Humber Bridge Boys

 Wednesday 30th July. 2025.             Humber  Bridge  Boys 

As the title suggests, the Lads are heading out towards the East Coast City of Hull, their intention is to walk the full expanse of the Humber Suspension Bridge, taking them from Hessel on the north bank over to Barton on the south bank , a distance of about a mile and a half. Their plan is to take the 9:54 train from Leeds heading for Hull, on arrival at Hull they will board a No 350 bus which will transport them to the starting point of their walk.

The train duly arrived at Hull almost on the stroke of eleven o’clock giving them just a few minutes to make their way to stand 10 in the adjoining bus station ,their bus was due to leave at 11.10 , soon they were all on board this bus and swiftly moving along through the streets of the city heading towards the Bridge. Thirty minutes later they were off the bus and heading for the walkway that would eventually lead them to the start of their crossing of the river Humber.

What a magnificent structure lay before them, a tribute to the engineers who designed and built it, awesome. Now all the lads had to do was enjoy this crossing from one bank to the other and take in the splendid views etc has they steadily made their way.

There was a stiff breeze blowing at some points along the way but with the sun shining down on us it was pleasurable experience to say the least. We made several stops along our way as you can imagine before we finally reached the far bank and took advantage of a nearby pub and take a lunch break etc. This was spent in the so called beer garden of the Sloop Inn here in the village of Barton on Humber.

The lads rested here for about 45 minutes then hurriedly made their way to the nearby bus stop and boarded a bus which would take them back to the city of Hull

. It was just a few minutes after 2.40 pm now and the lads went off in search of an ice cream courtesy of a local establishment, these were consumed rather hurriedly as time was running out, their train heading back to Leeds would be leaving at 15:16 promptly, the lads found their chosen seats, similar to the ones on the outward journey , sat at tables opposite one another and causing noisy conversations as the train travelled along its route.The usual banter ensued has they discussed future plans which all added to a thoroughly enjoyable day for all concerned. 

Cheers Everyone.

Brighouse Bound

 Wednesday 23rd July 2025               Brighouse Bound

It was to pastures new for the Lads today, as their adventure would take them to the West Yorkshire town of Brighouse. A town that they have often bypassed on many a train journey in this area, never giving it a second thought. But today for Malcolm, John, Derek, Dave, Brian, Colin and Mark that would change, instead they did exit the trains and make for the town centre. Their mission was to take a walk along side the Calder and Hebble Navigation heading westbound, this turned out to be a most pleasurable experience to say the least.

It was about 11:00 am when the gang all gathered at the railway station here in Brighouse and soon we were making strides towards the canal side pathway which is situated just the other side of the river Calder.

The first few hundred yards of this journey have altered slightly due to rebuilding work being carried out at the moment, but before not too long we were along side the canal and experiencing this wonderful setting, huge weeping willow trees adorning either sides for this first stretch of our journey. Quite a few wild blackberry bushes in this section, this giving us a reminder of our dear friend Eddie who would have tried a couple or two.

On now towards our first interesting structure that of Ganny Lock at this point we cross over the canal by the typical stone footbridge and take a respite stop seated on the lock gate swing arm as a friendly fellow walker kindly takes a photo of our marauding group, this spot is quite a picturesque place giving you the full aspects of the canal system etc.

Onwards now and both the river and canal take a sharp left hand turn as we head towards some factory buildings, we have covered about a mile or so, the pathway as turned into a roadway at this point and leads us over the canal again before we leave the roadway and rejoin the towpath which yet again leads us to another interesting place, that of Brookfoot Lock

, at this point we cross over the canal again and begin to pass a few canal boats that have taken advantage of mooring here, one of these boats is offering sandwiches and drinks for sale giving an ideal opportunity for us to make a few purchases and rest for a while etc. Some twenty minutes later we are on our way again and pass by Cromwell Lock, here we catch a glimpse of a canal boat passing through the system here, we carry on and it’s not too far to the point where we will about turn and head back towards Brighouse.

The first part of our return journey is by a wooded pathway alongside the nature reserve here in this location, we rejoin the canal towpath some point near Brookfoot Lock and retrace our steps back into the town. Once we reach Brighouse it’s off to the well renowned Blakeleys fish and chip restaurant for a well deserved lunchtime meal , excellent choice and so was this entire adventure.

With the time now approaching 2:15 pm it’s back to the railway station and await the arrival of our transport taking us homeward bound.

We have journeyed about 5 miles and taken in some memorable moments, I am sure we will be returning to Brighouse at some point in the future.

Cheers Everyone.

Littleborough to Walsden

 Wednesday 16th July 2025.              Littleborough  to. Walsden

Today’s adventure for the Lads would see them take a train journey to the Lancashire town of Littleborough and then walk back along side the Leeds to Liverpool Canal to the village of Walsden, this should cover a distance of just over 4 miles according to some sources! But for Derek, John, Malcolm, Dave, Brian and Mark this distance seemed to be twice as far.

Their journey began aboard a train from Leeds at 10:20 calling at Dewsbury and Hebden Bridge along the way . It was a pleasant sunny day as the lads arrived at Littleborough station at about 11:30, from here it is just a few minutes walk to the canal and the start of their walk, before not too long we are embracing  the peacefulness of our surroundings etc.

The occasional glimpse of wildlife both on and off the water are a pleasure to see, we also pass a few anglers on route hoping to catch the odd fish or two much to their dismay. We take the opportunity now and then to take photos to add to our vast array of memorable moments we have all shared in our adventures together, great stuff.

Half way through our journey we take a break from the walking and find a suitable spot to sit and consume our picnic lunches, Mark and Brian take the opportunity to purchase a drink from the nearby Summit Pub to accompany their lunch, 30 minutes later we resumed our journey past the numerous Locks along our way which brings back memories of previous occasions we have ambled along this towpath hoping to reach Grandma Pollard’s and enjoy fish and chips, sadly this restaurant no longer exists, much to our dismay.

As 2pm arrives we start to think how much further away is Walsden, some local fishermen suggest it’s another mile or so, doesn’t seem right somehow, nevertheless we keep on going and finally reach our intended destination , not before taking advantage of a honesty box with a supply of goodies to select from , Brian took advantage of this as his hunger pains returned. A few more hundred yards and we left the canal side behind and headed for the railway station just over the road, feeling rather weary we climbed the steps taking us to the other platform in order to catch our returning train heading homeward bound.

This train arriving some 15 minutes later, held up by a rather lengthy slow moving goods train, we climbed aboard at almost twenty past 3 able to have a sit down and relax, John was first off the train at Hebden Bridge, Derek and Dave followed at Dewsbury the rest continued on to Leeds . 

Upon Reflection today’s adventure was maybe a step too far, nevertheless it was a pleasurable just to be out there.

Cheers Everyone.