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Millhead F.C.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Millhead
Full nameMillhead Football Club
GroundIodine Park
Coordinates54°08′09″N 2°46′08″W / 54.1357°N 2.7688°W / 54.1357; -2.7688
LeagueWestmorland League
Division 3

Millhead Football Club are a football club based in the village of Millhead, near Carnforth, England.

Millhead have existed since at least the 1920s.[1] As of 2024–25, they play in Division 3 of the Westmorland League.[2]

Iodine Park

[edit]
snow-covered football pitch with rock-faces behind
Iodine Park in January 2010

Millhead play their home games at Iodine Park. A former gravel pit, the name was acquired in the 1950s due to the wounds received by players from stones in the topsoil: iodine being traditionally used to treat such injuries.[1] GAA club Clanna Gael used to play at a ground with the same nickname, so-called again for its propensity to cause injury.[3]

Junior teams from nearby Warton also play at Iodine Park.[4][5]

In the 2020 book British Football's Greatest Grounds by Mike Bayly, Iodine Park was voted one of the top grounds to visit in the country.[1] Bayly writes:

Shoehorned into a disused quarry at the end of a narrow grit road, with a pitch that barely exceeds minimum width requirements, Iodine Park has carved a reputation as one of the most unique football venues in Britain.

Iodine Park has been described as "A National Treasure".[6] Its unusual features led to it be featured on the Spanish football show El día después in 2019.[7][8] It also featured in a Sky TV documentary called Mission to Burnley.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Bayly, Mike (2020). British Football's Greatest Grounds: One Hundred Must-See Football Venues. Pitch Publishing. pp. 13–14. ISBN 9-781785-316470.
  2. ^ "Millhead". The Football Association.
  3. ^ Carr, Eamon. "Decade of the Dubs 1950s-1960s". Irish Independent.
  4. ^ "Warton Warriors Football Team". Warton Village.
  5. ^ "Warton Warriors U16 Green". The Football Association.
  6. ^ "Millhead". The Onion Bag. September 2017.
  7. ^ "'Iodine Park', el campo del yodo" (in Spanish). El día después. 28 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Spanish camera crew turn up to film Millhead v Marsh clash". Lancaster Guardian. 14 October 2019.
  9. ^ Chapman, Ross (17 August 2023). "Carnforth football team's unique quarryside ground appears on Sky TV". Beyond Radio.