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For the players, staff, and travelling supporters of Truro City, the gruelling return journey of 914 miles to face Gateshead was a mixed blessing in the end. 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 plus complimentary drinks.

Truro drew their National League match two goals apiece away at Gateshead this past Saturday having led 2-0 by the 54th minute, in what is turning out to be a campaign defined by long travels and tireless road trips up and down English A roads and motorways. Following strikes by Johnson-Fisher and Oxlade-Chamberlain, the hosts fought back 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 Carlisle resulting in a 3-0 loss that clocked up 878 miles. Such is the club’s relative isolation, even their nearest away game is against Yeovil Town, a roughly two-and-a-half-hour drive via the A30 to Huish Park, 130 miles each way.

Unifying Effect from Extended Journeys

During the matchday the initial 90 supporters were treated to a £920 drinks tab, sponsored by Sky Bet, the complimentary beverage fund representing £1 for every mile travelled. At least the players were able to break up their journey with a pause at Derby's training facility.

Their chairman from Canada, Eric Perez, accustomed to long-haul trips since he regularly flies seven hours long-haul from Toronto to London, understands the challenge facing the club he took over 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 told BBC Sport. However, it serves to strengthen our squad further – the team bonds during travel, we’re used to travelling together.”

Dedicated Supporters Face Long Trips

A committed Truro follower, John Joyce, is resigned to long days of travelling but remains committed, despite the odd flight cancellation and wearisome train treks. He calculated the recent trip at roughly £400 in costs and missed income, noting, “During my naval career with Nato, the drive from Brussels to Cornwall was shorter than from Cornwall to Gateshead.”

As Askey said, after their Carlisle odyssey: “The thing that makes Truro special as a club is that the supporters get behind the team regardless of circumstances. Last term's promotion success 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.”