Cholsey United - Cholsey Pavlion

Cholsey United FC

Cholsey Pavilion

Station Road

Cholsey

Wallingford 

Oxfordshire

OX10 9PT

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Ground Number: 1596

Saturday 7th November 2026

Cholsey United 4-2 Milton United
Oxfordshire Senior Premier

CHOLSEY UNITED FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Football has been played in the Oxfordshire village of Cholsey since at least 1926, though no specific date has been ascertained. The first mention of Cholsey United came in 1946, following the resumption of football after the Second World War. They were playing in the Reading League (now the Thames Valley Premier League) at the time, possibly under the name Cholsey Sports as records show that Wycombe Wanderers Reserves beat them 1-0 in a Reading Senior Cup tie in 1950.

The Cholsey Pavilion was opened in 1970; at this time the team was still playing in the Reading & District League. However, they objected to the £2 per match charge for using it, as did the junior side Cholsey Bluebirds. It must have been around that time that they decided to move into Sunday Football, due to the less stringent rules regarding facilities. They saw success during the 1980s; in 1988 they won the Reading & District Division 1 title along with the Industrial Cup. By 1997, they had been promoted to the Senior Division, and they appear to have become a bit of a yoyo club between the top two tiers - the Senior Division and the Premier Division around this time. The last record I could find of them was when they were in the Senior Division around 2005.

After around 45 years away from Saturday football, Cholsey United joined the North Berks League in 2017. Starting in Division 3, a 4th place finish in their first season was good enough for promotion. In 2019, they were Division 2 runners-up to Watlington Town to earn their second successive promotion. The club then remained in Division 1 for four seasons before they were runners-up to Abingdon United Development in 2023. Since then, they have been in the Oxfordshire Senior League, with them winning Division 1 in 2023. They have been in the Premier Division ever since, with a high of 8th in 2025.

MY VISIT

This would be my first Saturday groundhop on public transport for over a month. Three Wycombe home games in the month of October and a couple of days away using the car had been the story of last month. Ideally, I'd have liked something at step 1-6, but everything was so far away and so pricey on the train. So, step 7 it would have to be, and I initially considered something in London due to the abundant choice available. My choice was Camden & Islington United v Sporting Club Thamesmead. However, with neither club having particularly communicative and engaging social media, I decided to look elsewhere. Cholsey United had been one I had been eyeing up for a while due to going via Reading, which has some decent pubs that I like to visit. Throw in the potential of a new Wetherspoons at Newbury, and it was looking like a no-brainer. It turned out to be a bit more complicated than that. The Newbury return train ticket turned out to be more than I thought, but that wasn't such an issue as it wasn't being added to my football costs. More annoying was the times not aligning with the buses from Wycombe, but I still felt the trip was worth the effort. It would have been far easier and cheaper to do in the car, but then I wouldn't get my day out.

After getting back at 1 am the previous night, I typed my blog whilst having a few cans of cider and some sausages. It had been 85 games since I'd last seen a 0-0 draw but PuffPuff saw a stinker at Newcastle Blue Star by all accounts. Just what he deserved for forcing an elderly pensioner to drive all of the time as he won't have his fair share of wear and tear on his car. Colin is pretty hopeless when it comes to most things, but at least his reasons are genuine and medical. I got to sleep around 3, thinking that I had a 7.20 alarm set. Obviously not, as I awoke naturally at 7.43, way off schedule. I had a freshen-up, quickly got dressed and was out the door at 7.55. Running allowed me to get my 8.06 bus to the station. It was on time, meaning I had time to stop at the small kiosk in the bus station for a samosa and energy drink. It was clear on my original bus, but very foggy on the second, a slow but good value bus to Reading at 08.30. The journey dragged and was delayed for a bit, and it was touch and go whether I'd have to alter my plans slightly. A Reading to Newbury return on the train felt overpriced, but considering it was quick, it wasn't too bad if you compare to the bus. I had to rush, but I made my train with two minutes to spare after negotiating Reading's ugly but huge train station. It was a pleasant ride to Newbury and a ten-minute walk to the Wetherspoons 556, The Hatchet Inn.

 

It was past roads at first, which spoiled the ambience of the town but the Spoons was in the far nicer pedestrianised part. The pub itself was decent; breakfast muffin, black pudding, energy drink and a pint of Black Dragon came in at £7.66. The trains were at strange times, so I was sure to plan when I left, although the train ended up being delayed by 8 minutes, which set me back a bit. At least it was a quick train to Paddington with no stops until Reading. The next leg of my journey was not so clear. Google Maps, my train booking app and GWR were all saying different things. So I decamped to The Alehouse after sending a tweet to get clarification. My chosen pub had bags of character, beautiful booths to sit in and a pretty decent cider selection. It was not as good as when I came last May but on that occasion, Colin had been with me and had been stroppy and rude to the staff when they didn't do J2o or apple juice. It was embarrassing as I loved the place and was glad to come back without my embarrassing friend in tow. A pint of Hallets PX was superb, although not a new tick. I booked my ticket through Trip.com, even though they were saying all returns were cancelled, as it saved a bit by booking an open return as opposed to the GWR app. My walk back to the station got me to platform 12 in good time and I was able to use the on train facilities and be done well in time to get to Cholsey. With time shorter than I'd have liked, I made do with a meal deal and a couple of ciders from Tesco, getting to the ground twenty minutes before kickoff.

 

Cholsey United were struggling, sitting just outside the relegation zone on three points. They had suffered some heavy beatings this year, their sole win was a 4-0 triumph over Kintbury Rangers Reserves. Last time out, their game at Chinnor was abandoned. Milton United were 6th, having won three, drawn two and lost two. Their last game was a 3-0 home defeat to Halse United. The two sides met at Milton in the Hellenic Chairmans Cup earlier this season, with Milton winning 4-0. There was a nice two-minute silence before the game, nicely observed by all but the noisy tennis players in the background. Cholsey started like an express train; after pressure and a left-sided cross, it was a 'fackin birthday goal' for the player who swept home the cross. Others were cracking open a box of Guinness, so out the cider came for some touchline refreshment. It was a lively contest; the Milton linesman made an iffy offside call, was called a 'cheating cunt' and told the player to shut his mouth. A quick break on 25 minutes, a lump forward, a good cross and a smart finish from Joe Akrill made it all square, Cholsey's dominance undone in a flash. This changed the pattern of the game; just after the half-hour, Milton were ahead, the ball turned in from close range. A brilliant save from the Cholsey keeper prevented a third; the game appeared to be heading as expected, in favour of the visitors. A few more good saves by the glovesman kept Cholsey in it, they were looking for a goal on the break. The hosts were restricted to fighting for scraps by now; the visiting defence were restricting their attacks well. One rare chance, a great header was tipped over the bar. And how games turn. A good spell for Cholsey saw them awarded a penalty on 70 minutes, this was for handball. The spot kick was converted, and then a minute later, a cross was turned into his own net by a Milton defender, giving Cholsey a 3- 2 lead. The hosts sealed it five minutes from time. They took the attack wide, the ball was swept in, and at the back post an advancing player made it 4-2 in a brilliant turnaround in the last five minutes. 

THE GROUND

CHOLSEY PAVILION is a very basic setup. A pitch is all they need. The building has nothing going on to interest the visitor; they are better off going to the nearby Red Lion or Tesco. But it is a beautifully kept place and a peaceful village. Plenty of parking and a train station mean that getting there is easy and although there isn't a massive amount going on in the village, it's got everything you need for a day out.