There I was on the cusp of the clocks going back and, in the gloom, walking up a track from Flint Station, having taken a train from Chester, beyond the castle ruins and the banks of the estuary, looking for the home ground of Flint Mountain.
Carrying on walking, I was suddenly in the path of a man with a broken Eastern European accent who told me "Flint Mountain play up the mountain".
Somehow it did not seem believable, particularly as I had been corrected in my assertion that there is a mountain range in Flint. For that 'try Snowdonia' said one.
It was both comical and curious, and I clearly misread Google maps, but the mystery still needed unravelling.
Reaching the ground, I was then told by a club official that Flint Mountain share the ground of Flint Town United and that there was no need to go in search of that elusive snow-capped Alpine phenomena in the town. I was already there!
The accent of the Eastern European gentleman approaching me before the ground made me consider how I hear accents. For me, much of the sounds heard during my weekend stay in North Wales were scouse. Apparently, scouse originates from a mixture of Irish and Welsh sounds, both nations linked culturally to the city of Liverpool.
Going to Non-League grounds one often finds the unexpected. For much of the time, going to these places is a journey into the unknown. Once orientated to the place, I spent time admiring the castle and the estuary. I observed the sight of a carved sculpture of a local woman with a basket of fish sitting before the castle.
I went in search of dinner in a town that looked like it had seen better days, but the people were warm, and I was told that the town is going through some regeneration.
It reminded me of some other grounds visited for my two books 'Hinterlands', the left behind areas where Non-League or in this case Welsh League football is played.
This story is from the January - February 2025 edition of Late Tackle Football Magazine.
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This story is from the January - February 2025 edition of Late Tackle Football Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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