Silverlands Friendly Saturday 5th July 2014
Buxton & Chesterfield played out a score draw on a pleasant afternoon in the Peak District in their pre season friendly.
Programme- £1. not much in there hence the reduced price
I was asked by Nick if I fancied going to Buxton- he’d been there before and enjoyed it and with it being a new ground for me, I was up for it too.
It posed me a question of how to get there. Do I go right round Sheffield, Stockport and down to Buxton on the train (slightly more expensive) or do I take the more picturesque route via Matlock, then getting a bus up to Buxton. Despite not being a bus fan, I went for the ‘shorter’, cheaper route and took on the Derwent Valley line for the first time.
Armed with my camera and (as it turned out) not enough money I hopped on the 1120 box towards Matlock. 1 coach with a family of 8 on there right in front of me who thought they were the only ones on the train judging by their noise level (why is it on all these box services do you get these types of family on them- Nottm-Skeg, Derby-Crewe, this one and apparently Nottm-Worksop)
The bit to Derby was uneventful as I’ve been on that section loads of times. It filled up at Long Eaton and was still full after leaving Derby. Unlike the services I used to get when I lived in Derby, this train did stop at Duffield and Belper. Two island platforms and the former housing the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway towards Wirksworth.
Duffield- home of the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. Separate to the mainline tracks
Then the interesting bit started once we diverted off the Main line and headed for Ambergate. It used to be a triangle station with it being on a junction but the midland main line passes through it now, the line connecting Buxton (used to be Manchester) and Chesterfield is gone and all which remains is a single track line and 1 platform for the Matlock service. Also of note here is that the driver must manually adjust the points using a key to ensure mainline trains stay to the mainline, as there are no passing loops on this line.
Just visible is the driver changing the points and contacting a signal box at Ambergate
From there, it was another short sprint to Whatstandwell, with it’s disused platform (used to be the Manchester to derby Platform) still clearly visible and with the nature taking over. It also had a sign with 1894-1994, presumably denoting 100 years of the station on this site.
Whatstandwell disused platform
It was a similar story at Cromford, where the waiting room on their disused platform is now a holiday hotel! As you can see, the disused platform is in much better condition.
Cromford station former waiting room and footbridge
Finally, the train did begin to empty as we rolled into Matlock Bath, before the terminus at Matlock. I only had 10 minutes to catch the TransPeak bus to Buxton, but grabbed a few shots of what is the end of the Nottingham-Matlock line and the start of the heritage line towards Rowsley (this used to run through Bakewell, along what’s now the Monsal Trail up through Buxton, Stockport and eventually to Manchester)
Matlock now has 2 fully refurbished platforms. One for the Nottingham trains, the recently renovated Platform 2 for the PeakRail services.
Looking North at Matlock Station
And the view south
After grabbing a few shots, it was the 1237 bus to Buxton. This was a scenic journey through some very nice villages. It gradually got busier but then with some sort of fete going on in Bakewell, almost everyone got off and then it was a largely uneventful run towards Buxton.
Arriving outside the train station at 1:35, I had 10 minutes to grab a few shots and wait for Nick to arrive. Buxton was also remarkably picturesque and its terminus train station. This has always been a terminus but Buxton did have another station right next to it for the 2 lines which went through towards Matlock and Uttoxeter.
Buxton station looking north towards the junction and signal box
Nick had warned me to expect a big hill between the station and the ground and I thought it might be a decent little hike. Seriously, it must have been 30 degrees in places. We must have climbed 20 metres whilst only actually going forwards 50 or 60. Certainly if I were Buxton, I’d force the visiting team to park their bus in the market square and walk to the ground!
The once train line which joined at Uttoxeter. Now used as a freight line to serve local industry. This lies right next to the ground
The Silverlands was right next to the railway above and it reminded me of the Northolme (Gainsborough) in its layout. Main stand which runs part the length of the pitch, covered terrace opposite then to it’s left is an open end and to it’s right is a covered terrace. It is decked out in blue as well, though the Bucks were to play in all red today, which was a surprise. It was still better than Chesterfield, who played in a training top with no numbers!
It was £6 for students (£9 for adults) but incredibly, they checked the date on my student card! Maybe it was because the Uni of Derby sponsored them (Buxton Campus) or what but I’ve never before been asked for the expiry date on my student card. They were very vigilant but luckily it expires before September. It was like being at a Football League game in that sense!
