Skipton Saunter

 Wednesday 22nd September 2021.             Skipton Saunter 

It was off to the woods today for the Lads, their intended destination was to be Skipton Woodland Walk. As per usual the Lads meet up at Leeds railway station in order to take the train to which ever destinations they have planned to visit. For today’s adventure the group will consist of Dave, Brian , Colin and John, all boarding the 10:26 train heading for the North Yorkshire market town of Skipton, a journey of about 45 minutes or so. On arrival in the township they left the railway station crossed over the road and made their way to the canal towpath that would take them to the heart of the town, this

 proved to be a much more pleasanter experience ,rather than walking along side the busy main road.

Very busy here in the town centre lots of visitors today especially on market day , we soon left the hustle and bustle behind and we’re now on the footpath leading up to the Woodland Walk , a gentle running stream was to either side of this footpath as it meanders steadily along passing beneath the Castle ramparts at one point. Not before too long we reached the start of the Woodlands with a verity of different directions to follow, we just followed our noses and carried on more or less straight forward passing various things along our way. ie wicker statues , carved wooden benches and a few interesting waterfalls.

After almost over an hour of walking we took a short break, then decided to return by a higher located footpath taking us along the edge of this wonderful woodland glade that brought us back to the edge of the town, a few minutes later we were among the throngs of the street traders and heading for a recommended pub, the Woolly Sheep, to consume a well deserved lunch time meal. We sat outside in the so called beer garden, more of a wind tunnel than a garden, anyhow we all enjoyed our food and a welcomed rest.

With the decision to catch an earlier homeward bound train we now set off back towards the railway station ,but calling in for an ice cream on the way. A steady walk back along the canal then over the road soon found us sat on platform 1 awaiting our train , once aboard we said farewell to Skipton and now time to reflect upon this adventure here in this North Yorkshire town , we covered a distance of almost 5 miles today ,with favourable weather and companionship  to carry us along.

Cheers Lads 

Nautical Knaresborough

 Thursday 16th. September 2021.         Knaresborough with a Nautical Theme.

For today’s adventure the Lads are venturing to the North Yorkshire town of Knaresborough situated on the banks of the river Nydd.  Little did the group of 4 have any idea of what was about to happen on this trip. John , Brian, Colin and Dave left Leeds Railway Station aboard the 10:29 train heading north passing through various locations such as Horsforth, Harrogate and Hornbeam before eventually arriving at the station in Knaresborough. With the thought of playing a game of Pitch and Putt the lads made their way to this location at a site close bye the river here in the town. As they progressed they noticed that quite a number of other visitors had arrived here also, the riverside car park was almost full to capacity. 

The Lads soon came to the spot where the pitch and putt was located only to find out that is was closed for some reason, which was somewhat of a disappointment, so from here they returned to the riverside footpath and headed back towards the town noticing that the river was occupied by several rowing boats.

Suddenly the idea of the Lads taking a trip on one of these rowing boats entered into John’s head, was he really thinking that we were all in agreement . Nevertheless after a bit of persuasion  we did eventually climb aboard H.M.S. Brit-Vic, alias Boat Number 55. With a rather sceptical Brian taking up his position in the bows a position he never moved from , then Colin and Dave took their seats in the stern, the steering position. Lastly into the boat was John, he had volunteered to do the rowing since it was his idea to embark on this adventure. With final instructions from the Captain ashore off we went heading hopefully up steam.

Not before too long it became apparent that John had the recurrence of an old war wound so his attempt at rowing came to an abrupt end forcing a change of position in the boat, this lead to several minutes of hilarious laughter and confusion, finally Colin ending up with the Oars in his hands. John managed to get seated alongside Dave. Now we finally made some headway up river although with some difficulty attached ! as our boat moved steadily through the water managing not to collide with the many other boats that were on the river Colin decided he had become somewhat exhausted, so another change ensued in the boat , this time it was Dave who took up the honour of rowing, this he did with much a gusto having had some previous experience whilst spending almost 12 months attending the sea cadets at the age of 14. With relief on their faces and feeling somewhat more at ease the Lads began to enjoy this river adventure. Avoiding several near misses and a broadside collision the boat managed to navigate the massive stonework support pillars of the 2 river bridges ie, road and railway viaduct.

 

Finally with their feet back on land the Lads headed off in search of some lite refreshment at one of the nearby Cafes , only to find that a waiting time of almost an hour would have to be endured in order to get served. So now a decision to climb the many steps leading up to the Ruined Castle was agreed upon, some 10 minutes later the Lads found themselves on the outskirts of the town at this advantage point of great views of the river below.

Once in the town centre the lads kept up their nautical theme by enjoying a lunch time meal at Drakes fish and chip restaurant,  just  sat eating and reliving their river boat experience. After lunch the Lads now spent a few moments browsing the few shops before heading off for an ice cream courtesy of Colin , which was most appreciated, these were consumed as the lads returned to the railway station in order to take the train journey back to Leeds.

The weather conditions here in Knaresborough today have been absolutely beautiful , we have enjoyed rather warm sunshine only surpassed by our hilarious river adventure.

Cheers Lads for such a wonderful day .

Lovely Lytham

 Wednesday 8th September 2021.                 Lovely Lytham 

With nice warm sunny weather conditions forecast for today, the Lads took advantage and planned a trip to the coastal resort of Lytham ,which is situated in the Red Rose County of Lancashire, pity. Getting there  can sometimes be a time consuming train journey. Nevertheless the Lads took this on board and booked their tickets.

Today’s adventure would start off with Brian Colin and Dave climbing aboard the 8:58 train ,leaving Leeds heading for Blackpool North, John would be joining them at Bradford Interchange. This train picking up more and more passengers as it made its way westwards out of Yorkshire and into Lancashire.

 

However this group of lads would be leaving the train when it arrived at Preston, then take a different train this time heading for Blackpool South. A waiting time of approximately 55 minutes was to be expected in Preston before that particular train would be departing. As the lads arrived at Preston station they noticed a train standing on platform 5, could it be the previous train heading for Blackpool South that was running late, has we hurried to platform 5 we were to discover that it was that train and because of some incident further down the line, it had been held up. Disappointing for some, but a great relief for others, especially the lads. This now meant we would be arriving at Lytham ahead of our schedule and could maybe catch an early train for our return journey.

We eventually arrived at Lytham Station, from this point on John took the lead has he’s visited this location on several previous occasions , good for him. So after a comfort break and a bite to eat, we now made our way to the seafront and joined the wide promenade footpath heading northwards.

We continued this journey for at least two plus miles or so before making the decision to turn around and head back towards the centre of Lytham. Before our return journey we took the opportunity to enjoy an ice cream courtesy of John  and devoured them before the glorious sunshine melted them around our feet.

The return journey was just as pleasant as the journey out with a few extra rest stops along our way , we arrived back in the town centre just after 2:15 and then made our way to the cafe 93 in order to enjoy a well deserved late lunch time meal, this is where we had stopped off early that day for a light bite and cuppa.

 

The afternoon sunshine was great as we sat and let the world just pass us bye even if it was for only a brief moment or two. With the clock now telling us it was approaching 3pm we made our way steadily to the train station here in Lytham in order to catch the 3:28 back to Preston, once back there we would have a 40 minutes wait until the Leeds bound train was due to arrive. So it was off to a nearby Shopping centre and spend some time just browsing before crossing back over the road and head for platform 2.

Our Leeds train soon arrived, then once on board it was time to relax and reflect upon what a truly wonderful experience we have had in Lytham.

Cheers Lads.