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Within the Clubhouse of Greenwood Meadows Football Club
there is a sign that I can pretty much guarantee that you will not find at any other
football ground throughout the county of Nottinghamshire.
The sign displays a unique welcome to all by instructing entrants not
to take loaded firearms into the bar
area. Given the fact that the
historical homelands of this now merged Club are Sneinton and The Meadows,
(two inner city area of Nottingham with a rather worrying
history of gun crime), one might
find this warning a little unsettling. Don�t be. What you will find on Old
Lenton Lane is a pleasant & friendly Club, a world away
from the
alleged ganglands of inner city
Nottingham.
Greenwood Meadows Football Club were formed in
1987 following the amalgamation of Greenwood Rovers and Meadows Albion.
Founded in 1957, Greenwood
Rovers progressed from the Notts Amateur League to the Notts Alliance, where in
1985/86 they finished runners up in the League and semi finalists in the
Cup. Meadows Albion were in the MA Spartan League and won several
honours, including the Senior League and League Cup in 1984 and 1985
respectively. However, in order to progress up the footballing pyramid,
the decision was taken to merge, and in 1999 Greenwood Meadows left the Notts Alliance to join the Central Midlands League. They finished runners
up in the Premier Division in 2000/01, winning promotion to the Supreme
Division.
A great deal of work has gone into
developing the Ground up to CML standards. The ground is located below the raging
traffic of the towering Clifton Bridge flyover, slightly nearer to city
life than their nearby rivals, Dunkirk and Pelican. However, it is still a
fairly picturesque affair, bordered on two sides by an unmarked country
lane, which runs down to the nearby golf club, and trees and hedges on the
other two sides. The Ground is rung entirely by a solid white barrier, and
being fully exposed to the elements, can be a tad on the cool side in the
winter months.
There are two identical dugouts on the
south side of the ground. These are fairly basic rectangular corrugated
iron affairs, though there's plenty of room, the framework has been painted thoughtfully in
Greenwood green and the interior contain smart red plastic seating. Two matching, though larger, covered stands flank
these dugouts, with room available for 100 spectators within each.
Unfortunately, level concrete standing limits the view on busy match days,
and neither stand offers much wind resistance, as both front and sides are
exposed to the weather. This must have proven particularly uncomfortable
on the day that Greenwood Meadows took part in the world Record Groundhop
in 2004, which involved attending
six matches at six different grounds in the space of 24 hours. The
endurance-testing marathon took place in gale force winds, attended by 302
brave souls at the Old Lenton Lane leg of the Hop. Given
the appalling conditions, I expect that
quite a few of those hardy attendees will have retired to the comfort of
the Clubhouse, weaponless of course.
Sited on the east side of the Ground,
the Clubhouse is quite unusual building. Part hut, part porter cabin, it is seemingly
precariously balanced on several brick based stilts, giving the
impression that it could keel over at any given time. However, the
facilities inside are more than adequate, with social events such as gig
nights occasionally catered for.
Perhaps the
most impressive feature of the ground is the four steel floodlights, which
tower over each side of the Ground. Installed in 2004, the four huge clusters resting on the
comparatively frail posts appear to be almost peering over the pitch for a
better view, like extra terrestrials of War of the Worlds fame.
As mentioned
previously, the wind invariably gets up in this exposed area on the flood
banks of the River Trent. As a result of which you may well catch a whiff
of fresh tobacco in the air. This is likely to be from the dominant
Horizon tobacco factory on the north side of the ground, home of the world famous John Player brand
since 1877. Built in 1972, the factory is to this day the
biggest addition to Imperial Tobacco�s operations, costing �14 million
and occupying a 45-acre site. An impressive building indeed, almost as
much as those floodlights.
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From Nottingham -
Follow the A453 out of the City for 1.7 miles. On reaching the
Clifton Bridge roundabout, go straight over. Turn first left onto Old
Lenton Lane. The Ground is a short distance down on your RHS after a dirt
track and has adequate parking.
Nottingham
City Transport - Link 1 from Victoria Centre to Boots passes
Old Lenton Lane, shortly after the Queens Drive Park & Ride
site.
Nottingham
Midland - 2.5 miles