Building Bridgers

Wadebridge Town  3  Wendron United  1

South West Peninsula League - Western Division

For over ten years now we've enjoyed some wonderful family holidays to the South West. Typically split across a couple of locations, Starcross in the East and Falmouth in the West. In normal times we'd usually try and visit one at Easter and one in the Summer, varying from time to time depending on circumstances.

Visits to Falmouth over recent years have been to the fantastic Poltair Guesthouse which is a short walk from Gyllyngvaise Beach, which inadvertently also ended up as the venue for our honeymoon after a pre-booked holiday ended up coinciding with a quickly organised Wedding!

Naturally, the location of Falmouth has allowed us some fantastic opportunities to explore the depths and delights of Cornish football, which in a large part is encapsulated by the quite wonderful South West Peninsula League, or "Phil's League" as I like to call it, after the long serving and hugely respected secretary Phil Hiscox who continues to provide a fantastic service to it's clubs and it's followers.

One of Phil's trademarks is getting fixtures out nice and early, and, not buggering about with them, so when you do have a holiday planned, you can almost certainly rely on dates and times being spot on so you can prepare accordingly.

To be honest, we've managed to visit a fair bit of the Western Division already, so when the fixtures did eventually land, we were given three choices for a new visit, one being Dobwalls which is next door to Liskeard, another being Bude which sits on the Devon border on the North coast, and, the one we plumped for, Wadebridge Town, which from Falmouth was about an hours drive.

Ironically, I was very close to going to Wadebridge at a similar stage last season, at that time on a Wednesday night, only to change my mind at the last minute and stay at base camp with the family. I can't recall who they were playing but I do know I dodged a bullet because the game was abandoned due to a floodlight failure!

Arriving on the Friday in at the start of the heatwave, my only concerns were the weather, would the forecast of extreme heat result in a postponement, but then again, this is the South West, and if anyone is going to be used to playing football in very hot weather it's the lads from Cornwall.

On the day of the game we started by taking a drive to Padstow, a place I can never recall ever visiting previously, although I do recall my Aunty and Uncle used to go regularly when we were very young kids. Driving into Padstow we passed a sign for a place called St Merryn, which suddenly rang bells because A & U's first house was called Merryn Cottage, the connection become incredibly clear after all of these years.

Padstow is a nice place albeit a swine to park in, and yes, it is dominated by all things Rick Stein, so much so we avoided the fish and made do with a pasty for lunch! With the Sun blazing down it was soon time to get back into the air conditioned car and head for the town on the River Camel.

Now then, the first time I can ever recall hearing the name Wadebridge was many years ago while watching an episode of Challenge Annika, it seems the town was in dire need of a footbridge over the river so Annika pitched up with her army and in double quick time the bridge was built! This was no small feat either, we are talking a proper bridge over a proper river, not just your plank and rope job over a stream!

We didn't have a lot of time available so it was straight over the A39 bridge that leads to Camelford and Bude, before turning back towards the town and along Bodieve Road, upon which sits Bodieve Park, the home of Wadebridge Town Football Club.

The Bridgers joined the South Western League in 1952 and remained stalwarts until the Peninsula League was formed in 2007, and in that first season as members of Division One West they were crowned champions for the only time in their history. Three seasons were played out in the top flight until relegation back to Division One again, where they have remained since (albeit a restructure saw the end of the Premier Division anyway). Right now, they play at Step 6, in a league that last season was won at a canter by Falmouth Town.

What I have always admired about Wadebridge is their use of social media and digital technology. Their Twitter feed is always bang up to date, whereas in an era when websites are now becoming a little bit archaic and no longer the first port of call for football fans, they have a superb site that contains interviews, reports and match highlights. Indeed the highlights of the game we attended can be found here 

Match Report: Wadebridge Town 3 v 1 Wendron United - Wadebridge Town FC

Bodieve Park is a smashing venue. After parting with £6 admission and £2 for a superb programme, you can drive round behind the goal up onto the bank that overlooks the ground. Mrs H and Master H were able to get the camping chairs from out of the car and set up a base while I went in search of a pint of Offshore from the clubhouse!

The main stand opposite the bank is a large structure that is both tall and deep, which contains the dressing rooms within it's bowels. To the left of the main stand behind the goal is the Ron Williams Stand which is a long section of cover with a single row of seats within it, while perched below pitch level in the corner between the two stands is the clubhouse. The pitch is cut into a significant slope, hence the banking on two sides and the fact the business side of the ground is a fair bit below pitch level.

Under the circumstances of the blistering hot conditions, credit must go to both teams and the officials for contributing to an entertaining spectacle. For us spectators, walking to the bar and back in the heat was bad enough, so I've no idea how those involved in the game managed it! The hosts took the lead just a few minutes in thanks to a neat volley from Jacob Smale, but visiting Wendron United (a village between Falmouth and Helston) equalised in he 12th minute thanks to a header from Charlie Young. However, with just five minutes to go until the break it was the Bridgers who regained the lead thanks a really well taken goal from Charlie Willis.

The hosts made the points safe in the second period when Ross Beare cracked a lovely shot home from the edge of the box, and with the heat really starting to tell on those 67 spectators who were watching, but not on those playing, it was a deserved three points for Wadebridge on a bone hard surface that was tricky to play on to say the least.

The final whistle saw the air conditioning kick into full gear, and soon it was back down the road via Indian Queens and Truro, before landing back in Falmouth and a cold shower. 

A cracking day out it has to be said, at a fantastic and friendly club, who do things the right way. It's fair to say that I think we made the right choice of game, but in this part of the Country and in this league, there is no such thing as a bad choice.