Notts Police

You must have come in a taxi

From M1 Jnc.27 - Take first exit off sliproad for A610 (Nottm). Continue for 6.2 miles. At roundabout turn left onto A611 Moor Bridge (Nottm). * Get into left hand lane and take first left at traffic lights onto B683 Bestwood Lane. Continue for 0.8 miles before taking the first road on your right, Park Road. Turn first left onto Church Rd and you can use the Bestwood Social Club car park on the LHS, or alternatively street parking. You will then need to walk to the ground, which is behind the Bestwood Workshops on the road directly opposite where you turned into Church Rd. Go through the security barrier, and the ground can be found behind the first workshop on your RHS.

From M1 Jnc.26 - Take first exit off the sliproad for A610 Nottm. At next roundabout take the 2nd exit for the A6002 Low Wood Road (Bulwell) for 2.1 miles. Turn left onto Hucknall Lane for 0.3 miles, passing Morrisons on your RHS. At mini roundabout, take 2nd exit onto A611 Moor Bridge (Nottm), then follow * above.

From Nottingham - Follow Mansfield Rd, then the A611 Hucknall Road out of the city for 4.5 miles, passing Bulwell Golf Course on your LHS. Get into right hand lane and turn right at traffic lights onto B683 Bestwood Lane. Continue for 0.8 miles before taking the first road on your right, Park Road. Turn first left onto Church Rd and you can use the Bestwood Social Club car park on the LHS, or alternatively street parking. You will then need to walk to the ground, which is behind the Bestwood Workshops on the road directly opposite where you turned into Church Rd. Go through the security barrier, and the ground can be found behind the first workshop on your RHS.

TrentBarton No.141 (Sutton-in-Ashfield Bus Station - Nottm Victoria Bus Station via. Mansfield) & Dunn Line No's 170, 171, 172 all pass Park Road.

Hucknall - 3.1 miles. Walk south down Nottingham Rd, then follow directions onto Moor Bridge, then follow * as in a car.

Moor Bridge - 1 mile. See * above for directions.

For a map of the location, Click here.

My garden shed is bigger than this

In 1967, Nottingham City & Nottinghamshire County Police amalgamated and took the decision to form to mark the occasion by forming a football club.

Since joining of the forces (literally), they have enjoyed a long and proud history in the Notts Amateur Alliance, signing off in quite some style in 2004 with their most successful season ever, winning the Senior League, the PAA Regional Cup and the Notts Alliance Senior Cup. Having moved up to the NSL, they are hoping that the success story continues, providing they can continue to find a pitch on which to play.

The Club have recent years been upping sticks more times then the Littlest Hobo. For years, the Force played at the Police Sports Grounds at Carrington, then moved on to a new site at Epperstone. However, with Epperstone sited for sale, the Club gratefully, though inconveniently, moved to play at Calverton Miners Welfare's Hollingwood Lane Ground for two seasons. They then moved on to the Roko Leisure Centre for several years, home of Magdala Amateurs, before moving back out of the City of Nottingham, to the Rolls Royce Sports & Social Clubin Hucknall. In 2007 they found themselves a new home in the form of Bestwood Workshops, home to Bestwood Miners Welfare. It was during this season that Police came closest to capturing its first significant silverware, finishing runners up in the Notts F.A. Intermediate Cup.

The location of some grounds in Nottinghamshire are very easy to find, some are rather difficult. Bestwood Workshops could quite easily fit into both categories. As you pull into Park Road, you can't fail to miss the impressive Bestwood Winding Engine House in the distance, dating back to 1873. Additionally, you can't fail to miss the sign advising you to turn left for the B.M. Sports Ground Car Park, with the baffling advice of 'Pedestrian access only' - in a car park? What you will no doubt miss is the location of the Ground itself. This is actually located on the opposite side of the road to the car park, through a security gate, and tucked away on the right, behind a construction site and old people's home.

Bestwood Workshops in also shared with Bestwood Cricket Club. This becomes immediately evident once one has viewed the vast scale of this green oasis. Further evidence of a cricketing influence can be found in the form of the quaint Cricket Pavilion behind the Bestwood Lane End. This modern pavilion, with it's triangular slate tiled roof, has a well-placed row of plastic blue and white seats attached to the front wall to view proceedings. Alternatively, six large windows are available for those not wanting to brave the notoriously changeable British weather. The changing area for players and officials is inside the pavilion along with showers and store rooms.

Having waxed lyrical about the merits of the pavilion, the portercabin as its side could do with a little attention. This is used for refreshments on match days, and the cricketers during the summer. To the right of this is the Workshop's only stand. This small, unusual structure lies someway back from the football pitch, and is beginning to fall within the grasp of the surrounding foliage. The stand contains within a single row of a dozen or so worn plastic seats at ground level. It is painted white, with its fascia-fronted roof held a loft by two single poles. Despite its small size, there are two entrances to the stand through gateways in the concrete walled entrance.

The pitch is surrounded by temporary white stakes in the Ground. The permanent placement of a pitchside perimeter fence is denied due to a large proportion of the football pitch encroaching onto the cricket field. As a result, the only clear way of identifying the location of the football pitch in the summer months is by locating the two small dugouts positioned beneath the tall leylandii's on the workshop side of the Sports Ground. Both dugouts are small affairs, concrete built, painted mainly white with the nice touch of the roof painted in blue, to reflect the landlord's club colours. These identical structures look kind of lost amongst their surroundings and both are being savagely attacked by the local foliage. Visiting players may want to consider keeping their tracksuit bottoms on during the warmer months to avoid nettle stings.

Future Plans

Finding a permanent ground has proved difficult for the Club but they will continue to be on the lookout for somewhere more central to the Force.