On the Road: First Division North 2025/26
Tue 22nd July 2025 | Bits & Pieces | By Ben Wilkinson
In advance of the start of the new campaign, we take a look at the distances travelled by the club's in each division over the course of the next ten months.
Firstly we shall dive into the First Division North, consisting of 18 clubs once again this season. Changes from last season include two sides promoted from Step 7 as we welcome Fulwood Amateurs and MSB Woolton into our system. Two clubs come the other way also as Squires Gate and Colne finished below the dotted line in last season's Premier Division. Making way for those four are Atherton LR, Euxton Villa, Route One Rovers and Skelmersdale United, who between them have left the division in every possible direction.
The headline figure is the total distance to be travelled by clubs in 2025/26 - a whopping 25,359 miles! In an 18-team division there are 306 matches to get through, leading to an average round-trip per game of a shade under 83 miles. However, all things are not created equal and there are some mammoth journeys to be undertaken between now and April - mainly involving Holker Old Boys!
The longest trek of the lot will be made by Holker and new boys MSB Woolton; the away side will embark on a 224-mile round-trip when those two face off against each other, the first of those matches being at MSB Woolton's temporary home of Jericho Lane on Saturday 30th August. There are two other match-ups involving 200+ mile journeys, those being Holker's clashes versus Droyslden (208mi) and Maine Road (200mi).
Right at the other end of the spectrum, the shortest return journey between sides in the First Division North is less than half a mile! That's right, the distance between AFC Blackpool's Mechanics Ground and Squires Gate's Skiddle Community Stadium is a matter of yards along Jepson Way and School Road in south Blackpool! Ignoring this somewhat freak stat, the next shortest round-trip is the five miles between rivals Ashton Town and Ashton Athletic.
Away from the extreme one-offs and onto averages; Darwen can consider themselves to be the centre of the division as they travel the least in total with 'just' 1016 miles on the road, for an average of just under 60 miles. Just one of their round-trips clocks in at over 100 miles, that unsurprisingly being their trip to Holker! It is of course the side from Barrow that have the highest mileage in the division - and the League - with just the 2811 miles travelled over the course of the season (over 165 per game). That's nearly double the league average!
The closest club to the average is Droylsden as the 'Bloods' have an average trip of 84 miles for the coming campaign. Their longest trip being the aforementioned journey to Holker whilst their shortest is the 7 miles each way to cross-town rivals Maine Road.
Stay tuned over the coming days for similar stats for the Premier Division and First Division South!
Please note that the figures contained in this article are obtained from Google Maps for journalistic purposes and have been rounded to the nearest mile. They should not be taken as official.
On the Road: First Division North 2025/26
Tue 22nd July 2025 | Bits & Pieces
By Ben Wilkinson
In advance of the start of the new campaign, we take a look at the distances travelled by the club's in each division over the course of the next ten months.
Firstly we shall dive into the First Division North, consisting of 18 clubs once again this season. Changes from last season include two sides promoted from Step 7 as we welcome Fulwood Amateurs and MSB Woolton into our system. Two clubs come the other way also as Squires Gate and Colne finished below the dotted line in last season's Premier Division. Making way for those four are Atherton LR, Euxton Villa, Route One Rovers and Skelmersdale United, who between them have left the division in every possible direction.
The headline figure is the total distance to be travelled by clubs in 2025/26 - a whopping 25,359 miles! In an 18-team division there are 306 matches to get through, leading to an average round-trip per game of a shade under 83 miles. However, all things are not created equal and there are some mammoth journeys to be undertaken between now and April - mainly involving Holker Old Boys!
The longest trek of the lot will be made by Holker and new boys MSB Woolton; the away side will embark on a 224-mile round-trip when those two face off against each other, the first of those matches being at MSB Woolton's temporary home of Jericho Lane on Saturday 30th August. There are two other match-ups involving 200+ mile journeys, those being Holker's clashes versus Droyslden (208mi) and Maine Road (200mi).
Right at the other end of the spectrum, the shortest return journey between sides in the First Division North is less than half a mile! That's right, the distance between AFC Blackpool's Mechanics Ground and Squires Gate's Skiddle Community Stadium is a matter of yards along Jepson Way and School Road in south Blackpool! Ignoring this somewhat freak stat, the next shortest round-trip is the five miles between rivals Ashton Town and Ashton Athletic.
Away from the extreme one-offs and onto averages; Darwen can consider themselves to be the centre of the division as they travel the least in total with 'just' 1016 miles on the road, for an average of just under 60 miles. Just one of their round-trips clocks in at over 100 miles, that unsurprisingly being their trip to Holker! It is of course the side from Barrow that have the highest mileage in the division - and the League - with just the 2811 miles travelled over the course of the season (over 165 per game). That's nearly double the league average!
The closest club to the average is Droylsden as the 'Bloods' have an average trip of 84 miles for the coming campaign. Their longest trip being the aforementioned journey to Holker whilst their shortest is the 7 miles each way to cross-town rivals Maine Road.
Stay tuned over the coming days for similar stats for the Premier Division and First Division South!
Please note that the figures contained in this article are obtained from Google Maps for journalistic purposes and have been rounded to the nearest mile. They should not be taken as official.
