FOLLOWING THE SALTMEN

Fairford Town v Droitwich Spa

Saturday 6th December

Cinder Lane, Fairford, GL7 4AX

According to its town council, Fairford is renowned not only for its picturesque Cotswold stone buildings, Grade I listed church and tranquil riverside setting rich with wildlife, perfect for both hikes and leisurely strolls, but also for its vibrant calendar of events that draw visitors from near and far.

It is also renowned for its picturesque Cotswold stone RAF airbase. The base is known as the venue of an international Air Tattoo, which presumably is a bit like air guitar but with its participants pretending to engrave ink onto a limb or other body part. It is not known whether the event features a soundtrack by Yngwie Malmsteen or Blue Oyster Cult.

Not every town in the Cotswolds can claim to have its own Space Shuttle Trans Oceanic Abort Landing site. Fairford can. In fact, it was the only place the recently retired space plane could land in the entire UK due to RAF Fairford’s long (9990ft) runway and NASA-trained fire and medical crews stationed on the airfield. This is excellent news if you are travelling to the game by air, you should have a safe landing.

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Fairford itself sits on the banks of the River Coln. It has a population of around 3300. Fortunately, the residents must be thirsty folk as there are five pubs in Fairford. The nearest pub to the football ground is the Railway Arms on London Road. It looks like it is around a 5 minute walk from pub to ground.

If you’re not in the mood for such a lengthy walk but still in need of hydration, the club’s Cinder Lane stadium has a bar. It also has a diner, called Spikes, which gets good reviews on t’internet. I suspect the diner is named for the club chairman, Stuart Pike

(S Pike). It may be that he is the Sky Darts commentator of the same name; but following the maelstrom of internet bitterness and recrimination after I mistakenly said that Lydney Castle was in Lydney, I am not prepared to speculate!

So, if you would prefer some good football, good company and an all round good day out, as opposed to trudging miserably round the Victorian Fair in that city down the road, come join us cheering the Saltmen on in the Cotswolds. Because…..

See you there.

Cheers

FTS