"Glasshoughton Welfare FC - The Welfare Ground"

Day 3 of my NCEL adventure and for this match I had come to West Yorkshire for the Division 1 clash between Glasshoughton Welfare (“Glassy”) and Winterton Rangers, with both teams hoping to brek into the play off places. Glasshoughton is a former mining village (hence the Football club being another in the NCEL which is formed from the former Colliery works side, such as Maltby Main, Rossington Main, Armthorpe Welfare and Nostell Miners Welfare) located on the southern outskirts of Castleford. Glasshoughton is very much a working mans town, unlike the genteel ambiance of Harrogate and Knaresborough and perhaps more what people imagine Yorkshire folk to be. Still friendly, but perhaps a bit more indifferent to the groundhopper. As for the ground itself? Well, pretty much cookie cutter for this level of football. Modern clubhouse with a couple of metal stands. Functional but nothing that makes it stand out from the crowd.

Location

The ground itself is part of the Glasshoughton Leisure complex which also includes cricket facilities, thus there is a car park on site, however this was full by the time I arrived an hour before kickoff. I parked in the streets opposite the ground without any problems. Glasshoughton does have a Railway Station which is in the south of the town and is about a 15 minute walk from the ground. The nearest pubs to the ground are the Malt Shovel (turn left out of the ground) or the slightly nearer Birchwood Farm (turn right). Foodwise there are various takeaways and the chip shop in the direction of the Malt Shovel pub was highly recommended by the chap on the turnstile.

View

As for the ground itself, entrance is at the single turnstile in the corner of the ground and the clubhouse runs alongside the near touchline. This is a modern structure containing bar, changing rooms etc. There is a covered terrace behind the goal nearest the turnstile (the Leeds Road end of the ground) whilst the Main Stand is on the far side, opposite the clubhouse. This contains about 100 seats and is a newish metal design.. The far goal has a (very) narrow concrete path behind (this end of the ground backs onto houses).

Facilities

Toilets are located in the bar area of the clubhouse. There is no clubshop but, in common with other clubs at this level, some club souvenirs are available from the bar. The programme is similar to both Harrogate Railway’s and Knaresborough in design and layout but does not contain details of the teams fixtures and results

Food & Drink

There is a snack bar inside the clubhouse, next to the bar, selling a limited range of hot snacks (pasties / sausage rolls and pies).

Atmosphere

Crowd for the match was 85 with a few people venturing over from Winterton (south side of the Humber), but pretty much in keeping with this level of football, the crowd support their teams but are not terribly vocal

Write your own review of Welfare Ground

Have you been to Welfare Ground? Write a review!