Tims 92

Queen of the South

Palmerston Park

Ground No. 114

Visited - Tuesday 2nd January 2007
Result - Queen of the South 0-4 Gretna
Competition - Scottish Football League Division One
Attendance - 3714

As well as doing the 92, one of my ambitions is also to complete the 42 in Scotland, and one of the most characteristic grounds north of the border is of course Palmerston Park, so when the opportunity to visit there came up, I was glad to take the chance.

With it being a Bank Holiday just in Scotland, the journey up there was a bit mixed, with the leg from Wolverhampton to Carlisle going without incident, but from Carlisle on to Dumfries having to be done by coach, which meant I didn’t get to the town until about 2:20pm unfortunately. Although later than I normally like to get to grounds, I was still in plenty of time for kick-off, and was able to go around the outside taking pictures, before going to the club shop prior to going in to the ground.

From the outside, you can spot the classic looking floodlights from some distance away, guiding you to the ground like a spire to a church, and once close it doesn’t disappoint. The rear of the Terregles Street End, immediately takes you to years gone by, with a traditional looking red-brick wall, hiding the magic within. The outside of the Main Stand is another classic football ground scene, with a pitched roof stand whilst the Portland Drive Terrace is a typical banked terrace, similar in appearance to the Edington Stand at Knowsley Road, St Helens, (or many other examples really). The only modern part of the ground is the Galloway News Stand, which still manages to fit in well.

Inside is much the same story. The Portland Drive Terrace is a large covered terrace, whilst to the right is the Main Stand, which has a strip of terracing in front of a raised section of seating which runs for about half the length of the pitch, sitting on the halfway line. At the far end is the Terregles Street Terrace, which unfortunately is disused these days, but the fans did make use of the empty space to drape flags over the crush barriers! The Galloway News Stand, whilst totally different from the other three sides doesn't look out of place, adding something to the ground as opposed looking awkward next to its older neighbours. In the four corners are the aforementioned floodlights, which look different from usual, with the tops tilting down towards the pitch.

Having taken a few pics, I found a place to stand in the Portland Drive Terrace, just as the game was starting. Before this, Gretna had been sitting top of the table, with ‘Queens’ at the opposite end, so it was no surprise when the visitors took the lead. It came on 25 minutes, although it had been the home side who had looked the brighter up until that point, but Colin McMenamin’s opener signalled the start of Gretna dominance. Gavin Skelton put them two up just after half-time, and Derek Townsley made it three, before Skelton got his second in the dying minutes to make it an easy 4-0 win for the former NPL side, with the result never seriously in doubt after an easy second half for the visitors.

With the game finished I made my way back to the station, only to find all trains cancelled, and no coaches available! Because of that, the train company was booking taxis back to Carlisle for everyone, although it ended up being a good thing when we arrived into Carlisle station with enough time for me to walk right from the car park, through the foyer, and onto the train home just as it was pulling in! From there we made good time back, arriving home just before 9pm.

Overall, I was glad to have made the journey, despite the trains doing their best to disrupt it! The ground is a classic, and should the plans to replace the two ends with modern stands come to fruition then it will be a real shame, as there are few left in Britain, let alone just Scotland with as much character as Palmerston Park.