Saturday 29th August 2026 ko 11:00

West Lancashire League Division Two

CATON UNITED 1 (Curwen 69)

LANGHO 5 (Clarke 7 McLoughlin 56 Darcy 57 Cumpstey 73 Phelps 90+3)

Att 241

Entry £5

Programme £2

Saturday on the West Lancs Hop was unquestionably Lancaster day, even if the pedants like me would point out that the village of Caton does lie a few miles outside! It is a pretty place, and we did get to see more of it than normal as car parking at the Caton Sports Field is limited, so an overspill car park was organised a 5 minutes walk away. It did serves to burn off some off my hotel breakfast!

You could see why the club had made the provision; the ground is next door to a pub and the landlord there was clearly extremely keen to make sure that his patrons could park too! Despite Caton United doing all that they could, as we left after the game there was the publican glowering at the crowds, when a more welcoming approach might have attracted a few in. After all there aren’t many groundhoppers who DON’T like a beer… or three!

But once you’d walked past the unhappy publican, the little ground in the foothills of the Pennine was abuzz with activity. Some I’m sure will remember the place for the quite wonderful backdrops, or hills or stone houses, but for me it was the sheer level of activity that was going on under those gazebos! Perhaps that 5 walk was a ruse, I don’t normally eat cake this early in the morning but how could Robyn and I resist?

What I found infectious was spending time with a club bang in the centre of its community- I am all too aware that as groundhoppers we are unlikely to return, but who in the Caton area wouldn’t like to be involved with a club likes this? Of course we won’t talk about the result….