Ilkestone

Ilkeston v Nottingham Forest U21s, pre-season friendly.

Derby City v Boston Buccaneers, Rugby League Midland Conference.

Next morning, it was another early start, heading down to the railway station....

....for the 0618 Newcastle service. The station is extremely picturesque and well kept..

....but don't just take my word for it. As an aside, the equivalent winner in Ireland that year was Rosslare Europort, so it maybe doesn't prove much.

There were three other passengers, a girl going through to Newcastle and a shifty teenage couple who were doing everything they could to dodge the guard. They got off at the first station, now I wonder.......

Moving south, the Solway was very misty, giving no opportunity to see yesterday's coastal jaunt.

Onward for the 33 miles down to Carlisle....

...for the 0734 TransPennine service, this time formed of an eight car electric train.

Up and over Shap, which was equally damp.

121 miles later, and in to the 1960s architectural experiment of Manchester Oxford Road.

From here, it was a two car East Midlands unit, through a wet Hope Valley for the 55 miles to Chesterfield.

They have extended the platforms at the station so you now get a good view of the crooked spire.

As the unit carried on to Norwich, I joined a St Pancras bound service. As this was being worked by an EMT meridian unit, it meant for the first time in 475 miles, there was First Class, all 24 miles of it.

Soon we were into Derby and a hasty walk to the bus station.

There seems to be some sort of bus wars going on in Derbyshire, with three operators running identical routes to Ilkeston. There was therefore immediately a bus on the stand, which gave me a choice of operators. One of my current pet hates is Bus Operators are giving the routes names of juice bars rather than numbers. How the fuck does Indigo Study, Vitality or Lime Green assist in working out which bus to get. Therefore I chose to forsake the Trent Barton ‘Black Cat’, and went for a Your Bus ‘Y3’ instead.

Within minutes it was whisking us along Brian Clough Way, as the A52 is now known.

Ilkeston is a bit of an unknown to me. My dad is from Derby so growing up, there were lots of visits to Allestree. I'd always see signs to Ilkeston and Mickleover but both are still a mystery to me. I'd visited once before, as a fifteen year old in 1991, with a Heart of England rail rover. It was one of the last few games at the Old Manor ground, but I can only remember the stagger up from Spondon on a Derby Corporation Leyland Leopard, and the bizarre layout of the ground. Passing through the town, I said my farewell to the bus after 11 miles to add to the total.

Today wasn't going to shed much of a light on the town, as my itinerary was to take the bus through the centre to the new ground, which is situated in the north east fringes. Cresting the canal, the ground was spotted, as a bloke tried to jump start a 1970s Bedford camper van.

Today's game was against Nottingham Forest Under 21s. They were meant to play the full team on Wednesday, but the new manager has taken them to a training camp instead. No idea who this is. If it is the championship, it is probably Uwe Rossler or Steve Evans. Please don't feel the need to follow up with a correction, I really don't care.

I was really only attending the game as I was going to the rugby and a bloke I work with asked if I could pop along and get some programmes as he deals in them, and reckons Forest U21s go for £20 a go. However, after paying to get in, I then found out there was no programme, only a team sheet, and even then, surnames only.

Ilkeston 2 v Nottingham Forest U21s 0, pre-season friendly.

Ilkeston has a proud tradition of clubs going bust and then starting up again. The original Town lasted until 1904, when they were replaced by United, who in turn were followed by a new Town club, who lasted until 2010, after a series of chairmen died, went bankrupt, or never had any money in the first place. The current incarnation, just plain Ilkeston, were immediately formed in 2010 to take over. Much of the initial clubs time was spent in the Midland league, before a brief spell in the Southern in the 1970s. Spells in the Northern Counties East and the Central Midlands followed, before regaining Southern League status. The new century saw them moved to the Northern Prem, and then promotion to the Conference North, before an unpaid 40k tax bill saw them wound up and the new club start. They are currently back in the Northern Prem.

Nottingham Forest have famously won more Simod Cups than all London clubs combined. A film was recently released about the club entitled 'I believe in miracles', it tells the story of how Des Little ever became a professional footballer.

The New Manor ground opened in the early 1990s, when the council decided the town centre Manor Ground could find much better use as a tennis club and performing arts centre. Sport for All. It has slowly been built up over time.

Without doubt, the most notable feature is the corner Clock Tower stand. This is a raised cantilever stand, with an ornate clock tower attached on its perpendicular. A modern classic, unless you actually watch the game from here, as your neck will always be at a 45 degree angle. Below are the changing rooms.

Down the same touchline is a low seated stand, guarded furiously by stewards as anyone walking by over three foot tall, blocks any view from the stand.

Opposite is a huge clubhouse complex, which used to host the changing rooms.

Behind one goal is a large terrace....

...which houses the only terrace located vending machine I am aware of in non-league.

Behind the other goal is a structure with perhaps the least architectural merit in non-league, being an absolute flat cantilever over plain tarmac.

There are some interesting quirks around the ground. Firstly, the old club's name, immortalised in tripping hazard.

Secondly, whilst other clubs describe their pitch surrounds as such, Ilkeston have gone for an actual moat. The absence of any pitch invasion at the game, must deem this to be an absolute success. Expect to see more around the grounds.

