Bacup & Rossendale Borough

17th August 2013

FA Cup Extra Prelim Rd

Bacup 1  Formby 4

Gate: £6

Atten: c40

 View all Photos from Bacup

For me to consider a re-visit to a ground it must be somewhere a bit special and a trip up Cowtoot Lane the home of Bacup & Rossendale FC is one of those places. My first visit was back in 2010 for an evening match and i vowed that one day i would return for a day match , well that day has come and i cant wait. They now play under the name Bacup & Rossendale FC changing it from Bacup Borough in June of this year. Bacup Borough officially adopted the title of Rossendale, this came about following the sad demise of Rossendale United FC thus leaving Bacup Borough as the Rossendale Valley’s most senior football club.


 They were now the sole flag bearers of the Rossendale Valley and as for the commercial side it did make sense to implement the name of Rossendale and with this comes Bacup & Rossendale Borough FC. This also brings with it a newly designed crest to form its very own identity, with a plan for progression in place are the words , ‘Prosperity Through Endeavour’. When the  club was founded in 1875 it was called  Bacup Baldies, a name that proved to be prophetic in late decades.


Match Enjoyment: 6/10
Both teams battled away in what was at times difficult conditions. But in truth Formby were in control for most of the game. Soon after Bacup got back in the game , Formby scored again. It was never going to be Bacup's day.

Formby celebrate 4th goal

Ground: 10/10
West View is one of my all time favourite grounds and yesterday's visit only enhanced that feeling.

Serving the Bacup Pie .. mmmmm !

Upon arrival i just felt back home immediately , and then i smelt the homemade Bacup Pie wafting from the kitchen and my resistance was minimal and i dived in for a portion of this delicious feast , i even went back for seconds !

The setting is one of the best. Set amongst the Southern Lancashire Pennine hills , the place was calm as anything can be with the only interruptions coming from the sheep meandering in the lush green fields, surrounded by dry stone walling as far as the human eye can see.

 The weather was usual for this high up , unpredictable at best. Its mid August still in British Summer Time but the conditions were more arctic than summer. The monsoon rainstorms , rapier like winds only added to the attraction of this ground as i stood shivering and wet under the leaking roof of a ramshackle stand it was ground hopping 'porn', basically as good as it gets.

Formby's most well known resident is George , The Ukelele Man
But despite the lovely surroundings Formby came to town to win an FA Cup tie  , and that they did , by dispatching of  Bacup very  readily. Despite the long journey, strong winds , monsoon rain storms etc  as George would say ... "it's turned our nice again"



Other Reading:
Well respected FA Cup Hopper Paul Kirkwood's blog Up For The Cup is a very enjoyable read. He was also at Bacup and his report is excellent. take a look here