Football in Morpeth: Clubs, Pitches and How to Get Involved

Morpeth may be a market town rather than a footballing city, but for its size it packs a surprising amount of the game in. At the top sits a club that has actually lifted a trophy at Wembley, while beneath it hundreds of children pull on boots every weekend and casual players find a pitch or a park for a kickabout. From the terraces at Craik Park to the grass of Morpeth Common, here is our guide to football in and around Morpeth, and how to get involved yourself.

Morpeth Town AFC

Morpeth Town AFC, known affectionately as the Highwaymen, are the heartbeat of the senior game in the town. Founded in 1909, they play their home matches at Craik Park off Highford Lane (NE61 2AF), a tidy non-league ground with a capacity of around 2,100 that had an artificial pitch installed in 2021. For the current season the club competes in the Northern Premier League, at Step 4 of the non-league pyramid, up against familiar regional rivals such as Ashington, Consett and Dunston.

A Saturday afternoon at Craik Park is one of the best-value days out in Morpeth sport. Admission is modest by the standards of the professional game, there is a clubhouse and tea bar, and newcomers and families are made to feel welcome. If you have never been to a non-league match, a Highwaymen home game is a friendly, unpretentious introduction to the local game.

Best for: Best for affordable, real local football with a proper community atmosphere.

The 2016 FA Vase win at Wembley

Morpeth Town's place in local footballing folklore was sealed on 22 May 2016. Having battled through round after round of the FA Vase, the national cup competition for clubs at the lower levels of the non-league game, the Highwaymen reached the final at Wembley Stadium. There they beat Hereford 4-1 in front of a large travelling contingent from Northumberland, lifting the trophy in the most famous stadium in the country.

It remains the greatest day in the club's long history, and for a town the size of Morpeth to send a team out at Wembley and win was a genuine source of civic pride. The club has since added further honours, including a Northern Premier League Division One East title in 2018-19 and Northumberland Senior Cup wins, but the Vase run is the story supporters return to again and again.

Junior and grassroots football

For most young footballers in Morpeth, the game starts long before Craik Park. Morpeth Town AFC Juniors is the town's largest junior club, running a great many teams for boys and girls from under-7s up to youth level, with several hundred young players taking part across the age ranges. Most home and away teams play at Craik Park or on nearby Morpeth Common, and the artificial surface has given the juniors a permanent base after years of using various venues around the town.

The junior section also runs school-holiday football camps in partnership with the senior club, a popular way for children to keep playing through the breaks. Younger newcomers can join at the mini-soccer age groups and work their way up, and the club welcomes enquiries from new players, coaches and volunteers throughout the year.

Best for: Best for getting children of any age into organised, coached football close to home.

Where to play and train

You do not need to join a club to enjoy a game. Morpeth Sports and Leisure Centre on Gas House Lane (NE61 1SR), the modern facility that opened in 2023 beside the River Wansbeck, has a four-court sports hall suitable for five-a-side and futsal alongside its pools and gym, and is the obvious base for an organised indoor kickabout in the colder months.

Outdoors, the grass pitches at Craik Park and on Morpeth Common host organised football throughout the week, and both Morpeth Town AFC and its junior section are the first port of call if you want to book or find a team. For a casual family kickabout, the wide open spaces of Carlisle Park along the Wansbeck give you plenty of room to have a game, with play areas and the Pavilion Cafe close by for a break afterwards.

Best for: Best for a five-a-side, a training session or a spontaneous family kickabout.

Watching professional football nearby

Morpeth sits within easy reach of two of English football's most passionate clubs. St James' Park, home of Newcastle United, is around fifteen miles south and reachable by train from Morpeth's station on the East Coast Main Line, while Sunderland's Stadium of Light is a little further down the coast. Many Morpeth families hold season tickets at one or the other, and match days see a steady stream of supporters heading out of town on the train.

For a big-match atmosphere without the journey, several pubs and bars around the Market Place show live football on big screens, so you can follow the top flight over a pint without leaving town.

Best for: Best for topping up your football fix with top-flight action a short trip away.

Whether your idea of football is a Saturday on the terraces at Craik Park, a Sunday morning coaching your child's team, or a five-a-side at the leisure centre, Morpeth has it covered. The Highwaymen grabbed the headlines at Wembley in 2016, but the game here is played, watched and loved right across the town every week of the season.

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