Appointment with the Aircraft

 Wednesday 26th January 2022.          Appointment with the Aircraft

The weather forecast brought about a change of plans for today’s adventure, originally the Lads had pencilled in a return visit to Ribblehead, but unfortunately the weather conditions for that location were not favourable at all. So plan B was put into action, this would be a rail journey to the South Yorkshire town of Doncaster and visit the Aircraft Museum situated close bye. John ,Colin and Brian are taking the 10:21 train out of Leeds with Dave boarding the same train at Sandal/ Agbrigg, they should arrive at Doncaster shortly after 11am. From here they will take the 55 bus that will travel the short distance across town and towards the Dome entertainment centre , from this point it was about a 10 minutes walk  to the Museum . Upon arrival  they soon found themselves inside the entrance office and chatting to the volunteers helping out here at the attraction

. Fees paid then off the lads went on their tour of this quite enthralling exhibition , which included most-of the various aircraft in all their shapes and forms from the different eras of aviation and the role they played in its development. At one point the Lads were given a short insight into history of this particular establishment by one of the volunteers, full of very interesting facts to say the least, didn’t realise the airfield here at Doncaster played such a significant part in the defence of this part of the country during the First World War.

The tour of the museum took the lads just over 2 hours to complete and at the end of it ,they all were truly glad that they had made the decision to visit this establishment and experience all of it’s displays.

Now for the return journey back to the town centre, but not before taking lunch, which to be honest was a low point of their adventure to Doncaster, Asda Cafe is not to be recommended. Back in the town the Lads had quite a few minutes to spare so they took a brief look around the Frenchgate Shopping Centre and were amazed at the shear size of it. From here it was off to platform 6 and their respective journeys home.

Another great day out with the Lads 

Cheers.

A Round Roundhay

 19th January 2022.              Round Roundhay 

For today’s adventure three of the Lads have decided to take a trip to Roundhay Park Leeds. The three in question will be Dave , John and Colin. The other lads shying away from this outing, pity. John and Dave met at the railway station then made their way to a bus stop near the Corn Exchange ,calling in at Greggs on route to stock up with sandwiches etc. Colin had boarded a No 2 bus outside his home and was heading into the city, Dave and John were able to catch this same bus that would take the three of them to the gates of Roundhay Park arriving there about 11:15. 

It turned out to be a very pleasant morning with sunny skies after some rain had fallen earlier on, there was a rather chilling breeze to accompany this lovely sunshine , so it was best foot forward and begin their walk. After a short while a coffee break was taken ,with the Lads sat outside the Mansion house cafe taking advantage of the sunshine. From this vantage point the Lads now headed in the direction of the small lake with the fountains on display, once around part of the lake they now took the woodland pathway which would eventually take them onto the larger lake , at this point the conditions under foot became rather sticky so they had to tread carefully on route. Several photo opportunities were taken as the lads traveled along enjoying the chitchat and the fresh air. 

Before not too long the Lads had covered more than two thirds of their intended walk and were now making their way gently along the bottom of ( Hill Sixty) and the slightly uphill journey back to the Park entrance and on towards the nearby bus stop in order to take the No 12 bus back to the city centre.

What a pleasure it has been to be outside in the fresh air enjoying almost 4 miles of walking with great companions.

Cheers Lads 

Day Out at the Dam

 12th January 2022.        Newmiller Dam Walk

For the Lads second outing of this new year they have decided to visit the location of Newmiller Dam , a picturesque setting on the outskirts of Wakefield. 

Today’s group of only 4 will include Colin, John, Derek and Dave the rest of the crew are otherwise engaged with personal commitments. A meeting time of 11:15 as been arranged near the bus stop close to the Dam Inn Pub. Colin and John have traveled by train from Leeds to Wakefield,  then caught the 95a bus heading for Barnsley. Derek and Dave have arrived by car. A slight delay of 30 minutes was encountered by Colin and John due to rescheduled bus times. So it was about 11:45 when the lads eventually began their walking. It was a bright sunny morning with a slight chilly wind ,the location proved to be very busy with other walkers taking advantage of the weather conditions. The Lads navigated the lake in a clockwise direction so as to shield their faces from the wind , slowly, slowly was the order of the day so as not to over exert a couple of the team members who have been struggling just recently, so a steady pace was set.

The conditions underfoot were rather muddy on several occasions , but it was just nice to be out enjoying the fresh air and good company . It took the lads just over  an hour to circumnavigate the lake, a much longer time being avoided by not taking the suggested diversion route that was in operation due to forestry work being carried out

. By 1:00pm the lads where on the doorstep of the Fox and Hounds pub about to enter and hopefully enjoy a well deserved lunchtime meal, which indeed did happen thanks to very pleasant staff. An hour later and the Lads were now ready to begin their journeys back to their respective homes.

Another great day out with the Lads 

Cheers Everyone.

 Blog

Wednesday  5 January 2022

Harewood Grounds Circular. 

It was a freezing cold morning as Brian, John and Colin assembled for their first sortie  of 2022 around the grounds of Harewood House estimated to be approximately 5 Miles with lots of inclines to keep the old circulatory system pumping. 

We rendezvoused in Leeds City Bus Station at 10:40 in time to buy our lunch from Greggs before catching the 10:55 No. 36 to The Harewood Arms where we alighted at 11:40 and made our short way to Church Lane and past the Muddy Boots Café on our way to the park entrance. 

The weather was extremely cold with a biting wind and the sun was as yet not shining through which meant a brisk walk was required to keep us all warm. 

The views were spectacular looking across the park with a viaduct standing out in the distance encapsulated in glorious sunshine which we had yet to feel the benefit of. 

It was now approaching 12:30 and hunger was upon us and passing the bridge where we had last eaten pork pies that Eddie had bought from Castleford Market. We reminisced about that very day but decided not to stop until sunshine was in our grasp. A little further on we found the exact spot where we consumed our repast in glorious sunshine. 

We then continued our journey passing through another gate by the holiday cottages and commenting on how good it was to be out once again and achieving the simple task of putting one foot in front of the other making us feel that what we were doing was the right thing to do. 

We shortly came to the woods and climbed gently up the path eventually taking a left turn that ran adjacent to the Emmerdale estate which we followed until we exited the woods and began the long haul back towards the A61 and our bus back to Leeds. The bus arrived at 14:03 only a minute behind schedule so pretty good arriving safely back into Leeds at around 14:40. 

Brian and John alighting on Vicar Lane for their respective journies back to Morley and Bingley respectively. 

Colin continued back to Leeds City Bus Station to return to Beeston with over 8000 steps and around 12,000 for John. 

We missed the lads that didn’t venture with us but as we learn to live with this pandemic we could all be back together very soon. 

Another great day out proving over and over again you don’t need to travel far to enjoy yourselves!

-- 

Colin Hendrick Ward