Wealdstone is in the London Borough of Harrow and the club is based in Ruislip.  It’s about 3 miles north of Wembley stadium.  Wealdstone play at Grosvenor Vale (their home since 2008) which has a capacity of 4,085.  They share the ground with Watford FC’s Women.

Wealdstone was formally established as a club in 1899.  They are a semi-pro team who achieved promotion to the National League for the second time in their history in 2020, following a covid-curtailed season.  In their 4 seasons back in the 5th tier they have finished 19th, 16th, 13th (their best ever league finish), & 16th.

Plans to move to a new ground in Harrow in 2004 were scuppered by financial issues.  This proposed new home later became The Hive, home to Barnet FC.  Barnet remain Wealdstone’s main football rivals.  However, alternative new stadium plans are afoot and Wealdstone could be in a new home in coming years.

By Supporters Coach – This is by far the cheapest and easiest way to travel.  For the rest of this season away travel is £5 per person for everybody.  Away travel is subsidised by FGR and the Supporters Club.  For full details go to Away Travel Offer – Remaining games (24/25) | WE ARE FGR.  Coaches leave the New Lawn at 1030 (Sainsburys at 1045, Stonehouse at 1100).  For more details of coach pick-up points etc go to FGR Away Travel – Forest Green Rovers Supporters Club (fgrsc.com)

Book your coach ticket from FGR Tickets | WE ARE FGR or by phone on 0333 123 1889 Monday to Friday, between 9am and 3pm. (Closed Wednesdays)

Please try to book as early as you can as seats will be on a first come first served basis..

By Car – The address for car travellers is Grosvenor Vale, Ruislip, HA4 6JQ.  It is a journey of about 100 miles that should take around 2 hours.  There is a good amount of parking at the ground – it is field parking (which may be closed in very wet weather).  There is also a reasonable amount of street parking near to the ground.

By Train – Ruislip has five railway/underground stations: Ruislip and Ruislip Manor both on the Metropolitan Line and the Piccadilly Line; West Ruislip and Ruislip Gardens are on the Central Line. West Ruislip is also on the Chiltern Main line out of London Marylebone.  South Ruislip is a bit further away from Grosvenor Vale but is also on the Central Line and the Chiltern Main Railway Line.

Ruislip station is a five-minute walk from the stadium (marginally nearer than Ruislip Manor).

Adult return fares (invariably via Paddington) are just over £50 and the journey will take around 3 hours.  There are plenty of options to get there and back on the same day.

Grosvenor Road is often described as ‘quirky’.  It is a ground where sections have been added piecemeal over the years, making it something of a hotchpot stadium, but not without charm.  A unique feature is a towering concrete gun turret at its northeast corner that was used to protect nearby Northolt Aerodrome from German bombing during World War II.  It is brightly painted in white & blue like the rest of the stadium, though slightly overshadowed by the ‘Couch Corner’ stand at that end of the ground.

Ticket prices are the same whether you are standing or seated and are good value, ranging from £7 for u-19’s to £18 for adults.

Wealdstone’s Grosvenor Road.

Wealdstone have been flirting with relegation for much of the season.  They are 19th in the league.  Their vital 1-0 home win against Boston on Tuesday moved them away from the last of the relegation places.  This is unlikely to be an easy game for Rovers.  Wealdstone have recently hit a streak of form with 6 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw since mid February.   They are just 2 points clear of the relegation places.

The return game was in September and finished 2-2.  Goals for Christian Doidge and Adam May meant Rovers were 2 goals ahead after 6 minutes but Wealdstone came back and eventually equalised in the 89th minute.

Perhaps much of the credit for Wealdstone’s recent form improvement should go to their manager, Neil Gibson, who was only appointed at the end of January.

Last season Wealdstone finished 16th in the league, 4 points clear of Borehamwood, who were relegated.  The club rang the managerial changes last season, dismissing one manager in Jan ’24, then another in March when they sat in the relegation places.  Their 1st team coach took over for the final 5 games of the season and succeeded in winning 3 of them.  This hauled Wealdstone clear of relegation.  Matt Taylor was appointed in May ’24 but then moved to be in charge of Solihull Moors in Jan ’25.

Wealdstone’s top scoring strikers both left the club quite recently.  Alex Reid was recalled from loan by Oldham in January and fellow striker Sam Ashford was transferred to Woking more recently.  Between them the pair had scored 20 goals this season.  But Reid has now returned to Wealdstone on loan again and must probably be considered their main striking threat.  The 6ft 4 in forward has 14 goals in 29 appearances and is, by some distance, Wealdstone’s top marksman.

Alex Reid (number 22) – Wealdstone’s leading scorer.

Mustapha Carayol (number 11) is one of a few new players the Stones have recruited recently.  A wide player, and a former Gambian international, he is able to play through the middle as either an attacking midfielder or a striker and with a lot of experience up to Championship level.

The ‘Stones’ (or sometimes the ‘Royals’) were formed in 1899.  Their home ground was Lower Mead in Harrow until 1991.  After this they were nomadic and played without their own home ground until they settled at Grosvenor Vale in 2008.

The club were in the National League (then the Alliance Premier League) in the 1980’s.  They won the league in 1985, but this was 2 years before automatic promotion to the EFL began.  So the club has never been an EFL side.  They suffered years of decline between 1988 and 2004, including the loss of their home ground.  Finally, in 2020 were promoted back to the 5th tier for the first time in 32 years.  They have been a ‘lower-half’ side in their 4 seasons in the National League – 13th their best finish.

Wealdstone’s Vale ground.

In spite of the club’s name, they play quite a few miles away from Wealdstone, which is in the London Borough of Harrow.  Instead, the club are in the London Borough of Hillingdon, just south of Ruislip.  This is close to RAF Northolt and the A.40 Oxford to London road.

The area is very much London suburbia, without any stand-out attractions locally.  You may be tempted by Ruislip Lido with its beach and miniature railway (just to the north of Ruislip)!

Ruislip Lido.

This is the eponymous Weald Stone that is said to have once marked a local boundary.  It’s unusual in that it’s a sarsen stone (same as Stonehenge and Avebury).  Nobody’s really sure how it got to London.  It would be easy to overlook in it’s home outside the Bombay Central restaurant!

If you have heard of Wealdstone, it may be because of internet celebrity (and Wealdstone FC fan) Gordon Hill aka ‘The Wealdstone Raider’.  As well as 70,000 followers on X, The Wealdstone Raider released a charity single at Christmas 2014 titled ‘Got no Fans’.  The song originated as a taunt of opposition fans during a match between Whitehawk FC and Wealdstone FC.  It charted at number 5 in the Christmas singles charts (only beaten by Ben Haenow, Mark Ronson, Olly Murs, and Ed Sheeran!)

58 year-old builder and roofer, Gordon Hill, became an internet and chart sensation in 2014 as The Wealdstone Raider.  Gordon donates proceeds to Great Ormond Street Hospital.