Posted ‘high noon bells 🛎️ Sunday 29th April 2026
“WHERE THE FCUK’Z ‘THE CASTLE’?”
With nee Toon games coz of the 20 days International break, ah decided to get the train to Ashington on the Northumberland Line on Friday neet, for their game against Dunston! The new line iz a godsend for those who live on the route, cuttin the jorney time from The Toon to 30 minutes, whereas its an hour langer by bus!
Ah left in good time to dee a pub crawl to the Woodhorn Lane groond, which iz a half hour waalk from Ashington train station!
Forst ‘port o caall’ woz a Wetherspoons boozer called ‘The Ruhan Kanhai', 10 minutes waalk alang Woodhorn Road! (Named after a famous cricketer, who I’d never hord of?)
It woz canny busy inside, so ah went to the beer 🍺 garden 🪴 to consume mee ‘liquid lubrication!’⬇️
It woz them onward to ‘The Cree’ which iz just doon the road⬇️
——and then onward to ‘The Mighty Oak’, which had a large Union Jack displayed in the front window!⬇️
It woz a bit 'rough and ready' and a big fat gadgie came in and gave me ‘one of those dodgy looks’, az though aa had horns sticking oot of mee heed!
Lookin at ‘Google Maps’ mee final stop before the groond woz a boozer caalled ‘The Castle’ which woz 10 minutes onwards from ‘The Oak’
It woz bitterly cold and much colder than on Tyneside 15 miles to the south, but as couldn’t find ‘The Castle’?—- It woz supposed to be opposite a hairdressers caalled ‘Head and Nails’ according to to the map on mee telling bone’ 📱
How can a boozer just vanish off the face of the Earth?🌍 (Or Woodhorn Road in Ashington, in this case?)
Anyway!— aa moved on to the Ashington clubhoose, which iz caalled ‘The Colliers Bar—-and az it woz still 2 hours before kick off at ‘7:45 bells 🔔 aa was the forst customer!⬇️
A’d mentioned to the lassie on the tornstiles that aa couldn’t find ‘The Castle’ and she replied that someone had set it on fire and burnt it doon “a while back” 🔥 and that it woz totally demolished now! Nee wonder aa couldn’t find it!!!
It wozzint lang before the clubhoose filled up with both sets of fans and Dunston committee members!
The clubhoose iz above the main stand with large window owerlookin the pitch and iz much better than the ‘groond floor’ one, they had the last time I woz here a few years ago!
On the right hand side of the stand ‘The Ashington Ultras’ were singin loudly az they banged a big drum 🥁
A narrow covered stand on the far side of the pitch housed the 20 strong ‘Dunston Ultras’, aalso with a drum,🥁 which made for a noisy atmosphere! A very nice set up for a club of Ashington’s size!
The game started off az The Dunston Bad BLUE Boys attacked the right hand goal in their RED change strip! (Ashington played in black n white stripes!)
It woz mostly ‘The Pit Yakkers who did the attacking (Ashington’s nickname iz ‘The Colliers’ after the local mine, which closed many 🌙s ago!)
It woz 'Artcic' 🥶 by this point, with a howling wind to make it feel like minus 20 degrees! Ashington, of course, iz nearer to the Arctic Circle than Dunston on Tyne!
Despite havin most of the play, the home team couldn’t make the breakthrough and the teams went in level at the half time interval, az ‘not so little old me’ made a mad dash back to the warmth of the clubhoose, with some local brew to cool us back doon!
Quite a few were watchin the start of the 2nd half from the clubhoose az Dunston were awarded a penalty!
Josh Donald took it, but it woz expertly saved by Matthew Alexander in the home sides goal, who dived to hiz right, to save it!
Not lang after this az aa made mee way back to the end Dunston were attacking, but it woz the home side who scored the anly goal of the game through Ben Williams in the 56th minute!
Dunston tried in vain for an equaliser, but just couldn’t find the net! FT 1-0 to The Pit Yakkers
The crowd woz later given az an excellent 671, with aboot 50 or so Dunstoners, includin their commitee!
After the game aa cadged a lift back to Tyneside from the Dunston Co Chairman, Billy, in hiz work van!
A great photo of 3 Ashington born heroes on a staircase ---’Wor’ Jackie Milburn who won 3 FA Cup winners 🥇 🥇 🥇 medals with NUFC in the 1950s —-and his nephews Jackie and Bobby Charlton who helped England win the World Cup in 1966!
*Dunston Bad Blue Boys—-an explanation
NUFC played Dinamo Zagreb away in Europe many moons ago, who play in aall blue —-and their notorious Ultras are caalled The Bad Blue Boys Dunston play in aall blue az well, so when we got back we named them after the Zagreb hoolies ! —-So now yih naa!
And here’s a photo I foond with ‘The Castle’ on fire! 🔥 ⬇️
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