Menai Bridge Tigers v Nefyn United. Cynghrair Peldroed Gwynedd Football League.
A miserly four games on offer today with the very last knocking of the English and Welsh leagues. For once, my planned game was the one I ended up attending, along the North Wales coast into Anglesey for some Gwynedd League action.
....into Dewsbury for a Transpennine service to Manchester. Unfortunately the West Riding refreshment rooms were closed.
The forecast for today was cloudy and possibly rain, with the mist firmly settled on the Pennines.
Into Piccadilly, the poor mans Paddington.
My move was off the through platforms where there was an unexpected bonus of the service being operated by the Arriva Trains Wales loco hauled set.
Through Chester and along the North Wales coast, firstly passed the huge Airbus factory at Broughton, where they make wings for the A380s. The works team play in the League of Wales and the ground is at the far end of the run way.
A prominent sight from the railway is the ex Isle of Man ferry, the Duke of Lancaster. This was concreted into a mooring many years ago, and served as a night club, a strangely for a ship, a snooker hall, but has laid derelict for the last few years.
By now, the sun was beating down on the coast.
Then at Conwy….
…..the railway goes straight through the middle of the castle.
My destination on this train was sun-kissed Bangor. Loco hauled stock has no driver-guard communication so still uses the archaic method of green flags for communication. Here the driver stands on the platform awaiting the 'right away' from the guard.
My onward connection was 15 late so I had the opportunity to do the required guide pub near the station. This sounded horrendously unpromising as it was described as a recently converted Irish pub popular with students. On finding the place, it somehow managed to look even tackier than it was described, so for the first time ever, I flagged a guide pub.
I returned to the station for my late running unit onward over the Britania Bridge into Anglesey.
My destination, and closest station to the ground, was none other than the infamous Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. It roughly translates as 'the place where tourists come to visit the Edinburgh Woollen Mill factory outlet' and is the second longest place name in the world after Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (something about a bloke with big knees playing a nose trumpet).
As I alighted, the station was empty....
.....but soon it was swarming with tourists, getting their pictures taken with the famous station name board.
I went looking for the local football ground, seeing if that also had a name board, but it a rather Spartan affair.
As my train was late, I was expecting a forty minute walk to Menai Bridge, but I was informed by two youths at the bus stop, that the bus hadn't yet departed ("it isn't late, this is early for fucking Arriva"), so hopped on that....
.....for the run passed the Britannia bridge……
…..into Menai Bridge.
With an hour or so to kill, I first headed for the quayside GBG, the Liverpool Arms, for a Facers - Flintshire Ale.
I then headed to the estuary. Across the water can be seen the floodlights of Bangor's new ground.
Further along and the Menai Bridge itself. The bridge was constructed in 1826 by Thomas AFC Telford. Nothing interesting appears to have happened to it apart from the odd re-decking. It is one of the bridges to appear on the pound coins in 2005.
Walking further along the estuary, and another view of the Britannia Bridge. This was built by Robert Stephenson in 1850 and was the railway bridge onto Anglesey. It originally consisted of metal tubes carrying the railway, but in 1970, some local fuckwits, looking for bats, went into the bridge with a lit torch and managed to set fire to the tar lining, which destroyed the bridge. It was rebuilt with the metal arches added, as it now carries the railway on the lower level, and the A55 above.
Climbing back up into the village, the next stop was the second GBG, the Anglesey Arms, which is a Lees tied house. I thought I was scooping a new beer with their Tan Y Ddraig (Dragons fire), but it turns out they have lowered themselves to the Greene King trick of the house bitter having a different name at each pub.
My next stop was the Thomas Telford exhibition, but this was shut, obviously not touristy enough today. Despite being tempted by this extensive marketing…
…..I headed towards the ground, with expectant ground hoppers visible through the trees, but unlike Saturday, the game looked to be on.
Unusually, the ground is situated in a complex consisting of the village library and council offices.
Menai Bridge Tigers 1 v Nefyn United 3. Cynghrair Peldroed Gwynedd Football League.
There is a specific species of ground hopper who won't consider a game to be valid unless a programme has been produced. During the main season, they will pick a game where a programme is being issued. However, on days like this, they will instead phone up a club in advance, and ask them if they could issue a programme. Today was such an example, with Menai's first ever programme being bought in multiples by ground hoppers to share with their super model girlfriends.
Menai Bridge Tigers reformed seven years ago, playing in the Anglesey league for the first four, before moving up to the Gwynedd. They are currently fourth.
The entrance to the pitch itself was delightfully castellated by a dog shit bin and the entrance to the gents public toilet.
The ground itself is at the foot of the hillside, with the far end and one side cut into the hill.
Rather uniquely, a row of maisonettes have been built along one touchline....
....their garden paths being counted as pitch side hard standing.
The second entrance to the ground was equally picturesque as the first, being through the bin store of the said dwellings.
Most people chose to watch the game under the shade of a large tree in one corner, the adjacent tree stump being the prime seats.
However, this area as only a Normid Superstore sign away from being a faithful recreation of the Burnden Park away end, as the side of the maisonettes obscured a quarter of the pitch.
Even the local residents joined the fun, these hung their washing up, then moved their deck chairs put side.
The far end was enclosed in a wooded glade.
It was a welcome surprise to see an @keepers_towels this late in the season. And what a beauty it was, being a massive Budweiser beach towel which wasn't used once. But here it is, with the touchline social housing prominent in the background.
Being so late in the season, the officials had obviously decided to already start wearing next seasons new kit.
Agricultural clutter was limited to this mysterious horse box in a wooded glade in the corner of the ground.
The chatter on the pitch was multi-lingual, the instructions being in gog and the swearing being in English.
The game started off fairly even, but Nefyn took the lead.
Menai pulled one back but Nefyn scored another two to win 1-3.
With the game over, it was time to head for the bus over the Menai Bridge.
Of note was the bus driver, who sported a Panama hat over a bandana, with circular shades and a pencil moustache. Kid Rock does Boycott.
Disappointingly, the 1816 didn’t take into account future public transport sizes, so only small busses can be used, and these squeeze through the towers.
We passed the new Bangor city ground, the main pitch is the lower down one, the second pitch is the most visible.
Into Bangor....
....and back to the station again....
....for an Arriva unit back along the coast. This was a 'hippo' 175 unit, so called because the light clusters look like the eyes and ears of George off rainbow
Great Orme was shining in the sun.
Passing Rhyl and the miniature railway around the lake.
Whilst some Pearl Las I had bought earlier had ripened nicely, and somehow I got a double seat to myself...
....despite the train being wedged all the way to Chester.
Onto another Hippo to the concrete Art Deco attempt of Oxford Road station....
....for a tram across to Picadilly for a Northern unit back to Sowerby.