The Ilkeston shirt as troubling, in that it had a massive white band at the bottom. No doubt this was so players could wear it without tucking it into the white shorts, but it just looks bizarre as a replica offering.

After a few false starts, the first @keepers_towels of the season.

Forest had a Scandinavian giant playing centre back.

He was as clumsy as he was tall, and he gave away the free kick that led to Ilkeston taking the lead.

My plan was to leave at half time in order to get to the rugby for kick off. However, after 30 minutes, the ref blew up as it became apparent the game was being played in thirds. I took the opportunity to fuck off, the canal towpath being my route to the rugby ground on the south of the town. The map showed it as a 50 minute walk, so I should just about make kick off, provided I didn’t get waylaid.

Oh bugger.

There was a GBG on the way, that didn’t sound promising. However, on entering the Dewdrop, I was presented with a free roast pork roll…..

….and this selection of beers. I felt compelled to clear all the required ones with halves, the duds being the Green Devil, the Acorn, and the Dancing Duck. Of interest was the Bevil, which in true Somerset Scrumpy fashion, was just 50/50 of the Bishops Farewell and the Green Devil.

The canal was far from a beautiful stroll through open countryside, starting off amid bypasses and industrial pipelines, however, it smartened up a bit, though still with a decent supply of discarded pallets.

Eventually, some wildlife was encountered. This being a red kite or a dodo or such like.

My refreshment stop had added 30 minutes or so into the journey, but I should still have made the second half. However, arriving at the rugby ground, there was no sign of any game. Checking the map again, it appears Ilkeston had two rugby clubs, and this was the wrong one.

I carried on, hopeful that I might get the last ten minutes at the other ground. Eventually I found the other ground, this being the sports ground of the long defunct Stanton Ironworks. These were part of Stanton and Staveley, which may be familiar as the majority of manhole covers in Britain bear the name. Oh, 4.8 miles of walking.

The complex is now how to Ilkeston Rugby Union club, and also the former works cricket club.

As I approached the pitch, I heard a long blow on the referee’s whistles. I was resigned to having missed the action, but it turned out that as well as turning up late to the wrong ground, I’d also got the kick off time wrong, and it was only half time.

Derby City 34 v Boston Buccaneers 35, Rugby League Midland Conference.

Derby City RL were founded in 1990 and initially played in the East Midlands Championship. When the conference set up was initiated in 1999, they joined the Northern Conference, which in time, has become the Midlands Conference. They have played at various union grounds around the city, and have been at Ilkeston for a couple of years. This season they are at the foot of the table with only one win.

Boston Buccaneers were only formed in 2014, playing in the Midland merit league and then last season in the Midlands Conference, getting to the plate final but losing in the last minute to Sherwood Wolfhunt. Boston get a lot of their players from the various RAF depots around Lincolnshire.

The sports ground was open in the 1930s.

The main feature is the wonderful social club. This is 1930s Art Deco, and was designed by Harry Tatham Sudbury, who was responsible for many buildings and monuments throughout the town.

There was a decent crowd watching, some of it from the adjacent cricket that had been cancelled. However, asking the score caused some consternation, as no two people could agree what it was. They agreed that Derby were winning, but by how many differed wildly.

I therefore headed round to the team benches, where the timekeeper confirmed it was 24-8 Derby, a shock result.

I soon headed off as the floodlight was on the wonk and creaking sinisterly in the wind.

Making my way behind the touchline, showed that the rugby club were also employing the moat principle.

The second half saw equilibrium starting to be regained, as Boston scored five unopposed tries.

However, Derby then scored two, to make it 34-34 with less than ten seconds to go. However, from the re-start a hopeful Boston punt, cleared the posts, to make it 34-35.

Back in the clubhouse, and there were three Mansfield beers on. Unfortunately, these are all keg beers since being taken over by Marstons, and production moved to Wolverhampton. A bonus was being given the unused cricket tea. Stout and Battenberg is a good combo.

I then wandered back into town, 1.8 miles, for a bus back into Derby.

Dropping down into Spondon, and one of the once numerous Trent Valley power stations was visible below.

Back to the bus station (8.3 miles) and just time to drop into the previously mentioned Alexandra Hotel, for a Castle Rocklimited editions; Guns of Navarone, and Baptism of Fire.

However, the highlight was this interesting combination of animal fat by-products.

I was rushing to make the 1744 Cross Country service to Edinburgh, as this is booked and HST on Summer Saturdays. However, due to ‘staff issues’ on the outward run from Scotland this morning, this was actually a Voyager that was terminating at York.

I got to Leeds (73 miles) on time, to transfer onto my unit to Sowerby (21 miles), for an Acorn – Summer Pale at the Jubilee rooms, and a Brentwood – Golden Galaxy at the Turks Head.

Altogether, 591 miles of train travel, 177 miles on buses, and 7 miles of canal towpaths. Perhaps there are closer bus replacement rail operations, mining museums, losing Championship teams, canals, Step 11 pre-season friendlies, step 7 rugby league, and 14 pints. But hey, where’s the fun in that?