We did the Saturday and Sunday legs of this year's West Lancs Hop.
I did the driving on Saturday, which was in and around the Lancaster area, and on Sunday Katie drove to the outskirts of Bolton, with Lee being our navigator on both days
All the grounds are similar, with railed off pitch, team benches and good clubhouse facilities. Admission for all matches was a fiver (except Stoneclough who charged £6) and I purchased pin badges for all six grounds from Terry Hall
29th August 2026
993. Caton Sports Field
Caton United 1 Langho 5
Division Two md7
14th v 10th
11am ko
Att.241
After a tight first half it was the visitors who took charge in the second period, running out 5-1 winners.
7’ 0-1 Edward Drake
55’ 0-2 Max McLaughlin
57’ 0-3 Callum Darcy
67’ 1-3 Jack Curwen
73’ 1-4 Edward Drake
90+2’ 1-5 Joel Phelps
994.York Road Playing Field
Storeys 7 Hawcoat Park 0
Division Two md7
6th v 15th
2pm ko
Att.253
The works team Storey Bros of Lancaster FC can be traced back to 1887, when the club played at Giant Axe, the home of Lancaster City. The club had one of the best set ups in the North Lancashire League and had a few ground moves before settling at York Road during the 1950s. Storeys won the Premier Division title in 1991, then their best period came in the 2000s. winning 13 trophies in nine years, including being Premier champions five times. They joined the West Lancs in 2019, but haven’t progressed from Division 2.A convincing win for the hosts, with three players on a hat-trick with a quarter of the game remaining. As it turned out it was the big centre-half who notched his third and not the two strikers.
Cameron Hollywood 11’,19’
Joel Creech 41’ 64’ 88’
Issac Fenton 43’,46’
995.Galgate Recreation Ground
Galgate 2 Appley Bridge 3
Division Two md8
12th v 7th
5pm ko
Att.268
Galgate FC was founded in 1888 and known as The Silkboys due to the village’s silk mill heritage. The club made an appearance in the FA Cup in 1949, losing 5-3 away at Fleetwood. They joined the West Lancs in 2018 and are another club who have struggled to progress up to Division One. After a heavy downpour before the match and persistent rain throughout, it turned out to be the best game of the day, with a last minute clincher for the away side.
12’ 0-1 Harley Ray
44’ 1-1 Callum Moore
62’ Red Card Kyle Lewis (Galgate)
64’ 1-2 pen Danny Atkins
68’ 2-2 Ben McMeeking
90+2’ 2-3 Danny Atkins
30th August 2026
996.Fox Park
Stoneclough 3 Chipping 2
Division One md8
4th v 1st
11am ko
Att.324
Stoneclough were formed in 1986 by a bunch of local lads wanting to play within the community. The club played at Stoneclough Playing Fields and were the dominant side in the Bolton Combination during the 1990s.In 2001, the club finally gained the ground lease on Brook Street and entry into the West Lancs League. They won promotion in 2004-05, then won the Division One title in 2007-08 to reach the Premier Division. The club found themselves back in Division Two in 2024, but won promotion again last season as runners-up.
This was the only ground to have a stand, because it was used to film scenes for the Netflix series, "The English Game" when a small Victorian style stand was erected, with the structure left for the club to use when filming was completed.
An entertaining game was decided by a cracking volley by Joe Howlin, ten minutes from time.
10’ 0-1 Ethan Edmundson
14’ 1-1 Lewis Greenhalgh
36’ 2-1 Joe Howlin
67’ Red Card Troy Bentley (Stoneclough)
74’ 2-2 Aaron Hewitt
80’ 3-2 Joe Howlin
997.Eagley Sports Complex
Eagley 2 Hurst Green 2
Premier Division md8
3th v 7th
2pm ko
Att.359
Originally called Eagley Mills FC, the club is one of the country’s oldest amateur clubs, tracing back to 1877. They were Preston North End’s first opponents in 1878 and the first club Bolton Wanderers faced in the FA Cup in 1881 (a 5-5 draw, 0-1 in the replay) After the war the club played in the Bolton Combination, becoming league champions in 1965-66. Eagley joined the West Lancs League in 1988, winning Division Two at the third attempt. After reaching the Premier Division, the club were relegated in 2017, but won the Division One title in 2023-24 and are currently the West Lancs champions, winning the Premier Division last season.
Hurst Green amazingly grabbed a point with two stoppage time goals.
42’ 1-0 Finlay Stafford
67’ 2-0 Cormac O’Mahony
90+2’ 2-1 Jake Craven
90+3’ 2-2 Dave Bowlin
998.Thomason Fold
Turton 0 Carnforth Rangers 3
Division One md8
5th v 2nd
5pm ko
Att.314
The original Turton FC formed in 1871, playing a major part in the formation of the Lancashire FA. In 1879-80 they played in the FA Cup for the first time and took part in the first Lancashire Cup competition. The club played in the Lancashire Combination and were dominant in the Lancashire Junior Cup, lifting it four times at the turn of the century, then adding the Lancashire Amateur Shield in 1913. Turton joined the West Lancs in 1987-88, winning Division Two in their debut season. The club won Division One in 2015-16, but were relegated from the Premier Division in 2024.
Carnforth had the game wrapped up by half time, scoring three times without reply.
Cameron Holmes 11’pen, 44’
Jack Johnson 37’
