Ooh La La - I am headed for the Frenchfields Stadium in August !

The die is cast – the first staging post on the road to Wembley from Scotland will be Penrith! At lunchtime today the draw for the Extra Preliminary Round of the FA Cup 2016-17 was made and the tie that will be staged closest to the England / Scotland border is the tie between Penrith and Sunderland RCA. Penrith on Saturday the 6^th August here I come. I am really looking forward to visiting The Frenchfields Stadium in Penrith.

 

The well appointed Frenchfields Stadium in Penrith

Living in Scotland and working in the East Midlands of England for the last 8 years I have driven past Penrith FC’s well appointed ground about 500 times as I have charged over the A66. I have often thought about trying to drop in on a match day but never managed it. The ‘Road to Wembley from Scotland’ is about to provide this opportunity. I am looking forward to it already.

 

The main stand at the picturesque Frenchfields Stadium

I don’t know much about Sunderland RCA yet, but I will be getting in touch with the men from Wearside in advance of the tie. I have already been in touch with Penrith via their twitter feed and I will be hoping they can help me out with a ‘Scottish link’ to their club. Watch this space.

The draw for the Preliminary Round was also made at lunchtime and the winners of the Penrith v Sunderland RCA tie will travel to either Dunston UTS or Barnoldswick Town. A visit to Dunston with all their tradition or to the picturesque village of Barnoldswick on the 20^th August has also got me salivating. This is going to be some journey!