You don’t have to stray far from my own County to find some of the best, Belper and Matlock are right up there, but even then you only have to travel an hour or more up the M1 into West Yorkshire and you can find some absolute belters.

I would also say that some of the venues I’ve been to in Wales have been absolutely stunning in terms of the views and the backdrops, but, I can honestly say, when we strolled around the Hillard Park home of Ambleside Unted recently, it jumped to the top of the pile.
The Lake District holiday was in full swing, and to be truthful, I wasn’t overly fussed about a midweek game because everything looked to be a good hike away. Until of course I spotted one that was a mere five minute walk away from where we were staying, and, it was a local derby against Windermere Social Club, who are based just four miles away from Ambleside.

Hillard Park (anyone else used to go to Hillards in Alfreton for the big shop, before it changed to Tesco?), is located just to the South of the centre of Ambleside, with a park separating it from the shops and the pubs etc. It’s also right behind the main car park that serves the town, so location wise, it’s pretty much perfect.
To access it you can either cut through the park or enter via the car park, but either way, it is a fully enclosed ground that is privately owned, with a large dressing room block sitting towards one end of the North side line, with a covered area in front of it where you can stand and watch the game and be sheltered from the elements.

Otherwise, you’ve got narrow grass banking down the opposite side to the dressing rooms and also half way along behind the Western goal. Even taking the scenery out of the equation for a moment, the actual setting of the ground, with it's tree lined perimeter and fields makes it a lovely spot to watch football. We chose to stand opposite the dressing rooms and from that vantage point it’s where you can truly see the natural beauty that surrounds you.

The mountain region that sits to the North of Lake Windermere, including Helvellyn, dominate the vista, and earlier during the day we’d been treated to the noisy but awesome sight of RAF Typhoons flying low on exercise through the area. You couldn’t help but be awe inspired by the backdrop, but, on a lovely evening, a large crowd had assembled to watch a game that it appears had not taken place between the two clubs since the 2017-18 season.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know anything about the Westmoreland League, nor do I have much of a handle on the history of Ambleside United, but I do seem to think at one time they did compete in the West Lancashire League
What I do know is that Ambleside won promotion from the second tier of the league last season, having finished runner’s up to Kirkoswald Reserves, while the game against Windermere was to be the clubs opening league fixture of the new campaign.

The game itself was very entertaining. The hosts lead 2-1 at the break thanks to two goals from Thomas Blenkharn, one of them being a penalty and one being a screamer. The Windermere goal having initially come via Sam Harrison, which was noisily cheered by a good size away following.
The visitors piled the pressure on in the second period, and it did look as though they had run out of steam but a late own goal made it 2-2 and the points were shared. On balance, it was probably a fair scoreline in the end.

I would estimate a crowd of around 150 dipped in to watch the game and I’m sure no one could have had any complaints about what they were treated to, or for that matter, the location that they chose to spend ninety minutes in.

Hillard Park is a stunner, and we commented as to what the scenery might be like on a winter’s afternoon, with snow sat on top of the mountains. Having said that, despite the excellent condition of the pitch, and the heavy rain of the previous 24 hours, I’m not sure I’d risk a journey in January or February, I can imagine it’s a bit treacherous on various levels.

So that was the Lake District holiday, we just had the Sheepdog Trials and Hunting Dog Show up the road in Rydal the following day, and that was an eye opener to say the least. That said, it was still the cheapest pint of the week!

If you are in the area, and looking for some football though, make Ambleside United your first port of call, it will certainly not disappoint.