Harmsworth Park is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

ground in

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, which is the home ground of

Highland Football League The Scottish Highland Football League (SHFL, commonly known as the Highland League) is a senior football league based in the north of Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Scott ...

side Wick Academy F.C. It is located on South Road in the south of the town and has a capacity of 2,412 with 102 seated.See Do – Harmsworth Park
, ''

VisitScotland.com VisitScotland, formerly the Scottish Tourist Board (), is a national tourism organisation for Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, and othe ...

''. Retrieved 26 May 2012.World Stadia – Harmsworth Park
''worldstadia.com''. 16 January 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2012. The ground is the home of the most northerly senior football club in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

History

The ground was previously known as Harrow ParkHistory of Wick Acacdemy Football Club
Wick Academy Football Club. Retrieved 26 May 2012.Academy made their mark with stunning triumph in cup debut
''

John O'Groat Journal North of Scotland Newspapers (NOSN) is the trade name under which Scottish Provincial Press publishes two weekly newspapers, the ''John O'Groat Journal'' and the ''Caithness Courier'', both serving the Caithness area in the Highland council area o ...

''. 2 February 2012. Retirved 27 May 2012. before 1920, and was the ground of the town's first senior football club, Wick Rovers. It was bought and given as a gift to the town of Wick by a businessman,

Leicester Harmsworth Sir Robert Leicester Harmsworth, 1st Baronet (1 November 1870 – 19 January 1937), was a British businessman and Liberal politician. Background Harmsworth was the fourth son of Alfred Harmsworth, a barrister, and Geraldine Mary Maffett, daug ...

, as a recreation park.Harmsworth Park – Safety Issues

Highland Council The Highland Council (' ) is the local authority for Highland, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council is based at the Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness. History The Highland area had been created as an administrative a ...

. 27 November 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2012. Maintenance of the ground was primarily seen to by local football clubs who were responsible for building a perimeter wall. A

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

was erected in 1925Opening of the Pavilion in Harmsworth Park
''Am Baile''. 1925. Retrieved 27 May 2012. and the changing rooms were saved from demolition in 1973 following the club's promise to keep it in a good state of repair. Wick Academy's record attendance at Harmsworth Park came in July 1984 when 2,400 spectators watched the club take on Heart of Midlothian of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in a friendly match. The home side lost 7–1. Ten years later the club was admitted to the Highland Football League, joining in 1994 after several rejected applications in previous years, following the departure of Caledonian, Inverness Thistle and Ross County football clubs to the Scottish Football League. The club's first game in the Highland League at Harmsworth Park was against Cove Rangers and drew a crowd of 1,700 spectators. At the end of the 2010-11 season Harmsworth Park was renovated in order to obtain an Entry Level National Club Licence in order to continue to compete in the Highland League and other competitions such as the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...

the ground fell short on three categories in order to obtain the licence, which were: a stadium certificate, floodlights and first aid facilities. With the aid of a grant from the Scottish Football Partnership the club was therefore able to fulfil these criteria.Case Study – Wick Academy FC
The Scottish Football Partnership. Retrieved 27 May 2012.

Structure and facilities

The ground has one seated stand and a covered enclosure,.Wick Academy – Harmsworth Park
, ''fanzine.co.uk''. Retrieved 27 May 2012. New black and white seats were added to the main stand, replacing the old blue seats which had come from

Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated ca ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

when it was last renovated. The floodlights that came from Inverness Thistle's Kingsmills ground were replaced to a higher standard during the ground's renovation in 2011, along with a new medical facility for first-aid treatment. During the SFA review the stands were also passed as structurally sound.

Transport

The nearest railway station to the ground is

Wick railway station Wick railway station is a railway station located in Wick, in the Highland council area in the far north of Scotland. It serves the town of Wick and other surrounding areas in the historic county of Caithness, including Staxigoe, Papigoe and ...

non-league scotland – Wick Academy FC
''nonleaguescotland.co.uk''. Retrieved 27 May 2012. which is located half a mile north of Harmsworth Park, roughly a 10-minute walk. The station is located on the

Far North Line The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. As the name suggests, it is the northernmost railway in the United Kingdom. The line is entirely single-tra ...

which runs from

Inverness railway station Inverness railway station serves the Scottish city of Inverness. It is the terminus of the Highland Main Line, the Aberdeen–Inverness line (of which the Inverness and Nairn Railway is now a part), the Kyle of Lochalsh line and the Far North ...

and terminates at Wick. On the south approach road to the town along the A99, Harmsworth Park is located on the right upon entering Wick.

References

External links

Harmsworth Park at footballgroundmap.comHarmsworth Park at soccerway.comWick Academy Official Website
{{Coord, 58, 25, 57, N, 3, 5, 34, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Highland Football League venues Sports venues in Highland (council area) Wick Academy F.C. Wick, Caithness