Heights

Chirk AAA  1  Conwy Borough  0

Cymru League – League Cup

I’m scared of heights.

So much so, back in September 2010 I had this great idea about how I would conquer my fear.

It was to work a bit like this, I would head to a village just South of Wrexham, where I’d read about an aqueduct that was 38 metres high, and carried the Llangollen Canal over the River Dee. It’s apparently the highest aqueduct in the World, and, if you wanted to, you could walk across it.

Welcome to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Froncysyllte, a World Heritage Site, where canal boats happily float along, with nothing but a sheer drop to one side, while foot passengers navigate a narrow path that is flanked by the said canal and a railing!

Druids were playing Rhydymwyn in a Cymru Alliance League Cup tie at their new home, which was a hop skip and a jump away in Cefn Mawr, so in my wisdom I was going to head over a bit earlier than planned and have a little wander.

I’m not going to lie to you, I almost shat myself.

It’s deceptive, you pull up into the car park, all is calm, the ground is flat, no sheer drops or anything, and then you locate the canal basin, and it’s exactly the same, almost serene, but then as you meander down the towpath, the landscape changes, quite literally.

The enormity of the drop hits you like a sledgehammer across the knees, and that’s exactly how my knees felt, they almost went from under me. On one side you have the barrier that you cling on to for dear life, and on the other side is a channel of water, with water lapping over the opposite edge and dropping the 38 metres to the floor below.

It looks a bloody long way across when you start as well, which, if you take your time, and hold on like I did, then you can do it. But, then you get someone coming the other way, and guess what, they want to hold onto the railing, and they aren’t letting go, oh, and they have a fricking dog!  Now you are close to the water’s edge and closer to the sheer drop, sweet Mother of Jesus and the Donkey’s!

Anyway, I made it, then I made it back, I felt relieved, but far from conquered.

A few years later, I had this absolute batshit idea of doing it all again, this time with Mrs H and Master H in tow. Nearby Penycae (a nice rhyming couplet that!) were playing Mold Alexandra in March 2015, so off we went, but, this time, I was forced to pose for photos on a windy and rainy day. I’ve blocked that one out of my mind, only a psychiatrist could resurrect those memories in full!

It’s now August 2022, Welsh Football has had a rum few years, Covid hit hard in Wales and thanks to Mr Drakeford restrictions were longer and more robust than in England, but, they completed a full campaign last time out, and with a nice neat restructure taking place, we have a proper pyramid!

Essentially, the Cymru Alliance which was a Tier Two competition in Wales, has remained exactly that, but has been renamed the Cymru North and comes under the same jurisdiction as the Cymru Premier, where TNS typically win it and get into the Champions League!

This season, I found I had a new club to visit in the shape of Chirk Amateur Athletic Association (AAA for short), a club very much on the border, just South of Wrexham, and handily close to quite a famous aqueduct!

The fixtures fell very kindly, a home game in the League Cup conveniently moved to a Sunday in July, the only slight issue being that I needed to drop Mrs H in Derby at 9am due to her attendance being required at a First Aid course. When I say slight issue, what I mean is, drive to Derby, to drive home, to then head off a couple of hours later again to pass the same place on my way to Wales.

Nah, let’s make a day of it, let’s get down to the general Chirk area mid-morning and find something to do, something like a very large aqueduct that resides less than three miles away…….

I do enjoy the journey to this part of Wales, out to Stoke, cross country to Market Drayton and then Whitchurch, before heading over the border and round the back lanes to the outskirts of Cefn Mawr. Before long you are seeing the brown road signs and soon pulling into the car park, questioning your sanity and then realising it costs three quid for the privilege at the same time.

It was a drizzly morning, but determined to make it a hat-trick of return trips, off I went, but this time it seemed busier than previous visits. Families stopping for photo opportunities, people hopping on and off barges to admire the views, my journey across was punctuated, but some things never change, the heart races quicker, the legs feel considerably weaker and irrational thoughts of gusts of winds and trips taking me plummeting over the edge abounded. No, this does not cure a fear of heights, in fact all it did was gave me the opportunity to take a photo of the former home of Acrefair Youth FC that is now overgrown and unused. I didn’t hang about, relieved to make the return journey and reach a place where imminent death wasn’t a distinct possibility.

I was now considerably early for the game at Chirk!

The road from Cefn Mawr to Chirk was closed, so I had to take a detour via the main A5, which did waste a period of time, and thankfully upon arriving in Chirk, feeling the need for sustenance, I found a Co-Op and killed a bit of time working my way through a welcome meal deal.

The beauty of arriving early meant I was able to park in the main club car park (I probably shouldn’t have done, so apologies Chirk!), and watch the World go by for a little while before retiring to the social club for a pint. One or two familiar faces from the English side of Offa’s Dyke had also had the same idea as me, I had a couple of brief chats, but opted to keep myself to myself as the game got underway.

It strikes you, while wandering round the clubhouse, that this is very much a community club, a club that the locals have taken a keen interest in following their successes last season and what is now a venture into a brave new World. A larger than normal crowd was expected, and the club, who I have to say use social media very well, had built this is up, and, were well prepared for the day. The club itself is one of the oldest in Wales, formed in 1876, and has an illustrious history, albeit without ever threatening to trouble those that sit on the top table of what is now called the Cymru Premier.

It’s interesting to read in the club programme that legendary Welsh footballer Billy Meredith was born in the village and played for the club, before eventually making his name with both Manchester City and United. He won a total of 48 Welsh caps. It was also interesting to read that Chirk competed twice in the FA Cup in the late 1880’s, losing one season to Derby County. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Chirk for not jumping on the bandwagon of joining the list of clubs who wanted compensation from Derby due to them having cheated their way to winning football matches over the past 150 or so years! I’m not sure what FFP looked like in 1887, but Derby probably broke the rules….

The ground is shared with the cricket club, with the football part of it being furthest away from the main road in the village. Three sides are railed with the cricket side being roped, while a quirky seated stand sits almost on the corner flag adjacent to the tea bar and changing rooms. I can’t say as I am overly familiar with ground grading regulations in the principality but floodlights will be needed and probably some kind of turnstile / entrance facility also. It’s a nice venue, but with limited cover and lashing rain pretty much all game, if you were without an umbrella then you were getting very wet! The pitch was in very good condition it has to be said, the rain didn’t cause a problem, and clearly it’s a labour of love for someone.

It's nice to get back to competitive football again, and after a bit of a slow start when visitors Conwy Borough were on top, Chirk gradually found their way into the game and as we moved into the second period they were well on top. It did look to be going the distance and to penalties until the closing minutes when Jack Orbell found space and rifled a low shot past the Conwy goalkeeper and into the bottom corner.

So that was it, the exodus from the ground began, with many happy knowing that the new venture into a higher grade of football had started successfully. It won’t be easy, some big clubs, some with big money, loiter in the Cymru North, but Chirk are capable of competing and holding their own.

Nothing is guaranteed in football of course, but one thing I can guarantee, is that I won’t be having any more visits to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, ever!