Mosset Park is home to Forres Mechanics FC, who play in the Highland League. The ground lies right by the A 95.

We happened to pass it on our trip up north in July 2024, so of course I had to stop to photograph it.  It looks tidy enough but I’ve not been inside.

Mosset Park, Forres:-

This football ground is home to Deveronvale Football Club who play in the Highland League.

It stands by the banks of the River Deveron, from which the club takes its name, where the river flows into the sea between the towns of Banff and Macduff.

View from the A 98:-

Closer view of stand:-

Princess Royal Park from south east:-

I missed photographing this when I visited Huntly before despite  it being very near Huntly’s War Memorial.

Christie Park is the home of Huntly FC, who play in the Highland League.

View of ground from Castle Street:-

Entrance gates/turnstiles. These have an Art Deco styling:-

Christie Park from southeast. I had to stand on a wall to get the photos from which I made this stitched picture:-

It’s a tidy ground.

It is in the nature of things that I have made many fewer journeys to Highland League football grounds than to those in the Lowlands. The Lowland Football League does of course contain several teams which used to be in the SPFL or its predecessor,* whereas the Highland League has only the one (Brechin City.)

I have however visited I think nearly all of the towns/cities which have hosted past or present Lowland League teams and even seen games at some of them though not of clubs in the Lowland League at the time.

The first of these cities/towns would have been Glasgow (Broomhill FC, as BSC Glasgow before they became nomadic, playing in Alloa, Cumbernauld, and now Dumbarton) then Edinburgh (Edinburgh City, The Spartans, Civil Service Strollers, Edinburgh University.)  I have been to games at Edinburgh City’s ground, Meadowbank Stadium, but only when it housed Meadowbank Thistle (since morphed into Livingston FC) and at Spartans ground, Ainslie Park, where Edinburgh City played home games when I watched them play the Sons of the Rock.

It may surprise some readers that I have been familiar with Innerleithen** (Vale of Leithen) for many years. My grandparents (one of them the original Jack Deighton) lived there for a time. I may have been to Galashiels (Gala Fairydean Rovers) in those days. I have certainly driven through it, plus Selkirk (Selkirk) and Hawick (Hawick Royal Albert United.)

In their relevant clubs’ SFL or SPFL  days I have been to Cowdenbeath (Cowdenbeath*,) Coatbridge (Albion Rovers*,) Berwick upon Tweed (Berwick Rangers*) and Falkirk (East Stirlingshire*,) the last of which also landed up playing in Stenhousemuir for a while. Bonnyrigg (Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic) is another town I have only visited to see the Sons play. I have also passed through or stopped in Stirling (University of Stirling) many times.

In my teaching days I sometimes passed through Kelty (Kelty Hearts) on my way to work.

Then we have Cumbernauld** (Cumbernauld Colts – and Broomhill, as above)

I see Motherwell is listed on the Lowland League Wiki page (see link above) as the domicile of Caledonian Braves (formerly Edusport Academy) but their history is complicated, being based in Hamilton and even Annan for a while.

On trips south I have taken in Castle Douglas (Threave Rovers,) Dalbeattie (Dalbeattie Star) and east and south of Edinburgh, Prestonpans (Preston Athletic,) Rosewell (Whitehill Welfare,) and Tranent (Tranent, or is it Tranent Juniors?) where my mother was born.

Bo’ness (Bo’ness United) and Linlithgow (Linlithgow Rose) have featured on this blog more than once. I have had a look at Gretna (Gretna 2008) and East Kilbride (East Kilbride) but I don’t recall ever being to Broxburn (the newly promoted to the Lowland League Broxburn Athletic.)

** The game I saw in Innerleithen was a pre-1966 World Cup warm up game. Vale of Leithen played against France. It was of course a mis-match.  Cumbernauld was to see Dumbarton play Clyde.

I mentioned in this post that our journey up to and back down from Elgin last April turned out to be a peregrination through the heartland of the Highland League.

It meant I have now visited nearly all of the towns which have hosted past or present Highland League clubs during my lifetime.

