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Gedling Town

Est. 1989

Venue

 Riverside Ground, Stoke Lane, Stoke Bardolph Tel: 0115 9673131

Ground Capacity

 2000

Home Strip

 Away Strip

Seating  500

Record Attendance

 250 v Arnold Town
Who are ya?  The Ferrymen
What Division are you in? Step 6 - East Midlands Counties League
Websites www.pitchero.com/clubs/gedlingtown

 

You must have come in a taxi

From M1 J26 - Follow A610 towards Nottingham to reach Ring Road. Turn left on to Ring Road for A60 - Mansfield. Follow signposts for A60 towards Mansfield for about 4 miles passing over two roundabouts then turn left at the traffic lights. Turn next right at Vale Hotel pub on to Thackerays Lane. Proceed to roundabout and take second left on to Arno Vale Road. Proceed through lights, passing the Arrow pub on your LHS, to top of hill. Continue straight on through next set of lights on to Arnold Lane. Proceed, past Gedling Church on your LHS, straight over mini-roundabout. Continue as the road curves round to the right until reaching junction with A612. Turn left towards Southwell, proceed under railway bridge and after next pedestrian lights turn right on to Stoke Lane. * Continue down Stoke Lane for 1.9 miles, passing Carlton Town F.C. on your LHS, to the river. The Ground is behind the Ferryboat Inn on your LHS. Here you'll find ample car parking at the Ferryboat pub, or besides the river. 

From Nottingham - From Manvers Street, follow the A612 Colwick Loop Road for 3.7 miles. Go under railway bridge after next pedestrian lights turn right on to Stoke Lane, then as * above.

From East -  Where the A46 & the A52 meet, take 2nd exit at the roundabout for A6097(Doncaster). Follow A6097 west for 3.7 miles. At roundabout, turn left for Nottm onto A612 for 2.4 miles. Just before you leave Burotn Joyce, turn left into Stoke Lane. Follow riverside for 1.1 miles. Ground is behind Ferryboat pub on your RHS.

      Dunn Line offer a limited service 62 to Stoke (Nottm Queens Street - Bingham). Alternatively,  use the NCT Pathfinder Southwell Sprinter 100 (Nottm Queens Street - Newark Northgate Street) to Burton Joyce. Ground is then a 1.1 stroll down Stoke Lane.

  Burton Joyce  - a  pleasant 1.2 mile riverside walk to the Ground.

For a map of the location, Click here.

 

My garden shed is bigger than this

On the banks of the Trent, to the east of the City of Nottingham, sits the peaceful haven of the Ferry Boat Pub & Restaurant. For years, people have ventured from all over the County to simply relax by the waters, partake in a picnic, sample the grub or settle for a sip of the local ale, oblivious to what was hidden behind the trees behind the Ferry Boat. Noticeable only for its floodlight pylons, lay the Riverside Ground, home to Gedling Town Football Club. 

The secret is now well and truly out thanks to the arrival on the main road of a smart blue & yellow sign (apparently procured from a local petrol station) advertising the Club's presence to passers by, whom may just be tempted by the announcement of a home game against Borrowash Victoria.

Originally formed in 1986 as a construction firm team, R & R Scaffolding, the Club's rapid success led to the adoption of their present name following promotion to the Central Midlands League in 1991. A period of consolidation ensued, before Town's progression up the pyramid continued unabated, capturing the Central Midlands Supreme Championship and with it promotion to the Northern Counties East League in 1999. Within three years they'd added the NCEL Division One title to their ever increasing list of honours. In the 2003/04 season, Town embarked on its best ever run in both the F.A. Cup (3rd qualifying round) and the F.A. Vase (4th Round). In 2008/09 they made the sideways move to the more locally based inaugural East Midlands Counties League.

Evidence of the Town's rapid progression from 'pub team' to serious non-league contenders can be found when examining its previous personnel.  Former Nottingham Forest player Gary Bull appeared 216 times for the club, whilst, Notts County payed Town �5000 for the services of Steve Scoffham in 2004. So well regarded was Steve, that a stand was named after him in February 2005.

There are two entrances to the ground, one for players & officials, one for spectators. The spectators entrance is marked by the aforementioned blue & yellow sign, through a pair of double wooden gates along a long driveway. The entrance for players and officials is to the rear of the Clubhouse, by a red and yellow sign bearing the club's name. Note the sign forbidding spectators bringing in their drinks from the Ferry Boat.

Three stands occupy the west side of the ground, the only side offering shelter for supporters. These are neatly set out, with a covered stand being flanked on either side by covered seating. The covered standing area, known as The Andy Elliott Stand, is a basic affair, with a white corrugated sheeting backboard and grey corrugated roof held aloft by twelve white steel posts. The stand contains level standing room for up to 500 spectators and holds a sign in the centre welcoming spectators to Gedling Town. The two stands on either side are identical in description. The stand nearest the half way line being the Steve Scoffham Stand. Though slightly higher than the Andy Elliott Stand, they both once again contain a corrugated sheeting backboard and roof, held aloft by five steel posts. However, they have been thoughtfully decked out in green to fit in with the natural surroundings and contain two rows of blue seats for up to 400 spectators. 

In addition to the posts holding these two stands aloft, the Club's unusual floodlights also pierce their way through the stand. Four rather frail looking steel post floodlights rise high above either side of the Riverside Ground. They are unusual in that there are only three clusters mounted upon each, one at the peak, and two nettled below.

Another unusual feature is that the home & away dugouts are on opposite sides of the pitch. On the east side half way line sits the isolated away teams dugout. This is a white breezeblock construction divided into two sections, ideal if the subs want to have a sneaky gossip about their manager sat on the other side. The Home dugout is directly opposite in the front of the Andy Elliott Stand and is identical to the away dugout.

The pitch is completely encircled by a permanent white barrier on three sides, with wooden advertising boarding on the south side of the ground. To the north of the Ground is a high fence installed to try to prevent the loss of too many balls onto the adjoining farmers land. Further to the north, you should be able to make out the source of what occasionally provides, in the case of a southerly wind, an extremely unsavoury whiff which may well distract you from the football. This is the Stoke Bardolph sewage treatment works, a huge operation which treats 456,000 Nottinghamshire residence raw sewage. If the smell doesn't put you off, and you fancy learning a little more, you could always venture down to the company's onsite education Centre.

To the south of the ground by the entrance, you'll find the welcoming sight of the Clubhouse, serving hot and cold food on matchdays, in addition to providing a licensed bar.

Future Plans

A new stand behind the goal is proposed, and is rumoured to be named the Kennerdale Kop.

 

Additional Photographs

 

              

Click on a thumbnail to view a full size picture.

� Christopher Rooney - permission required for photo & text usage

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