2012 Tour of Britain
Bovey Tracey v Welton Rovers
Plan for the day was train to Totnes, visit to County Cheeses, bus to Buckast for the Abbey, then bus on to Bovey via Ashburton (2 required guide pubs).
First part of the day was successfully achieved, Train, cheese and bus to Buckfast. At Buckfast, interest in the abbey was somewhat overshadowed by the Monastic Produce Shop.
This basically sold home brewed concoctions that would normally only be used to power world record attempts across the Arizona Salt flats. In the end, I went to the lower end of the scale, some 15% fortified wine and bottles of imported Konig Ludwig Weissbier.
With purchases made, I went and got the service bus from the stop in the monastery car park. The car park has a separate exit onto the main road for the buses and this is when the fun started. When we turned onto the main road, we were greeted with this.
The road lined with people on each side and a motorcycle policeman frantically flagging us down. What had happened was that we had inadvertently gate crashed the tour of Briatin. The police had closed off all the turnings onto the main road, but were unaware of this slip road. By now the gate had come across behind the bus, so it couldn’t reverse, so we were sat straddling half the road. At this point also, there was lots of shouting and a couple of cars with bikes on their roofs shot by; the race was just about to descend on us.
There was no option but to leave the bus where it was and it became an unexpected chicane to the riders. The bus driver took it all in his stride. He turned off the engine, rolled up a fag, opened up the doors and watched the race sat on the front step having a smoke. Ceasing an opportunity, I joined him, swigging from my recently acquired bottle of Buckie. As you can see, this gave a cracking view.
Not so lucky were the spectators who had been in situ for four hours in their own vantage point, only to have their view completely blocked by a Stagecoach Scania.
Once all the riders had passed, we were allowed to continue, by now 45 mins late and me well into the Buckfast. I jumped off at the Dartmoor Lodge, then flagged down the South Devon Railway routemaster for a lift onto Ashburton.
Where it was on to the Exeter in for the local brew, before you could get it in Tesco.
It was another bus on to Bovey Tracey. The football ground is on the edge of the town, adjacent to the old station, which was on the Moretonhampstead branch. The goods shed still remains.
The ground is situated within the town's Mill Marsh Park.
Bovey Tracey 3 v Welton Rovers 0, FA Vase Second Qualifying Round
Bovey Tracey were formed in 1950, playing in the South Devon Football League of which they were champions in 2008, earning promotion to the South West Peninsula League Division, gaining promotion to the Premier Division in their first season.
Welton is a housing estate in Midsomer Norton, in the former North Somerset coalfield. Welton Rovers Football Club were founded in 1887 and have played in the Western League for over a hundred years, winning it on five occasions. Their West Clewes ground houses these wonderful stands.
The relatively recent rise through the leagues means the ground is still mostly undeveloped.
These two prefabs are the token spectator facilities.
The dugouts are of a more bespoke design.
Though it seemed quite a relaxed atmosphere around them.
The ball boys were equally attended for.
The Buckfast had kicked in and I arrived at the ground absolutely hammered I headed to the seclusion of the far end, where the unexpected luxury of the local petanque club gave me somewhere to violently vomit, and bury the evidence.
The game finished 3-0 to Bovey.
Suitably refreshed, I did another bus move, this time to the Claycutters at Chudleigh Knighton. It was then on the bus back to Newton Abbott, where a quick stop off at Tuckers Maltings, preceded a doze on HST back to Swindon.
