Grosvenor Vale Stadium – Wealdstone

Wealdstone’s Grosvenor Vale is one of those quirky grounds that grow a little bit, almost imperceptibly, every time you visit. An added stand here; extra terracing there; a new tea bar; extended club shop; and oh, where did that electronic scoreboard spring from?  But it’s a ground absolutely cherished by the club’s supporters, who have completely renovated the place in the space of just six years – using entirely their own cash and skilled labour.

After leaving their iconic Lower Mead ground in 1991, the Stones spent 17 years of nomadic wandering, ground-sharing with Watford, Yeading, Edgware and then Northwood. In 2008 a number of Wealdstone directors took over the lease of Ruislip Manor Sports & Social Club in 2008, when its occupant Ruislip Manor FC folded, finally giving the Stones a permanent home at the tattered and peeling Grosvenor Vale Stadium. In just a few months the ground was spruced up, partly rebuilt and ready for Ryman Premier League football. And over the next half-dozen years, work parties have added extra covered capacity behind both goals, extra steps around the whole stadium and even an electric scoreboard.

The ground is most notable for a unique feature in British football stadia: A towering concrete gun turret at its North East corner used to protect nearby Northolt Aerodrome from German bombing during World War II. Nowadays, although brightly painted in white & blue like the rest of the stadium, it is slightly overshadowed by the ‘Couch Corner’ stand at that end of the ground, named after former club statistician Roy Couch, which is a section of covered terracing. In 2017 a six row covered seated stand, with a capacity of 360 seats, was put in place at that end next to Crouch Corner, which is the newest addition to the Vale. The stand looks a little odd as although it is level, the pitch in front slopes down from left to right. Plus it does not run the full width of the pitch. It does have some supporting pillars, running along the front of it, that could impede your view. Nonetheless, the leg room is good and it is hoped that at a later date that a cantilever roof will be installed. On one side of this stand is a catering unit.

At the opposite end is the ‘Bulla Stand’ that went up after a summer-long effort from the fans’ work parties and was opened in August 2013 for a friendly v Chelsea. This elevated covered terrace, with steel steps, has been added to again during 2014 and is home to the club’s most raucous fans. Well, they built it – why not make some noise in it?

With these piecemeal additions to the ground  (and that bizarre gun turret) it’s not surprising that Grosvenor Vale is a bit of a loveable hotch-potch. The original Ruislip Manor buildings are still there, with the Main Stand a low, corrugated-iron structure of six rows of 250 white seats. On the opposite side of the ground, a small area of 80-odd seats (with an overhang roof from the Social Club). Known as the 1966 Stand, not in recognition of that famous England World Cup victory, but more importantly Wealdstone’s victory over Hendon in the 1966 Amateur Cup Final. It is flanked by another area of covered terracing (Brian Collins Corner) and a much longer stretch of open terracing that is added to every summer, backed by blue-painted container buildings that house the club’s excellent club shop (the WFC ‘megastore’, which is well worth a visit). Special thanks to Tim Parks for providing the information for this page.

Grosvenor Vale is a comfortable, homely place to watch football with two good covered ends and access to side seating all at the same entrance ticket price (£12 Adults, £7 for concessions and £2 for juniors) – although only the new Bulla Stand has a cantilevered roof. All other covered areas have traditional supporting poles which can impede your view. If segregation is in place (a rarity) then away fans are allocated the Social Club side of the ground – including those 80 seats – stretching around to the low cover at the Gun Turret End, accessed by turnstiles at the North-East end of the social club.

In an effort to offer fans a little something different on the catering front, the Club have introduced its own gourmet burger trailer that will be in place for every home game. Called Lynn’s Gourmet Burgers it is located at the Gun Turret End (but on the opposite side) and offers Burgers costing around £4-£4.50.

There is a Social Club at the ground (the entrance to which is located outside the stadium) that normally admits visiting supporters. Otherwise there are a couple of pubs in easy walking distance of the ground and Ruislip Manor Station on Victoria Road. These are the Manor Bar and JJ Moons, the latter being a Wetherspoons pub. Close to Ruislip Station is the Crock of Gold pub.

Leave the M25 at Junction 16 and take the M40 towards London. At the end of the M40 the road becomes the A40. Take the first exit on the A40, onto the B467 towards Ruislip. At the roundabout at the top of the slip road take the first exit towards Harefield/Ruislip. Continue along the B467 going across two roundabouts. At the end of the B467 you will reach a T-junction that has a small bandstand located in front of you. Turn left here onto the High Road. Follow the High Road passing West Ruislip Station on your right and at the roundabout with the White Bear pub on the right hand corner, take the fourth exit into Wood Lane. Continue along Wood Lane crossing one small roundabout and at the next roundabout bear right onto West End Road. Then take the second left hand turn into Grosvenor Vale and the stadium is located at the bottom of this road,

Car Parking
There are hundreds of field-parking spaces at the ground itself, accessed by the narrow Grosvenor Vale, but if the weather is very wet the club will only open the small hard-standing car park. There is plentiful street parking around the stadium, however, but best to avoid the very narrow Cranley Drive immediately outside the ground. Pavement parking is NOT allowed here.

Ruislip is blessed with an astonishing  five railway/underground stations: Ruislip and Ruislip Manor both on the Metropolitan Line and the Piccadilly Line; West Ruislip and Ruislip Gardens are on the Central Line. West Ruislip is also on the Chiltern Main line out of London Marylebone.

South Ruislip is a bit further away from Grovsnor Vale but is also on the Central Line and the Chiltern Main Railway Line. Services are a bit infrequent from Marylebone to South Ruislip and West Ruislip Stations, so best to check before travel.

Ruislip station (a five minute walk from the stadium) is marginally nearer than Ruislip Manor, while Ruislip Gardens (if the Metropolitan Line is shut for engineering works, as occasionally happens on a Saturday)  is a 10 minute walk from the ground along West End Road.

Booking train tickets in advance will normally save you money! Find train times, prices and book tickets with Trainline. Visit the website below to see how much you can save on the price of your tickets:

Adult £13*
Over 65’s/Students (with valid ID) £9
Under 18’s £6
Under 14’s Free**

*  Current Premier and Football League season ticket holders can gain admission to National League South matches at Grosvenor Vale for £9 on showing their Club season ticket. This offer also applies to current serving members of the Armed Services, on the production of  ID.

** National League fixtures only. Under 14’s must be accompanied by a paying adult.

Official Matchday Programme: £2.50

Wealdstone FC fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website).

Barnet, Hendon and Harrow Borough.

Record Attendance

2,469 v Colchester United
FA Cup First Round, 7th November 2015

Average Attendance
2018-2019: 888 (National League South)
2017-2018: 847 (National League South)
2016-2017: 734 (National League South)

If you require hotel accommodation in Ruislip or London then first try a hotel booking service provided by Booking.com. They offer all types of accommodation to suit all tastes and pockets from; Budget Hotels, Traditional Bed & Breakfast establishments to Five Star Hotels and Serviced Apartments. Plus their booking system is straightforward and easy to use. Yes this site will earn a small commission if you book through them, but it will help towards the running costs of keeping this Guide going.

Official Web Site: www.wealdstone-fc.com
Unofficial Web Site: StonesNet Forum

If anything is incorrect or you have something to add, please e-mail me at: [email protected] and I’ll update the guide.

Special thanks to Steve Foster of Wealdstone FC and Doug Robinson for providing the photos of the Grosvenor Vale Stadium.