Covered side (southern end)
Open end
Covered railway end
Main stand
Nick was after a teamsheet and was told to see a bloke who was running their souvenir shop. There was some old programmes in there bus sadly no Boston ones. It wouldn’t have mattered as I was now having to borrow money as I had forgotten to take any out and was out! But I can see why he felt it was a very friendly club. I suppose when you have crowds of around 300, it is imperative to keep any fans who do turn out so treating them as friends is the best way to do this. I felt it was a warm welcome, to match the weather. I’d have to experience it in the height of winter though. That will would resemble a downhill ski slope!
Chesterfield had brought a decent contingent with them in the crowd of 495 but once the game begun, Buxton looked by far the more dangerous side in the first half. Chesterfields new-look XI taking time to acclimatise to their unfamiliar roles looked out of sorts and Buxton should have been a couple of goals up quite early on – only for the ball not to fall in the box and for a block on the line, but on 29 minutes, new signing Shaun Tuton managed to turn past a couple of challenges to slam home from just inside the box to give the hosts the well deserved lead.
They looked threatening until half time, playing some neat stuff. chesterfields only effort on goal being a free kick which was well over and a half hearted penalty shout for handball.
Paul Cook sent out 10 new outfield players for the 2nd half and the more experienced side began to get a foothold in the game. They looked quite dangerous down their right- Jay O’Shea impressed with some lively work and good trickery and was rewarded with the equaliser with 10 minutes to play. This coming not long after the hosts almost went 2 up as Alastair Taylor pounced on a spilled cross by Liam Matthews but his goalbound effort was blocked on the line by Charlie Raglan.
Chesterfield looked more likely to win it- a couple of headers going just wide but in all, a draw was about fair. A much better, much more intense 2nd half from Chesterfield earning them a draw and afterwards Paul Cook declared himself happy with how his side had got on in their first outing of pre season.
After the game, Nick (who eventually got his teamsheet and the teamsheet which was on display too) and I had half an hour to wait as his train wasn’t due out til 1727 and my bus until 1734. Sadly for me, the bus was late and with lengthy stops at the market to pick up people heading for the evening out in Bakewell- I would be struggling to get off the bus and down to Matlock station in the 7 minutes scheduled.
It became clear we’d arrive far too late so I planned to have a wander round Matlock with nearly an hour to kill. The bus was over capacity and when I did get off, we were 10 minutes late. I had a wander to Matlock Town’s ground- Causeway Lane. Luckily, it was open as there was a cricket game going on! One end has nothing and the boundary backs on to the pitch a little so there was a nice ground, similar to Buxton’s with a very similar layout (albeit probably not quite as good although it has a lovely new main stand)
Main Stand at Matlock
Cricket ground end
Old Main stand
Covered end terrace
Scoreboard
Pavilion
Match action
After a brief visit there, I wandered north to have a look at the Riverside station platform. This was the Matlock stop for PeakRail whilst the northbound platform was being refurbished and Riverside is no longer in use by PeakRail
Matlock Riverside platform and signal box
From there, I figured I could probably walk to Matlock Bath station in the time I had (30 mins). This is about 1.5 miles away and the line ran alongside the river, which ran alongside the main road, so there was bound to be a bridge crossing somewhere!
With time beginning to run out, were I to bail out and head back to the station I knew, I first head a train going towards Matlock. so I knew I was close, then i saw the high wire cable cars like you see on Ski slopes. I knew I right close to it and sure enough, hot and sweats after running it, I found Matlock Bath station. This has only 1 platform- the side of the other platform appears to be a footpath but the station building are still there and I waited for the 1939 train to crawl into view.
Looking north towards Matlock
Looking south towards Cromford
Matlock Bath front
Matlock Bath station buildings
Again, joined by some people who were about to go on the lash in Derby, it wasn’t a quiet trip back, but I finally rolled into Nottingham at 8:40pm and just about caught the Costa Rica v Holland match.
All in all, very eventful but I’d recommend the trip if you haven’t been to this part of the world before.
Buxton (4-4-2): Reid; Byrne (Taylor HT), Palmer, Young, Green (Byrne 65); Stevens, Istead (Amesbury 72), Niven, King; Hardy (Davies 58), Tuton.
Chesterfield First Half (4-4-2): Matthews; Massey, Evatt, Cooper, Maguire; Dawes, Hird, Sugden, Michael; Humphreys, Doyle.
Second Half (4-2-3-1): Matthews; Darikwa, Broadhead, Raglan, Jones; Ryan, Morsy; O’Shea, Gardner, Roberts; Gnanduillet.
Goals: Tuton (Buxton); O’Shea (Chesterfield.
Referee: Nigel Smith (Chesterfield).
Attendance: 495 ( mostly Chesterfield)
Match Rating: 7/10
Next game- West Bridgford v Radford in a friendly on Monday a little closer to home
Thanks for reading!
Josh
Under The Floodlights 