Craigroyston

Craigroyston FC are a Scottish non league club from the capital Edinburgh. The club were formed as recently as 1976 as the manager of Eyemouth United, Rab Melrose had built a side consisting of players mainly from Edinburgh. They reasoned that it would be easier to form their own club and base themselves near to home.

Their club name was decided when they arranged to play their home games at Craigroyston Community Centre. They were soon successful having a good run in the Scottish Qualifying Cup leading to a move to share City Park with Spartans. They remained there until 1998 when they moved into their own home ground at St Mark's Park in the Warriston district of the city.

Craigroyston won promotion from the First Division in 2005-06 as champions, but they were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2007-08 season as a result of financial difficulties. 'Craigie' continued to try to regroup and win promotion back to the higher status under the managership of Ross McNeil, which led to a fifth place finish at the end of the 2011-12 season.

Craigroyston FC will play in the East of Scotland League First Division in the 2013-14 season.


My visit

Tuesday 29th January 2013

Google Maps are a tremendous tool when trying to put together a days groundhopping in a major city, and as with Maryhill in Glasgow a few years previously I came across an unmarked football ground in Edinburgh that needed further research. How we managed before the internet continues to baffle me, as after more reading I found out all about Craigroyston, a club I'd never even heard of before.

I had just been inside the Easter Road home of Hibernian and had taken a good uphill walk across Leith Walk, up McDonald Road near to where the old Powderhall Stadium once stood and into St Mark's Park.

Craigroyston's clubhouse and changing rooms were a few yards just outside the ground adjacent to a kids playground. A path led to the grounds entrance, which was locked but I could see inside to see the basic venue, which consisted of nothing more than a railed off pitch, dug outs and a thick metal railed fence around the arena. As a man was walking an Alsatian inside I didn't want to attract too much attention!

Satisfied that I'd seen another new venue I continued past some allotments and a crematorium up to Ferry Road, ready to visit the decaying former shared home of Craigie's at City Park.