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Caledonian Stadium

Saturday 17^th October 2026

431 days after my trip to see Cove Rangers draw with The Spartans in the KDM Evolution Trophy I have made it to halfway in this journey round the SPFL. By a combination of good luck and a little planning I have also done so whilst seeing exactly half of the current clubs in each of the four divisions which has a nice symmetry to it.

I’m finishing off the first half of the tour with the last remaining journey north, from now on every SPFL trip will involve heading south (unless Brora Rangers manage to get themselves promoted…). Although I’m at the halfway point in terms of grounds I’m a long way off the halfway point in terms of distance. I’ve visited all the grounds within about two hours of me so most Saturdays will require much longer journeys in future.

Today’s trip is up to see Inverness Caley Thistle. For a long time they considered themselves the ‘big club’ in the highlands and rightly so. The team was formed in 1994 through a merger of two clubs, Caledonian and Inverness Thistle, in order to take up one of the expanded spots in the Scottish League. Their early days were rocky though with the merger being initially opposed by fans of both clubs, some of whom still essentially deny the existence of the team and have worked to rebuild Inverness Thistle from the ashes.

Success came fairly quickly however and within five seasons they had been promoted twice and were sitting in the First Division. The following season saw one of the great moments in club history when they beat Tranmere reject John Barnes’ Celtic 1 – 3 away from home in the Scottish Cup leading to possibly the greatest football headline of all time.

Caley would go on to win promotion to the Premiership in 2004 as well as winning the Scottish Cup in 2015. European football followed and with it a trip to Romania for their sole tie before they were eliminated. To the joy of their supporters they had far outperformed their highland rivals Ross County who had also joined the league in 1994.

More recently the story has changed. Relegation in 2017 saw an extended spell in the Championship which was difficult for fans to swallow with Ross County now sitting comfortably in the Premiership. Things only got worse though as financial difficulties hit the club leading to administration, a points deduction, and relegation to League One. Last year however the club managed to find some stability. They performed well through most of the season before falling over the line to win the league and in doing so they passed Ross County who were relegated after their own nightmare season.

I wavered on whether to drive up to Inverness or to take the train. The timings of the trains aren’t ideal, particularly on the way there but in the end I decided to go by rail and give myself a bit of time to wander and explore the centre of the city. The train was early and awful. I don’t know why but there seemed to be huge numbers of groups of men heading north while getting incredibly drunk. Considering the train left Aberdeen at 10:08 this was not what I had planned for and it wasn’t particularly enjoyable. I even moved carriages after Inverurie but I struggled to find a quiet corner in The ScotRail Arms.

My main aim from the wander around Inverness was to head to Leakey’s bookshop. It’s one that I have had recommended to me on a number of occasions and have always hoped to visit but we don’t really get up to Inverness very often. It’s not far from the station so I headed straight there. It was busy and a little bit chaotic. It’s not easy to find the sections that you are looking for and alphabetical order is a suggestion rather than a rule. It’s a very pleasant space but it reminded me a little of Barter Books in Alnwick which Naomi and I both found a little overwhelming in terms of the number of books they had. I didn’t end up picking anything up but did spend a very nice hour there before heading to the game.

The stadium is a fair way out of the centre of town and it’s not exactly the most pleasant of walks either. It starts along the A82 which is as big and noisy as you might imagine, but that is a cakewalk compared to when you get to the A9. I managed to end up on the wrong side of the A82 so didn’t even have the benefit of pedestrian crossings for the A9 and just had to take my chances when small gaps in the traffic appeared.

Once you get over the A9 however you’re on to a much smaller road which effectively only serves the ground. It’s therefore much quieter and as you’re on the coast there are some lovely views out across the Moray Firth. As you follow the road round the stadium comes into view with the Kessock Bridge crossing over to the Black Isle in the distance. It might be quite an annoying walk but it’s a beautiful spot for a stadium.

Inside the ground is a complete mix in the way that I really like. The main stand is the Jock Mcdonald Stand and looked really good from where I was sat. It has more seats lower down than higher up creating an upside down T shape with what looked like hospitality boxes above that. The North and South Stands looked very similar to each other with a single tier of seats the full width of the ground. There was then a small terraced section at the north end of the side facing the Jock Mcdonald Stand, something for everyone if you are there week-in, week-out.

