Home of Albion Rovers FC.

The “Wee Rovers” heyday is long gone, being just after the First World War when they reached the Scottish Cup final and had a run in the First Division. They also achieved promotion in 1934 and mostly remained in Division 1 till the Second War. Thereafter they have been mostly in the lower divisions. For a fuller account see link.

Below is a view of the Stand and entrance gates of Cliftonhill from Main Street, Coatbridge (the A 89.)

The stand and its immediate surroundings is the only area where spectators congregate.

The Stadium is unaffectionately called the “Stadio San Giro” by its detractors.

It’s fair to say the ground has seen better days but any disparagement is out of place. It’s very homely and has a friendly atmosphere.

This is the west end. Standing may once have been allowed here but not for a long time, I think.

The east end is similar, only a mound of earth.

The North Terracing (below) is now, I believe, closed to spectators for safety reasons but it was from here that I saw Kenny Jenkins deflect with the neatest of touches with his head a Charlie Gallagher free kick to score in a 1-0 win in 1972, vital to the championship win that year.

Home of Cowdenbeath FC.

It’s fair to say Central Park has seen better days. There is talk of a new stadium being built, though.

Here are the entrance turnstiles.

Just beyond the turnstiles you can turn right towards the main stand or ascend the steps to the terracing. Just by the steps is a memorial stone (see right, below) which I first noticed on Saturday.

At the top of the steps you get a view of the main stand – with stock car in the foreground.

As well as football, Central Park also hosts stock car racing as witnessed by the tyres as barriers and the wide expanse between the stand and the pitch. On a Saturday the racers start to turn up (revving engines and such behind the stand) midway through the football game’s second half.

This is the (uncovered, you’ll note) south terracing, not a good place to stand when it’s raining. Saturday was fine, though.

Here are two photos of the stand side taken from the south terracing:-

The fans are well back from the playing surface – and fenced off from it; but that’s due to the stock cars.

A couple more photos are on my flickr.

A few months ago someone posted a documentary video about Central Park on You Tube. I’ve not watched it all – it’s 18 minutes long and must have been filmed in summer, or colour enhanced – but at 1 min 35 seconds in you can see an old building up behind the stand. That building has since been demolished but I started my teaching career there in the 1980s.

When The Sun Shines
Documentary on Central Park, Cowdenbeath.

A few photos of Gayfield Park, home of Arbroath FC, from last Saturday.

This is the view of the ground from near Arbroath War Memorial.

The next was taken from an excellent vantage point to see that Mark Gilhaney’s shot last Saturday did cross the line after bouncing down from the bar. It also shows the north covered terracing.

These next two remind me so much of Boghead.

All that’s missing is the pie-stall set into the side of the stand (but that went when they replaced the old pavilion at Boghead.)

And, yes, Gayfield is only five metres from the high-tide line.

Some more photos of Gayfield are on my flickr.

The access is up a small street which also houses the entrance to the now sadly defunct (again) McCowans Highland Toffee factory.

This is the “away” end. Every time I’ve been in there since it got covered over by a canopy the Sons have lost the game.

I go to the main stand now. It’s called the “Norway” Stand for some reason I forget.

The view from the stand is below. There used to be a stand like the one opposite the pavilion stand at Boghead over there but it’s been gone quite a while now. There’s a cricket pitch in the distance believe it or not. The town of Stenhousemuir boasts both a football and a cricket club.

A couple more photos of the ground are on my flickr.

Forthbank Stadium* is one of those modern identikit type constructions and a little soulless. But at least it has stands on two sides plus two bits of terracing, one behind each goal – though they are seldom used.

Saturday was a bit gloomy and so the photos are not as sharp as they might be.

This is from the access road, mainly showing the away supporters stand.

This is the home stand.

The terracings behind the goals are opened only when a big crowd is expected – so not for Dumbarton games.
This is the south end – to your left in the photo above.

And this the north.

This is a rather blurry view of the away stand from the north end.

*Edited to add:- I know it’s the Doubletree Dunblane Stadium now.

On Saturday I took some photos of Station Park.

It doesn’t look very prepossessing from Carseview Road.

I could hear a cattle auction going on nearby and you can get the faint whiff of cow’s urine on the road up.

It’s a lovely traditional football ground when you enter though and thankfully the air is fresher.

This is a stitch of three pictures taken from the North terracing, the nearest after you enter the ground.

And this is the view from the other end, with the covered terracing down the right hand side.

Here’s a closer look at the stand.

All photos including the ones the stitches were made from are on my flickr site.

New Bayview, like the SHS stadium at Dumbarton, is one of those modern identikit football grounds which has only one stand.

This is the view from the approach road.

And here it is from the car park.

This is the view towards the sea. Note the new Dumbarton away strip – all white with blue trimmings.

And the other end. The pile of rubble behind the fence on the far side of the ground is what remains of the Power Station which was all the view you used to get from the away end.

There’s a video of the demolition here. Several more appear on You Tube.

It is now possible to see this cream coloured building, which I know nothing about.

Brechin City’s ground is one of the tightest in senior football. They have recently been threatened with fines if they do not increase the pitch’s area, apparently because it is not large enough to meet UEFA‘s standards.

One of the reasons for this is that a beech hedge runs along behind the terracing on one side of the ground. You can see it in this photo I took on Saturday.

There is no scope to move this as Brechin do not own the land behind the hedge. The hedge is, in any case, one of the joys of attending a match at Glebe Park. To remove it would be a sacrilege.

And when are Brechin likely to play in a European tie anyway? And, if they did, why can they not use Dundee’s stadium, or Dundee United’s, both of which are compliant?

It’s nonsensical. The hedge must stay and Brechin not be fined.

This is the David Will stand, behind one of the goals. It is reputed to be able to seat more people than actually live in Brechin! In his time David Will became one of the top administrators of football; ironically eventually a UEFA official.

You can, by the way, view Dumbarton’s new home strip in the above photo in which I can see six of our players. It’s basically an all gold effort with trimmings.

Here’s a panorama of the ground from the stand. A stitch of three photos.

There are two more beech hedges, on the right as you look at the above, split by the smaller stand which houses the changing rooms.

Here’s a close-up of the nearer one.

All in all it’s a lovely wee ground.