if I didn't visit there tomorrow, the club had long gone, and I wanted to do justice to a great club.

I woke at my normal work time and went back to sleep for a couple of hours until waking up properly at 5.30. I got ready before leaving 45 minutes earlier. Picking Colin up on the way, we met Daniel and Mick up in Brampton and got a lift from there. It was a productive trip up with me finally getting some plans in place for March, kind of. Prices were excellent from Dublin to Manchester for Saturday, allowing me to visit Bamber Bridge. It was just the flights out that needed to be sorted, as prices are still very high. Accommodation was also booked in Bray at a reasonable price. The gorilla slept through all of this and left me to do everything as usual. We were in Morpeth at 11.30, but all the parking places were packed. We eventually found one and had to nip across the road to get a parking disc. We got to Wetherspoons just after 12. The Electrical Wizard was my 474th Wetherspoons, and it had an excellent cider selection. First up was the Caledonian Burger with all the trimmings and Black Dragon for £11.42, and then a pint of Thistly Cross Whisky Cask for £3.24. Daniel struggled with the five-minute walk back to the car, but it looked like a lovely town. We were at the ground two hours before kickoff. Entry was an excellent £12, a programme was £2, and a pint of Kopparberg Crisp Apple was £4.80. I sat in the bar and typed this blog whilst waiting for kickoff. A couple of games were played on Football Manager with varying success.

 

Morpeth Town were sitting in 19th place, just inside the relegation zone. They'd won seven, drawn four and lost fourteen. They had lost three in a row, including last week's 1-0 reverse at Gainsborough Trinity. FC United were 3rd in the table and had won thirteen, drawn six and lost six. They were unbeaten in the last three and had drawn 2-2 with Warrington Town last week. The FCUM fans were in great voice but it was Morpeth who took the lead on 9 minutes, a shot from a tight angle wide on the right by Alfie Henderson. The hosts were well on top; they could have had a second on 36 minutes, but took too long to get the shot off. The second half saw FCUM huff and puff with a fair bit of possession but little threat. The game petered out, and we headed for home. There was bad news from back home as Wycombe slumped 2-0 at home to Peterborough, but at least my local side thumped FC Deportivo Galacia 5-1.

THE GROUND

CRAIK PARK is set in pleasant woodland and is around 35 minutes walk from the pleasant town. There are two seated stands, one on either side, with a capacity of 300 between them. There is also a covered standing area behind the goal, holding the same. There is a large bar, which also does food, but not much in the way of merch.