The first of these would have been Inverness (home to Caledonian FC,* Clachnacuddin and Inverness Thistle*.) I have walked past Caledonian’s former Telford Street Park ground and been to a game at Clachnacuddin’s Grant Street Park but never saw Thistle’s ground, Kingsmills. I think I may have visited Dingwall (Ross County) around the same time. After that – or possibly before – it would have been Brechin (many times now) to see The Sons of the Rock play Brechin City at Glebe Park. Next up was probably Fort William. Another trip to Inverness saw us take in Nairn (Nairn County) and Forres (Forres Mechanics.)

I don’t think I went to Aberdeen (Banks O’ Dee, Cove Rangers,) until well after those trips.

Then on our first sojourn up to Orkney we passed through Brora (Brora Rangers) and Wick (Wick Academy.) A year or so later a journey up to Aberdeenshire saw us in Inverurie (Inverurie Loco Works,) Huntly and Turriff (Turriff United.) In 2019 we went to Peterhead and on to Fraserburgh. The year after that on another trip to Peterhead we visited Pitmedden (Formartine United.)

And so to last April’s journey, passing through Grantown-on-Spey (Strathspey Thistle) and Rothes before reaching Elgin (Elgin City) with a side trip to Lossiemouth. Then finally, on the way back home, Keith.

So, out of all the towns/cities to host clubs in the Highland League during my lifetime I have only Buckie (Buckie Thistle) and Banff (Deveronvale) to visit.

*The present SPFL club whose name contains these two descriptors was formed when Caledonian and Inverness Thistle merged in 1994 to ensure entry into the then SFL. That merged team, Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC, have never played in the Highland League.

Until I looked up Elgin War Memorial before our trip I had no idea there was a New Elgin. It lies to the south of Elgin itself.

We came up via the A 941 after turning off the A 95 at Craigellachie and passed though another Highland League town, Rothes, which has no less than four distilleries, but we didn’t have time to stop there for a look round.

Since I knew it where to find it I was able to stop to photograph New Elgin’s War Memorial. It is a figure of a kilted soldier with reversed rifle above a square plinth with scrolled edges.

Dedication, “To the men of New Elgin, Ashgrove and Mycroft,” and names:-

Great War names. Note Nurse Mary Fraser VAD:-

Memorial’s reverse. Second World War names:-

Sons’ reward for scraping through the Second Round of the Scottish Cup* on Saturday (3-2 in added time after being 2-0 down against Highland League side Banks O’Dee) is an away tie at Galabank, the ground of Annan Athletic.

Galabank is of course the site of that disastrous 6-0 defeat in the first leg of last season’s play-offs.

Let’s hope the score is less lopsided this time.

*Now the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup.

Dudgeon Park is the home of Brora Rangers FC who play in the Highland League.

Welcome sign on wall:-

South goal and East Enclosure:-

West Stand and pitch from south:-

Southeast corner and West Stand:-

SPFL Tier 3, Recreation Park,* 20/11/21

Well.

A win.

Very welcome.

We needed it; especially as the two teams directly below us both won today as well.

And at last a better result in the second quarter than we had against that team in the first.

How much the win depended on them having a man sent off just after their equaliser I don’t know but we had taken the lead (a Stuart Carswell penalty no less) which suggests we were doing okay.

Then Eoghan Stokes pops up with the winner. He’s making a habit of making vital contributions off the bench.

A bit of a break from the league next week since we play Sauchie at home in the Third Round of the Scottish Cup. (When, I wonder, was the last time we played two Clackmannanshire based teams in a row?)

I’m not expecting an easy game. They beat Highland League leaders Fraserburgh – away – in round one.

Or it will be on November 27^th.

Sons have been drawn at home against Sauchie in the Third Round of this season’s Scottish Cup.

Sauchie is a former Junior club (their full name still incorporates the Junior tag) who joined the migration to Senior football on the recent establishment of the extended Scottish football pyramid and now ply their trade in East of Scotland League Premier Division (Tier 6.) This is their first season in the Scottish Cup.

In the First Round they beat Highland League leaders Fraserburgh 2-1 away so must not be taken lightly. On Saturday they beat Dunipace of East of Scotland League First Division Conference A (Tier 7) 2-1 at home in the second round.

They will therefore go into the game with Sons with no pressure on them, so the tie could be tricky.