Berwick-upon-Berwick

Since seeing The Stanks appear on social media, I had kept an eye on the Berwick Charities Cup fixtures since, looking for the opportune moment to visit. July the 6th presented that occasion and so set off on our 3.5 hour car journey out East and North to the wonderful town that is Berwick-upon-Tweed.

We arrived with a little time to spare before heading to our first game of the day at Shielfield Park. As I'm sure most of you are aware, it is not only the football ground for Berwick Rangers, but also the speedway track for Berwick Bandits, who actually had a race on that evening. For me, if we were just going to the one ground this day, then Shielfield Park would have been more than enough: it had a large seated stand on one of the long sides and a smaller covered terrace opposite. The place was yellow and black, with a gravel track separating the stands from the pitch. Despite being a fair way away from the action, it didn't feel especially like you needed or wanted to get closer. This is opposed to some grounds which have athletics tracks around them and you feel so distant from the game, it's not always that enjoyable. The place was rundown and oozed character- just how I like it! The seats were mismatched, too, in terms of colour and style.

The main stand

Ben outside the ground- his 200th!

Despite Berwick's recent relegation, they did win the match over Billingham Synthonia by three goals to nil, with the last goal being a fantastic bicycle kick!

The covered terrace

We had 1.5 hours to spare in between games, so used the time to swiftly check-in to our Airbnb and then walk back into town to have a bit of a look around, before heading to the infamous Stanks! The town was very picturesque with some lovely little streets and historical features, such as the castle, lighthouse and viaduct.

The viaduct (Royal Border Bridge)

Now, set within the Elizabethan ramparts was The Stanks, a ground used since the early 1900s and also depicted in a painting by Lowry, as are many of the notable places in Berwick. The only time you can watch a match here is part of the aforementioned Berwick Charities Cup. This cup runs throughout summer and has been running for over eighty years, raising money for local charities, as the name would suggest.

We started watching the game between Eyemouth Ams and Kelso Ams from our first vantage point which was quite high up. This allowed us to not only take in the game, but also the views of the sea, golf course and quite a lot else! After a short while, we decided to move lower and closer to the action along one of the walls, where a fair few others were congregating. This enabled us to see more interesting detail of the ground.

First vantage point

We stood up there for the remainder of the half and moved down to ground level for the second half. It was a little warmer down there, too! This allowed us to take in even more different views and it was definitely well worth seeing it from all angles.

I think my only disappointment this trip brought was the fact that I visited both these grounds so early on in the season (new grounds four and five) that I fear it's all downhill from here!