Scotland's most beautiful football ground is such a pastoral delight that even Subbuteo noticed
Hampden has its awesome roar; Wembley its elegant arch – Glebe Park, uniquely in world football, has its humble hedge. Football grounds come in many shapes and sizes, but – let’s not beat about the bush here – none can surpass Brechin City’s home patch for pure charm.
If there is a more picturesque enclosure from which to view a match, then it must be hiding in a forest somewhere, or be lost halfway up a mountain. Watching a match at Brechin – with its backdrop of tall trees, church spires and abundant greenery – redefines Pele’s description of football as ‘the beautiful game’.
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Add to that the smell of warm grain, wafting from the neighbouring distillery, as well as a soundtrack of blackbirds, sparrow hawks and gulls, and you have the complete multi-sensory experience.
Keats would have been a fan
Topping it all off is Glebe Park’s jewel in the crown – its celebrated boundary hedge, which runs halfway along the ground’s north side. When those beech leaves turn russet in autumn, the ground has a mellow air that would have had John Keats waxing lyrical.
And now, thanks to the handiwork of Brechin groundsman Neil Wood, another feature has been added to the venue’s many attractions. Wood’s swirling, geometric patterns in the grass – hailed the “most stunning in Scotland” on social media – created such a sensation that tabletop football manufacturers Subbuteo featured the Glebe Park pitch in an advert.
Wood, in his 18th year as groundsman, first attended Glebe Park in 1969 and has been hooked ever since, having served as a ball boy, programme seller and gate checker before turning his attention to the pitch.
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Hide AdStorm Babet hit Brechin hard last autumn, but for this time-served greenkeeper – expert in the arts of aeration, scarification and topdressing – it was just another challenge in his ongoing quest for pitch perfection.
“The pitch is okay in summer but it’s hard graft the rest of the year,” says Wood, who is happy for a local landscape gardener to maintain the hedge while he focuses on the playing surface. “It can be a tough shift after the match if the pitch has cut up, and it can easily mean up to 30 hours a week if the weather’s bad, or games are piling up.”
‘Many special memories’
Brechin’s micro-climate means that Wood faces different challenges from his counterparts working for local rivals Forfar, Montrose and Arbroath. “I’ve seen it minus 2 here when it’s 14 degrees in Arbroath,” says Wood, “and that doesn’t help growth – even if you water the pitch, it just sits there.”
“Glebe Park is basically a field that’s been turned into a football pitch, but it’s probably changed more in the past ten years than it did in the 90 years before thanks to a new drainage system installed about ten years ago. That’s made a difference but, for me, this job is something I love to do, so I come here when I can and get on with it. Brechin City has always been part of my life and I hold many special memories of Glebe Park.”
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Hide AdThese have been less cherished in recent seasons as the club, which was playing in the second tier of Scotland’s national leagues just seven seasons ago, went into freefall. City dropped out of Scotland’s professional divisions in 2021 and now compete in the Highland League. Hopes are high that they can win promotion back to the national league set-up next spring, despite just missing out in the past two seasons.
Promotion hunt
Cynics often scoff at lower league attendances but, despite the odds being stacked against smaller clubs, their enduring appeal is remarkable. Three times this year, Brechin’s home crowds have exceeded 1,000. Were Premier League St Mirren to draw a similar proportion of Paisley’s population, their ground would be full, with 2,000-plus fans locked outside.
“We’re fortunate to have such a loyal fan base,” says the club’s commercial director Darren Taylor. “Relegation from the Scottish League was initially hard to comprehend – for the fans, the club and the town – but we accept where we are now and are determined to bounce back.”
Taylor began a three-year spell as Brechin’s first-team coach in 2012 before moving on to pastures new and returning in a commercial capacity last season. “I loved my time as a coach here and my experience echoed that of so many people associated with the club over the years – it’s hard not to catch the Brechin City bug.
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Hide Ad“Glebe Park is a special place and not just because of its iconic hedge – having turned out here as a player (for, whisper it, Montrose), it’s always been a good pitch to play on.”
Nomadic football fans
This weekend’s Scottish Cup second-round tie with fellow Highland side Huntly is a welcome change from league action. “It’s a time to dream and an opportunity to bring in additional revenue,” says Taylor. “We are determined to reach the later rounds and maybe, just maybe, land a bumper tie against one of the big guns.”
The club anticipates 600-700 spectators against Huntly, including around 50 ‘groundhoppers’ – those wandering football enthusiasts who travel far and wide to watch games in as many stadiums as possible.
Footballing nomads are not the only ones drawn to Glebe Park, however. Many supporters of Scottish League clubs, missing an away day like no other, long for Brechin’s return to the national stage and it’s not hard to see why.
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Hide AdIn the robust world of lower league football, where agricultural tackles are not uncommon and industrial language isn’t unheard of, Glebe Park – with its fabled hedge and fabulously patterned pitch – offers something altogether more pastoral.
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