914 miles, 185 fans - doing English football's longest away day

When Truro City kicked off at Gateshead in the National League on Saturday, they did so backed by 185 fans who had taken the furthest journey in English league football history.

Promoted from the regional divisions to national level for the first time this summer, never before has a team travelled as far as Truro had on the hunt for three points.

BBC Sport journeyed with fans from Cornwall up to Northumberland, to find out what makes a 914-mile round-trip following a football team worthwhile.

Wind thrashes around the car park in the dim dawn light, rattling the corrugated supermarket shutters and sending discarded carrier bags billowing as rain tumbles on to the tarmac.

This is the spot from which Shane Hendra and his friends have set off for away matches for years.

"This is exactly why we love football - for the adventure," he says.

"Since we came up, loads of teams have been complaining about having to come down here because of how far away it is, but we happily do it every other week."

A packet of Cornish pasties is passed around the car for breakfast. Accounting for a few stops along the way, the group expects to arrive at their Newcastle hotel at about 5pm.

Sitting alongside me in the back is Truro club historian Matt Hall, who has been thrilled by the chance to travel further afield with his team.

"It's incredible," he adds. "It's another level of being a supporter.

"I went with my dad for decades, but he passed away. We don't have that many fans, so you get to know everyone at the games. I met these guys and travel with them now.

"Football is what binds us. It gives you relationships you otherwise wouldn't have."

The Truro team, the only one from Cornwall to ever play at this level, is meeting at Exeter and travelling by executive coach.

They will train later this afternoon at Derby County's training ground, before staying in Darlington and arriving in Gateshead on Saturday morning.

The distances the club must travel arguably puts them in a tougher position than their counterparts.

"The most simple disadvantage is financial," says board member Rob Butland, in full team tracksuit at a service station. "We have to find the money to do every long journey.

"Even our closest away games are a few counties away. It's just bonkers.

"The trick is to try to turn the travelling into a strength - use it as a thing that unites the group.

"We're proud of the effort we're putting in and making history. Cornwall needs to be represented at this level."

Hendra's group is picking up another another passenger in Bristol, so I part ways with them here, wish them well and set off into town to meet fans who are flying to the North East.

Flying is by far the most environmentally damaging method of travel, but the prohibitively high cost of train tickets and the unenviable length of the drive mean the majority of fans see it as the only viable option.

The club has no official supporters' trust or organised coach travel.

For those whose support of Truro spans generations, these kind of trips have been a lifetime in the making and are to be relished.

"It's a big part of our relationship", says John Joyce, 50, who is travelling with his son Tom, 23.

"My friends are his friends and vice-versa, because we all share this together."

Tom adds: "I've been buzzing for all the trips - we're treating it like a one-off chance in case we go back down.

"Opposition fans at away games are shaking our hands and buying us pints to recognise what we're doing."

These epic trips could be made easier by success - the prospect of glory making the hard yards feel a little lighter.

But, brutally, Truro are among the worst professional teams in the country.

They sit third bottom in the National League and have been particularly wretched on their travels.

"You might think 'these people are mad' [for going so far to watch their team lose], but the results don't make a big difference to be honest," says John.

"We have to just enjoy it all as much as possible. It's an extra special year."

Fans of Truro are more used to spending away days supping pints in more placid provincial southern towns, but promotion has given them the opportunity to enjoy a fun-loving Friday night in one of the country's best party spots.

Newcastle ticks every box. For the fans in need of a good old-fashioned British boozer to natter away in all night, they're satisfied at the Quayside.

For the energetic crowd wanting a late-night dance floor, they have taken themselves to the Bigg Market. And karaoke fanatics could hardly be bettered catered for.

"I'm so glad we all get to do this together," adds Tom, a pint in one hand and a blue alcopop in the other. "At non-league level you get to feel so much closer to the football and to each other too."

Pre-match there are plenty of sore heads, which most opt to medicate with a free pint being offered by the Fog on the Tyne pub to the first 100 Truro fans who show up.

Gateshead have the lowest average attendance in the National League, but play in a 11,800-capacity stadium designed to also host athletics events and gigs.

The home stands are almost entirely empty, the temperature has dropped, and teeth are chattering on the away terrace as Truro kick off.

The away attendance is 185, higher than usual, partly swelled by those enticed by the novelty of the journey and the presence of a few neutral groundhoppers wanting to be part of history.

Truro are uncharacteristically electric when the match begins. They deservedly lead after five minutes through Dominic Johnson-Fisher. After two more goals are narrowly disallowed, they double their lead just before half-time through defender Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose father Mark and brother Alex played for England during their careers.

At half-time the away end is bedlam.

But after the break Gateshead improve and score twice to equalise, the second goal coming in the 70th minute through striker Frank Nouble, who played in the Premier League for West Ham at the start of his senior career.

Truro have a golden chance to win it in stoppage time, one-on-one with the keeper to beat, but Luke Jephcott puts his finish wide.

"I'd have taken a point before kick-off, I suppose," says Sharon Hinds, a decades-long fan who also played for the club's women's team.

"I'd be lost without coming to matches. We've been tiny for so long but feel like giants now. We're a proper family that takes care of each when things are hard. It's beautiful, really."

Among the first fans to make it back to Truro are John and Tom Joyce.

"Has the trip been worth it? Absolutely," says John. "This is a brotherhood, following our team is what we do, and this trip will live with us for a long time."

Truro's new record is very unlikely to be beaten any time soon.

Mousehole and Falmouth are both a little further south than Truro, but their respective teams play regionally a few tiers below, and only Premier League side Newcastle and eighth-tier Blyth Spartans are further north than Gateshead, making a league meeting with Truro improbable.

This trip and those who made it, then, will hold a special place in football folklore.