My only criticism would be that the main stand faces the A9 and blocks the views out to the Moray Firth. If it had been built on the other side of the pitch the ground would probably be one of the most picturesque anywhere in the country. I’m sure it has been built that way to keep the worst of the wind out during winter but it still feels a shame that an opportunity has been missed. I was very pleased that the away fans are put in the South Stand as I think we probably get the best view available from anywhere in the ground.

There were very few Arbroath fans that had decided to make the journey up today and I was the first person into the away end and had my choice of seats. I opted for directly behind the goal and most of the way up the stand to get the best possible view of the game. The players were out right on time and we were underway with no fuss at all.

There’s a reason not many fans were at the game and it’s not just that Inverness is a fairly difficult journey from Angus. Arbroath have been fairly miserable recently with huge numbers of injuries meaning that they haven’t been able to play a settled side and have been getting the results that you would expect in that sort of situation. I wasn’t expecting much from the game but you always have the hope that you might pull off an unlikely smash and grab.

Right from the outset that hope seemed a little far-fetched. Caley were by far the more confident team and they were carving Arbroath’s defence open repeatedly in the early stages. One half chance was wasted before a much better one fell to Layton Stewart who saw his shot hit the post before going wide.

Arbroath’s side is built around a resolute defence and with captain Tam O’Brien back today they slowly started to get themselves more organised. His centreback partner was Tom Beadling, a midfielder who has been much maligned by the fans since joining the club, but I thought he looked pretty assured further back and had the potential to stake a claim as O’Brien’s long term sidekick before he inevitably went off to join Arbroath’s increasing injury ranks. With the defence asserting themselves more and Arbroath’s attacking threat typically neutered it meant that most of the game was taking place in midfield.

The away side finally managed some positivity going forward when a long ball was misjudged by Remi Savage and brought down well by Gavin Reilly. He only had the keeper left to beat but he couldn’t get the ball out from under his feet and the chance went begging.

Shortly afterwards Caley were awarded what looked to be a soft freekick right on the edge of Arbroath’s box. Aidan McAdams made a good save from the initial shot but could only parry the effort and the ball rebounded back into the middle of the penalty area. With McAdams flat on the ground Calum MacLeod reacted quickest and had the easiest tap-in to open the scoring.

The way Arbroath have been playing one goal may well have been enough for Caley but the key thing for the visitors was to survive the next five minutes and get to half-time just one goal behind. Alas it wasn’t to be. The surgical passing that Inverness had shown in the opening stages returned and a move down their right wing saw Paul Allan cut the ball back to Alfie Bavidge who found the back of the net from six yards out. The game was effectively over when the referee blew his whistle for the interval.

Arbroath came out for the second half with a little more attacking intent. Unfortunately for them it was too little, too late, and almost the source of further misery. Their first spell of sustained possession came to an end with a Caley interception. They quickly moved forward and with Arbroath struggling to catch up Stewart was brought down in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Allan’s penalty was poor and easily saved by McAdams to avoid the scoreline looking even worse for the visitors.

For a long time after the penalty miss very little happened. Caley were content to control the game and ensure that they would be keeping all three points and Arbroath could do little to change things. The press did come in the last ten minutes but in truth they didn’t really look like scoring. The best chance came on 90 minutes when a shot from Andy Winter was saved but skewed across the six yard line. Scott Stewart was the closest Arbroath player but having only been discharged from hospital this week his fitness meant he was never going to get there first and it was cleared away by Savage.

The referee put us all out of our misery and I was faced with the long walk back to the station. I made it in time to head to M&S for some food for the journey home and got the train in plenty of time. Unfortunately the return leg was much like the journey out although this time everyone had eight hours worth of alcohol inside them. Fortunately the group that couldn’t decide whether they were Elvis or from Grease left us at Elgin and it meant that the last hour and a half was a lot quieter. Today has really left me wondering whether I want to take the train as often. I really need to look into whether quiet carriages are still a thing…

The Facts

• Ground
  • Caledonian Stadium
• Home
  • Inverness Caledonian Thistle
• Away
  • Arbroath
• Competition
  • Scottish Championship
• Result
  • 2 – 0
• Scorers
  • Calum MacLeod, Alfie Bavidge
• Attendance
  • 2,351
• Cost
  • £21
• Total distance travelled
  • 216 miles
• Transport
  • Train
• My MotM
  • Alfie Bavidge, the match sponsor picked Paul Allan but I don’t think you can give it to someone who had such a tame penalty saved. Bavidge has come to Caley from Aberdeen and you can tell he has the kind of talent that would have appealed to a Premiership side. At this level he’s qucik, intelligent, and a threat whenever he has the ball at his feet.