Happiness

02 Sunday Aug 2026

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Friday 5th June 2026 ko 19:00

Division 3 Södra Svealand

TROSA VAGENHÄRADS SK 1 (Åkerblom 71)

HANVIKENS SK 0

Att 85 at Häradsvallen (grass)

Free Entry

The Swedish Hop cost £360 which included all transport from and to Arlanda Airport, 2 nights bed and breakfast, and any admission fees.

It’s the same every year. I try and explain why Robyn and I spent a not inconsiderable amount of money to spend a weekend watching some fairly obscure football matches in Stockholm. I’m happy to admit it’s not for everyone, but since 2007, with a 3 year break for Covid these weekends have become my happy place. So much so, Robyn and got engaged in Stockholm prior to the 2018 edition!

Sweden and I seem to complement each other, so over the years these events have slowly metamorphosed into trips with friends to see friends. I know that that doesn’t sell the hop to many others, but in all honesty, there’s a part of me that has stopped worrying. Read these next few articles, and perhaps you’ll see the value.

So I look forward to organiser Kim Hedwall’s email that always starts with “Welcome to the …th Swedish Groundhop”

Except in 2026 there were a couple of problems.

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Robin

29 Wednesday Jul 2026

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Saturday 30th May 2026 ko 14:00

West Wales Tier 5 Playoffs Game 3

WAUNARLWYDD GALAXY 2 (Pritchard 71 89)

Fowler sent off 37 (serious foul play)

GLYNNEATH TOWN 0

Att 348

Entry, Programme & Raffle ticket £3

The season was in its last knockings, but non league in Wales does tend to produce some interesting play-offs. The issue has long been the same, there are more league winners than there are places in the leagues above. Who could forget the playoffs to get into the South Wales Alliance ?

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On the Buses

28 Tuesday Jul 2026

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Tuesday 19th May 2026 ko 19:00

Guildford & Woking Alliance Premier Division

UPPER HALE 1 (Stuart 85)

FARNBOROUGH NORTH END ATHLETIC 0

Att 42 at Traco Club, Aldershot

Free Entry

I remember just over 25 years ago, I didn’t really understand the sheer magnitude of the hobby. I went through a phase of trying to do one club in each division which is of course the start of a slippery slope. Some App now tells me I’ve completed 35 divisions… so when a league I’d never heard of popped up I was more than a little intrigued!

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Friends

22 Wednesday Jul 2026

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Saturday 16th May 2026 ko 18:30

North Berkshire Cup Final

BERINSFIELD 3 (Holdsworth 33p Palmer 49 Hinkin 64)

COMPTON 0

Att 215 at Abingdon United FC

Entry & Programme £5

I can’t pretend I couldn’t see the demise of the North Berkshire League coming. When I left the league’s committee 2 years ago the league was down to 2 divisions from 5 when the league was at its peak. Like just about everyone involved in football in the Shire, I’d heard the rumours about a mass exodus to the Oxon Senior League, but hoped that it was either an exaggeration or that the league might find replacement clubs.

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Mynydd y Gaer 

21 Tuesday Jul 2026

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Saturday 9th May 2026 ko 14:30

Ardal North West

CPD LLANNEFYDD 3 (Salisbury 4 Owen 30 Edwards 90)

MYNYDD ISA 1 (Beck 36)

Att 58

Entry £5

It has to be said that Robyn my wife does come up with our best ideas. She fancied a weekend in North Wales so we spent a few days exploring Snowdonia from a base in Llandudno. For me it was a chance to revisit a lot of the places we visited in the days of the Welsh Alliance Hops and introduce Robyn to some seriously long placenames. But somehow we ended up at one with quite a short name really….

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The Drawbridge

21 Tuesday Jul 2026

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Monday 4th May 2026 ko 15:00

Midland League Division 2

WAKE GREEN AMATEUR 1 (Kelly 56)

Kelly penalty saved 29

NORTHFIELD TOWN 6 (Halpin 8 32 73 Ward 31 Forbes 54 Parker 84og)

Att 71

Entry £5

I know why I found myself in Solihull’s environs- local football at the lower divisions is a lot of fun and there”s plenty of it. So much so that I’ve been heading to this part of the world for the best part of twenty years, and I’m still turning up interesting grounds, Wake Green being a case in point.

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The Oldest Club in… well….

17 Friday Jul 2026

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Saturday 2nd May 2026 ko 15:00

Shropshire County League Premier Division

LLANYMYNECH 1 (Thomas 46)

WHITCHURCH ALPORT 1946 5 (Jones 24 Milburn 25 Hailes 48 Owen 66 Cadman 87)

Att 21

Free Entry

Back in medieval times the border between modern day English Shropshire and Welsh Montgomeryshire must have been fairly porous. Even hundreds of years later there are still towns with Welsh names in England such as Trefonen and vice versa. But none managed to be quite as odd as Llanmynech the village that manages to be both English and Welsh!

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Coleridge

16 Thursday Jul 2026

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Saturday 18th April 2026 ko 15:00

Somerset County League Premier Division

CLEVEDON UNITED 1 (Morgan 63p)

CLEVEDON AFC 1 (Wilcox 5)

Att 327

Entry, Badge and Ticket (in advance) £7

I’d been impressed by the organisation at Congresbury but I also knew a hop game at Clevedon United came witb its own challenges. The ground at Coleridge (of Rime of the Ancient Mariner fame) Vale is both open, there is no boundary fence or wall, and the football pitch is adjacent to a rugby ground, and there would be a game taking place there at the same time as the football! It certainly looked a challenge!

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Zumerzet

13 Monday Jul 2026

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Saturday 18th April 2026 ko 11:30

Somerset County League Premier Division

CONGRESBURY 0

WORLE 0

Att 211

Entry, Programme, Bacon Roll, Badge £10 (if bought in advance)

On the day entry £4, Programme £2

From pretty much the moment that Bristolian Robyn and I became an item 10 years ago the Somerset County League has been a favourite destination on my regular visits west. There’s no secret that I’d like to see more organised groundhops at Step 7 and below, variety is the spice of life after all. GroundhopUK did speak with the league about an event for Somerset, but organising an eighth event in a season would have been too much for us. Our offering ended up being the West Lancashire League Hop in August, and the Somerset County League opted to organise their event for themselves.

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Bold as a Sergeant Major

12 Sunday Jul 2026

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Tuesday 14th April 2026 ko 19:30

Combined Counties League Division One

OXHEY JETS 1 (Mosca 59)

HILLINGDON BOROUGH 0

Att 89

Entry £8

Teamsheet FREE

After the exertions of the Northern Hop both Robyn and I took a little time to ourselves. I concentrated myself in Oxford United’s vain attempts to stay in the Championship, and watched with growing concern at what was going on in the North Berkshire League- I’d been on committee there until 2 years ago, but still maintained an interest from afar. But then Robyn fancied an evening game, and there was more than a touch of tragedy about heading here.

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