Alnwick team cock-a-hoop at croquet win

Lining up for the programmed seven sessions were the clubs from Alnwick, Auckland, Bamburgh, Belsay, Durham, Edinburgh and Tyneside.

This year, the competition was extended to include more clubs and was played on an additional third lawn in front of the castle. This entailed 24 players competing simultaneously so there was plenty of action, as enjoyed by the spectators around the lawns as the stiff northerly wind in the morning gave way to sunny conditions in the afternoon.

The trophy had gone north of the border in the last two years with Edinburgh taking the title, so the local teams were keen to keep the prize closer to home.

The teams from Alnwick, Belsay and Edinburgh all started strongly and there was little between them at the half-way point. But as they met head-to- head in the later sessions, it was Alnwick who held on in some tight games to come through, pipping Belsay into second place.

Bamburgh chairman Jamie Edgar commented “Now in its fourth year, this is probably the largest golf croquet event in the North East. It’s great to see the competition expanding with more teams being able to take part.

“As always it was a very friendly but competitive event and it was good to see a new name on the trophy . Congratulations to the Alnmouth Alnwick squad.”