Saturday 7th March 2026 ko 14:00

Witney & District League Premier Division

CHARLBURY TOWN 1 (Robinson 61)

HANBOROUGH 1 (Varney 22)

Att 27

Free Entry

I’m sure sure I’ll ever be the kind of groundhopper that’ll be able to say “I’ve completed down to…” or anything specific save for the “92.” There’s too much in my footballing life for that kind of thing, the Oxford United season ticket, GroundhopUK, trips abroad, and a love of football right at grassroots. But there is something fairly consistant about my liking for local football.

Even that is becoming an issue, without ever setting out to I’ve completed far too many divisions near to me, and the Witney League is close to complete…. talk about unfortunate! It is therefore completely daft that I waited so long to visit the Nine Acres Recreation Ground.

Charlbury has been around since ancient times, it was mentioned in the “Tribal Hidage” a 7-9th century precursor to the Domesday Book as  ‘Faerpinga in Middelenglum.’ Be very aware it is a town, not a village and is a place of parish churches, Cotswold stone houses and the Evenlode River bubbling away at the town’s western edge. Nearby the Cornbury Festival used to take place, I remember seeing Paul Simon there, and spotting David Cameron in his wellies to my right. Yes, it is rather well-to-do here.

Charlbury Town play at the Nine Acres Recreation Ground. For a local football team it is a superbly appointed place, but to a photographer the place is magical. Some of it is the backdrop of Fawler Road heading south towards North Leigh, and some in the landscaping work to provide a flat pitch does create some unusual angles! Some there must have wondered what on earth I was trying to achieve!

I witnessed a good game too, I still think of Hanborough as an Oxon Senior League outfit, and if you need to remember not to call Charlbury a village you also need to remember there is no “D” in Handborough even if British Rail did exactly that for 139 years! I’ll remember them for square programmes, and Church Hanborough beer, so all things considered a draw worked well for me, why disappoint either of two clubs I like?

A note to the good. For those who hanker after reading material, the community centre nearby stocks a local magazine called “Beakon” and you can pick up an excellent coffee and cake there too!