Sandbach Is More Than Just a Service Station

For any who travel the tarmac ribbon of hell that is the M6 then all you probably know about Sandbach is the Services and little else,that was me until yesterday when I paid a visit to Sandbach United FC at the invitation of their club photographer Kevin Warburton,it turned out to be a very pleasant experience unlike the motorway and Services on the way up



United are like my own club AFC Wulfrunians a fairly young club having formed in 2004 when Sandbach Albion and Sandbach Ramblers joined forces,starting in the Staffs County League they moved into the Cheshire League in 2011 and gained promotion to the North West Counties League at the end of last season,the current ground was built in 2011 and floodlights installed within the last few weeks.


This is obviously not a ground for the aficionados of historic grounds with character but is made up for by the pleasant facilities and very friendly locals

The above shelter drew the ribald attention of the visiting Atherton Collieries fans with a chorus of "My garden sheds bigger than your stand"


The match itself was a challenge for the home side as the visitors are the reigning cup holders and well placed a division above in the North West Counties League, after an even start Atherton took the lead with a well worked goal that left the Sandbach keeper Ryan Moss flat footed

Sandbach however fought back well to equalise before half time when a penalty area melee was calmly finished by Danny Bartle

The second half was well contested but Atherton just had the edge and although Sandbach hit the bar the clinical finishing of the visitors was the ultimate difference

Sandbach fought hard to the end but were always in danger as Atherton looked dangerous on the break and Moss had to be alert to prevent the home team falling further behind

Slightly away from the action it was good to meet up with Groundhopper Alex Latham who is fairly local at me ,at well over 6 foot and in a yellow jacket you cant miss him and at one point we were buzzed by a low flying aircraft

So an excellent day out and commiserations to Sandbach but on the evidence of what I saw I;m sure they will have an excellent season,oh and the dreaded M6 was better on the way home

Sandbach Is More Than Just a Service Station

For any who travel the tarmac ribbon of  hell that is the M6 then all you probably know about Sandbach is the Services and little else,that was me until yesterday when I paid a visit to Sandbach United FC at the invitation of their club photographer Kevin Warburton,it turned out to be a very pleasant experience unlike the motorway and Services on the way up


United are like my own club AFC Wulfrunians a fairly young club having formed in 2004 when  Sandbach Albion and Sandbach Ramblers joined forces,starting in the Staffs County League they moved into the Cheshire League in 2011 and gained promotion to the North West Counties League at the end of last season,the current  ground was built in 2011 and floodlights installed within the last few weeks.

This is obviously not a ground for the aficionados of historic grounds with character but is made up for by the pleasant facilities and very friendly locals

The above shelter drew the ribald attention of the visiting Atherton Collieries fans with a chorus of "My garden sheds bigger than your stand"

The match itself was a challenge for the home side as the visitors are the reigning cup holders and well placed a division above in the North West Counties League, after an even start Atherton took the lead with a well worked goal that left the Sandbach keeper Ryan Moss flat footed

Sandbach however fought back well to equalise before half time when a penalty area melee was calmly finished by  Danny Bartle

The second half was well contested but Atherton just had the edge and although Sandbach hit the bar the clinical finishing of the visitors was the ultimate difference

Sandbach fought hard to the end but were always in danger as Atherton looked dangerous on the break and Moss had to be alert to prevent the home team falling further behind

Slightly away from the action it was good to meet up with Groundhopper Alex Latham who is fairly local at me ,at well over 6 foot and in a yellow jacket you cant miss him and at one point we were buzzed by a low flying aircraft

So an excellent day out and commiserations to Sandbach but on the evidence of what I saw I;m sure they will have an excellent season,oh and the dreaded M6 was better on the way home

Sandbach Is More Than Just a Service Station

For any who travel the tarmac ribbon of  hell that is the M6 then all you probably know about Sandbach is the Services and little else,that was me until yesterday when I paid a visit to Sandbach United FC at the invitation of their club photographer Kevin Warburton,it turned out to be a very pleasant experience unlike the motorway and Services on the way up





United are like my own club AFC Wulfrunians a fairly young club having formed in 2004 when  Sandbach Albion and Sandbach Ramblers joined forces,starting in the Staffs County League they moved into the Cheshire League in 2011 and gained promotion to the North West Counties League at the end of last season,the current  ground was built in 2011 and floodlights installed within the last few weeks.
This is obviously not a ground for the aficionados of historic grounds with character but is made up for by the pleasant facilities and very friendly locals

The above shelter drew the ribald attention of the visiting Atherton Collieries fans with a chorus of "My garden sheds bigger than your stand"
The match itself was a challenge for the home side as the visitors are the reigning cup holders and well placed a division above in the North West Counties League, after an even start Atherton took the lead with a well worked goal that left the Sandbach keeper Ryan Moss flat footed

Sandbach however fought back well to equalise before half time when a penalty area melee was calmly finished by  Danny Bartle

The second half was well contested but Atherton just had the edge and although Sandbach hit the bar the clinical finishing of the visitors was the ultimate difference

Sandbach fought hard to the end but were always in danger as Atherton looked dangerous on the break and Moss had to be alert to prevent the home team falling further behind

Slightly away from the action it was good to meet up with Groundhopper Alex Latham who is fairly local at me ,at well over 6 foot and in a yellow jacket you cant miss him and at one point we were buzzed by a low flying aircraft

So an excellent day out and commiserations to Sandbach but on the evidence of what I saw I;m sure they will have an excellent season,oh and the dreaded M6 was better on the way home

A Different Sport All Because Of Facebook

I have in the past done a little bit of Motocross on probably 3 occasions but being so used to Pitchside access in the football it was strange getting used to being the other side of the fence and the shots probably suffered because of that.
However thanks to the joys of Facebook I had a made a "Friend" through the Severn valley Railway site who posted about the Wilden Lane Motocross track,20 minutes from my front door but I had never heard of it,Kevin was kind enough to invite me along and joy of joys this is a place where Health and safety is goverened by common sense and a respect for what the organisers and marshals tell you to do so Trackside in the obligatory Hi Vis vest I went

The age range is from youngsters through to adults and all showed tremendous skill and commitment,the big plus was of course being able to get safely close to the action and get different angles of the riders and come away with a set of shots that I was really pleased with,in addition having met Kevin for the first time I also met other photographers and the marshals all of whom were incredibly friendly and helpful.
I do have to say that my enthusiasm got ahead of me at one point as I tried some slow speed panning shots that sadly failed miserably,lots more practice required there

Will I be back,you bet I will and even if photography isn't yourbag then I can highly recommend just going along to watch a very exciting and interesting sport in a lovely part of the Worcestershire countryside,the Bacon Baps looked very moreish as well but I managed to resist the temptation


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wilden-Lane-Motocross-Track/135983933132083