Bristol Downs League: An enormous sense of wellbeing in Bristol's historic grassroots game.

Words: Dave Harry

Images: Dave Harry

All the people.

The dog walkers. The cyclists. The joggers. The pensioners with the morning papers. The open-air drinkers.

So many people.

The footballers. The office workers. The chefs. The tractor drivers. And this being Bristol, the musicians.

It's Parklife, mate.

©Dave Harry/ Terrace Edition. Bristol Downs League.

The Downs have a special place in Bristol's heart, the vast open space provides a playground for the residents, fairgrounds stop by here, rambles begin here and Massive Attack staged the lowest carbon emissions for a festival gig here.

It’s been immortalised in countless tv series, hosted horse races, was the location for Gloucestershire Country Cricket Club's first ever county game (played with WG Grace in tow), DJ Rob Smith named his seminal mix album ‘Up On The Downs’ after it, and it hosts one of the oldest amateur football leagues in the world, The Bristol Downs League.

Founded in 1905, the league stands alone. It’s not on the English football pyramid and its structure is exclusively the preserve of the clubs that play in it; there is promotion and relegation but only within the four divisions of the league itself.

The games are played on a series of pitches that spread across the Downs. It's kind of like Hackney Marshes but with a few more hills and a more of a public park orientation.

There’s no home and away matches here, all four divisions kick-off at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon, making a communal atmosphere where love of the game comes first and foremost.

It offers football in the most pure form. Amateur. No pretence. Players get pulled up for using bad language and the games are healthily competitive.

For all but a few exceptions, changing rooms are shared and games take place alongside each other – long range clearances end up on other pitches but there’s no drama, the games continue, the ball returned to its originating game without any fuss nor pause to the match.

This is as close to jumpers for goalposts as the game gets, but don’t take that as a slur on its standard..

The games are watchable and the better sides have players who clearly could play on the pyramid but choose not to – this is an amour for the game and perhaps the proximity of one of Bristol’s many pub crawl options to the pitches, as a convenient location for post match celebration.

Or commiseration.

Sneyd Park are the league’s oldest and most successful side, a founding member who’ve won three doubles and in one season, its senior side played the club’s reserve side in the Cup Final – think Real Madrid v Castilla but on a localised level – and its senior side have always played in the top division.

The league’s second oldest side are Clifton St Vincents who joined the league in its second season and they currently play in the top division as well.

Across the leagues four divisions you find clubs represent the city’s culture and diversity in different ways; Bengal Tigers with their fetching green and red kit, include members of the local Bangladeshi community in their number whilst Jersey Rangers once included members of the former Bristol based band the Nova Saints.

It’s a joy to wonder from pitch-to-pitch and see such a love for playing the game at this level.

Plenty of park-goers stop to watch some action and, as matches begin to conclude, players stop to watch mates in other sides play their game.

Others carry kit, nets and corner flags back to their cars to take home.

A tractor charges around the pitches to collect all the goalposts ready to store them away for another day.

You don’t get that on the pyramid. It’s a lovely time out from the semi-professional and professional game… it leaves you with, ahem, an enormous sense of wellbeing.