Goit Stock Gamble

 Wednesday 20th August 2025.               Goit Stock Gamble

The gamble was, whether or not we would catch the little Green Bus, that would whisk us from the town of Bingley up towards Wilsden and beyond. Time is of the essence for this adventure, with only a few minutes leeway between our train arriving in Bingley and the said bus leaving the train station. It would be just 5 of the Lads taking part in this challenge so to speak, Derek, Dave, Brian coming from Leeds and Mark heading from Menston, John was already at Bingley and there to spur us on, little did he imagine what a tight schedule ensued, ie, Derek had missed the so called early train to Bingley and the one he was on was some 10 /12 minutes delayed , would he arrive in time, or would it be “plan B” fortunately for us the little Green Bus was behind schedule as well and with a little persuasion from John the driver eventually waited for us all to climb on board, Relief to us all. 

We now sat back in our seats, caught our breath and began to smile at each other,then before not too long we were off the bus and at the beginning of our intended walk here on the outermost reaches of Wilsden.  It was just about 11 o’clock now and feeling a little cool a far cry from last week’s adventure, nevertheless we were soon in to our stride and heading along the country lanes heading for Goit Stock Woods etc.

John said he had previous knowledge of this section of the walk, but soon found himself scratching his head and wondering which pathway we should take, eventually common sense kicked in and he asked someone. We were soon pointed in the right direction and over our first stile of which there were many that had to be negotiated along this particular route, a little taxing at times but well worth the effort, peaceful countryside views to one side and woodlands on the other. This pathway continued for another mile or so before we came to the main road and a nearby bus stop enabling us to catch a returning ride back  to Bingley.

It was about ten past one as we entered the cafe we had chosen here in Bingley, the Loft was it’s name, we have eaten here before on a couple of occasions and were well pleased with the outcome this time as well, great choice of food served with very accommodating staff, most pleasing to say the least. We spent a good hour in this establishment chatting about various upcoming events and adventures we anticipate partaking in, a visit to Stanley Ferry, possibly a walk at Otley and another at Worsborough. All good stuff and more.

Cheers Everyone.

New Mills Adventure

Wednesday 13th August 2025.                 New Mills Adventure 

This was a much anticipated adventure that didn’t get off to a good start etc, our train taking us to Sheffield, the Plymouth bound express was running late by some 10 to 15 minutes before it arrived in Leeds, even later by the time it reached Wakefield. Timing was crucial, so all our gang, that’s John, Colin, Brian, Mark, Derek,Glenn and Dave were willing this train to arrive in Sheffield no later than 10:14. It duly arrived at 10:20. For some strange chance our 10:14 train heading for New Mills was still standing there on platform 8 just a short distance away from where we had just arrived, what good fortune for us, we were now able to find a seat and relax a little and enjoy the countryside views as we left Sheffield behind and travelled into the Peak District of Derbyshire.

 

We eventually reached the station at New Mills with little idea of which pathway to take, so with the helpful guidance from the station staff who was only too willing to help, we first ventured to the Millennium Walkway, this structure giving us a splendid view of the river and the mill complex opposite.

We ventured a little further along this pathway and took the opportunity to see the various viaducts that have been constructed in this particular location supporting both the railway and road network systems here in the town. We eventually found a pathway that would lead us up to the town centre way above our present location. It was a steady accent up this cobblestone path which was formerly built for packhorse travelling, some 30 minutes later and after a few rest stops we finally emerged along the high street here in New Mills. 

We now decided to take an early lunch break so a few hundred yards away was our intended cafe, aptly named On The Bridge, we soon found a spot for the seven of us to sit and proceeded to order our snacks and drinks, it wasn’t too long before we were enjoying them, what happened during the next few minutes can only be described as the” only Mad dogs and Englishmen syndrome” for one particular person.

It was a really very warm day outside with temperatures reaching around 30 degrees or so and the possibility that not enough water had been consumed along with an exhausting climb had contributed to this ordeal, just very thankful that there were group members on hand to deal with this situation. 

At this stage and after consideration of what had just happened the group decided to  abandon their adventure here in New Mills today and return homewards on an earlier train. 

The final outcome of what happened in the cafe ,was considered to be the result of dehydration according to the medical profession after a full examination of the affected person.

Cheers Everyone for taking part and a special thanks to our resident first aiders.

Guiseley Gadabout

 Wednesday 6th August 2025.                  Guiseley  Gadabout

It was to pastures new for the Lads today has they descended on the town of Guiseley, a location just one stop away from the city of Leeds. It would be John, Derek, Dave, Brian, Colin and Glen that would participate in this adventure etc.

They duly assembled at the railway station in Guiseley at round about 11:00 am after making their journeys by trains, then walked just a short distance to a nearby bus stop, from here they took the No 34 bus for about 4 stops through the town centre and onto their starting point of this intended walk. 

It was a pleasant morning as they set foot on the pathway that would steadily climb up through farmland and eventually give the Lads some splendid views of this particular area, fantastic. This meandering pathway was a little troublesome to negotiate at certain points, plus they had to avoid the odd few sheep along their way. 

Help from a few fellow travellers helped guide the lads when their map reading skills came into question etc, they continued on this uphill journey and finally came to a level roadway along which they travelled more easily, this roadway giving them great views of aircraft taking off from Leeds/ Bradford airport along with distant vistas of far horizons.

 

Some twenty minutes later they found themselves close by the Moor Top Quarry, a few more hundred yards and they were at the quarry entrance gate, time to get a passer-by to capture this moment before we ventured a little further along the roadway and then began our decent back towards the town

. This was by means of a farm track at first, then turning into a somewhat difficult uneven pathway , yet again causing us some discomfort especially to our feet and ankles. We eventually reached a main road and a great sigh of relief came to our faces, at this point we were in close proximity to the Swincar Nurseries and a nearby bus stop, do we wait the twenty minutes before a bus arrives or carry on walking on towards our intended lunchtime cafe situated along the high street here in Guiseley.

 

We decided to walk that next half mile only to find this chosen cafe closed due to holidays, not to worry an alternative venue was soon located and fulfilled our hunger needs, great stuff.

It took us about 40 minutes to consume our meals along with the conversation about our next intended outing and which trains do we take in order to get there, as you can imagine the noise levels our table became considerably much louder to say the least, eventually a schedule was agreed upon and put into action. By now it was five past three and our respective trains would soon be arriving at the station which was some 10 minutes walk away. By 15:24 we were on board a train heading for Leeds , John was taking a train heading for Bradford a few minutes later.

Upon Reflection today’s adventure was pleasurable for some and not so for others.

Anyhow a big thanks to all concerned 

Cheers Everyone.