Dedicated fan travels almsto 3,000 miles to support York City (From York Press)
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Dedicated fan travels almsto 3,000 miles to support York City
11:30am Thursday 17th May 2012 in Fundraising fun
By Mike Laycock, Chief reporter
MEET one of York City’s most dedicated fans.
Paul Clelland has revealed how, for him, watching the Minstermen’s two matches at Wembley means travelling a total of almost 3,000 miles by ferry, plane, tube train and sleeper train.
The 39-year-old, who became a City supporter when he was brought up in Copmanthorpe, now lives in a fishing village in Shetland.
That meant a journey of almost 750 miles to get to the stadium for the FA Trophy final last Saturday, followed by the same journey in reverse.
Now he is facing the lengthy trek all over again for the Blue Square Bet Premier play-off final against Luton Town on Sunday.
Paul, who is the manager of a Tesco store in the capital Lerwick, said last weekend’s journey involved flying from Shetland to Aberdeen, and then catching another flight to Heathrow, from where he caught a train with just enough time to get to the 3pm kick-off, returning home the same way on Sunday.
“This weekend is more complicated,” he said. “I have to catch the ferry from Lerwick at 7pm on Saturday, which takes 12 hours to get to Aberdeen. Then I catch a flight to Gatwick. From there, I take the train to Victoria, and then the tube to Euston, where I will leave my bag, and then take the train to Wembley.
“After the match, I go back to Euston, get my bag and take the overnight sleeper to Aberdeen, where I will arrive at 9am, and I will then get the ferry back to Shetland, arriving on the Monday night.”
Paul said the two trips will cost him about £1,000, and he originally wasn’t going to go this weekend until his wife asked him how much it meant to him on a scale of 1 to 10. “I said 10 and she said: “Well go then!”
He said last weekend’s match had been a relaxed, enjoyable day while he expected this weekend - with a return to the League at stake - to be a much more tense affair.
