The Cornish club's Historic 914-Mile Journey Creates National League Record

For the squad, management, and away fans of Truro City, the arduous 914-mile round trip to Gateshead was a mixed blessing ultimately. The 12-hour bus journey from Cornwall in the south-west all the way up England’s spine to the north-east yielded one league point and a free pint or two.

Truro drew their National League match at 2-2 away at Gateshead on Saturday having led 2-0 by the 54th minute, during what is becoming a season of epic train journeys and tireless road trips up and down English A roads and motorways. Following strikes by Johnson-Fisher and Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gateshead rebounded through Kain Adom and, in the 70th minute, Frank Nouble.

“Clubs that come down to us, most of them are flying down and staying over on the Friday, so for us to have to do it on the coach is not ideal, but because we have so many long journeys, that’s the way we have to do it.” — John Askey

Already this term Truro have made a trek to face Carlisle for a 3-0 defeat that clocked up 878 miles. Such is the club’s relative isolation, even their nearest away game is at Yeovil Town, around a two-and-a-half-hour schlep via the A30 to Huish Park, 130 miles each way.

Galvanising Effect of Long Travels

During the matchday the initial 90 supporters to arrive shared a £920 bar tab, sponsored by Sky Bet, with the generous free-drinks fund equating to £1 per mile covered. Fortunately, the squad could interrupt their travel with a stop at Derby County’s training ground.

Even their Canadian chair, Eric Perez, accustomed to long-haul trips since he regularly flies seven hours long-haul from Toronto to London, recognizes the difficulties confronting the club he acquired in 2023 with ambitions of “doing a Wrexham”.

All this time on the road has benefits too for Cornwall’s first professional football club, in his view. “It's certainly not a brief trip, It’s a ridiculously long journey in context,” Perez stated. However, it serves to strengthen our squad further – everybody spends time together, we’re used to travelling together.”

Dedicated Fans Face Long Travels

A committed Truro follower, John Joyce, is resigned to long days of travelling yet stays devoted, notwithstanding occasional flight issues and exhausting rail journeys. He estimates Saturday’s trip cost him around £400 in expenses and lost earnings, noting, “During my naval career with Nato, the drive from Brussels to Cornwall was shorter than from Cornwall to Gateshead.”

As Askey said, following the Carlisle expedition: “Truro's uniqueness as a club is that the supporters get behind the team regardless of circumstances. I know last season we were very successful so it was easy to get behind the players, but from what I know the fans never even moan and they appreciate what the players have done.”