Canal side walk in Leeds

 Wednesday 27th September 2023.            Canal side walk in Leeds 

Today’s adventure for the Lads was a short notice arranged escapade to the city of Leeds ,brought about by the sudden cancellation of a planned visit to see Roger Wadman , this was because of his hospital admission, we wish him a speedy recovery.

The rearranged plans were for the Lads to meet outside the W.H. Smiths shop located in the railway station entrance in the city at 10:30 . From there Colin , John, Brian, Glenn, Mark and Dave would make their way to the Leeds to Liverpool Canal and take the footpath heading in a northwesterly direction taking them , hopefully to the commercial centre at Cardigan Fields. 

This should be about a distance of some 2 and a half to 3 miles , unfortunately not so on this occasion. However this adventure proved to be an interesting experience for all. As the lads steadily made progress away from the daily hustle and bustle of the city life they took in the views on offer in this canal side location. At various points along their way having to dodge the inconsiderate cyclists, pity. 

The lads ventured on with only a vague idea as to where they would exit the canal footpath, one particular location was suggested then abandoned with the hopes of finding another one, stretching their legs they soldiered on adding a little more distance to their intended walk. Eventually a conversation with some helpful dog walkers pointed out that the particular exit to the Cardigan Field commercial area had been closed off adding yet further yardage to our canal side walk.

We did eventually escape the grips of the canal and continued our journey around the large industrial area before catching a glimpse of the main road, Kirkstall Road, Yippee thought the lads, a few hundred yards along this road found us at our intended destination, Cardigan Fields and the Pizza Hut restaurant. Plenty of other eating establishments were situated here but we settled for an all you can eat pizza buffet.

Having been shown to a suitable table by a rather pleasant staff member we soon tucked in to our well deserved lunches and began discussing our future plans etc.

With time now being the essence especially for Dave ,who had a Doctors appointment to attend at 15:20 it was farewell to Cardigan Fields and take our respective bus and train journeys home, saying goodbye to Mark first has he was heading in the opposite direction, the rest of us piled on board the 34 bus back to the city centre. John, Dave and Glenn headed for the railway station Colin and Brian stayed aboard the bus has we all said goodbye to each other.

Upon reflection today’s adventure was something different with many pleasurable moments and enjoyment.

Cheers Everyone.

Whitley Bay Wondering

 

Wednesday 20 September 2023

Whitley Bay and Surroundings!

Todays trip would take the lads Derek, Colin and Glenn to Whitley Bay via Newcastle Central. 

Catching the 09:27 Dewsbury Train although only Derek would board at Dewsbury, Colin and Glenn boarding at Leeds and departing at 09:40. Passing through York, Northallerton and Darlington as we raced North. 

Arriving at Newcastle Central at 11:15 we made our way to The Metro where we purchased our Super Savers for our A+B+C tickets @ £6.50 that gave us access to the whole network just in case for our journey to Whitley Bay. 

We arrived in Whitley Bay with a storm crashing down and wind and rain blowing in all directions. 

Nevertheless, we then made our way to the Promenade to locate our Lunchtime eatery called FISHERMAN’S BAY and were shown to our table almost immediately. By this time the storm had almost disappeared and ordering the pensioner’s portion for £10.50 consisting of Fish & Chips, Mushy Peas and Tartar/ Tomato sauces, bread and butter and three teapots of tea we tucked in to our delightful dishes with a passion. 

Almost an hour had now passed and the sun was shining although there was a fresh wind still lurking. 

We walked up the promenade the sand and sea looking beautiful whilst deciding what to do next,  first we saw The Spanish City that had been completely revamped and had been made into a number of retail outlets and a Wedding Venue that was luxurious with a dining  room and looking resplendent with a dome. We travelled up in the lift to the second floor and looked down to the public dining below. 

We then decided to have an ice cream and crossed over the road to find The Di Meo’s Ice Cream Parlour and Coffee Emporium full of Geordie Characters which we bantered with in good nature. 

Leaving the Parlour we headed towards Monkseaton which had a plethora of shops selling a wide variety of merchandise. The streets were spotless and extremely busy.

 

We travelled in a circular motion passing through Monkseaton, Blyth and Cullercoats, eventually returning to Whitley Bay Station for our Metro back to Newcastle Central.  

However, on the way back to Newcastle we alighted at an earlier station called “Monument” and walked down to the Railway Station for the 17:43 to Manchester Piccadilly and as we still had plenty of time we each got a coffee before boarding the train. 

We set off on time from Newcastle and the train journey was extremely comfortable and with a table we were made up! 

We arrived in Leeds @ 19:15 where Colin and Glenn would be alighting and Derek finally arriving at Dewsbury @ 19:26. 

Another lovely day out even with the weather being hostile at the outset but changing as we went through the day.

Conquering Conisborough

 Wednesday 13th September 2023.                Conquering Conisborough 

Todays adventure would take the Lads to the limits of the South Yorkshire border with North Nottinghamshire. To the village of Conisborough and explore its medieval castle that is situated there.

The group will consist of Derek, Dave, Colin, Brian, John, Glenn and Mark all travelling to Doncaster by train which left Leeds at 10:26 picking up the lads as it passed their nominated stations, it arrived at platform 6 a few minutes after 11 o’clock , from here it was just a short distance to the Interchange here in Doncaster in order to take the X78 bus that would transport the lads to Conisborough, stand B6 to be precise.

 The bus journey lasted about 20 minutes or so before dropping the lads off near the very old church of St. Peters in the heart of the village, once they had found their bearings it was off to the nearby cafe named Meet and Eat for a breakfast lunch for some of them, others just participating with a cuppa.

Meals somewhat enjoyed it was now off in search of the well documented historical castle and begin exploring its ramparts, this provided the lads with both interesting and fascinating experience to say the least, especially the visit to the top of the tower , taking in the various short animated stories of bygone times.

Spectacular views were the gift for climbing the numerous stone steps leading to the summit, great distances could be seen off on the far horizons has we encircled this observation tower , magnificent. 

Closer to the castle was another point of interest that the Lads intended to explore, that of the railway viaduct built to cross the river Don, but unfortunately they realised that enough time had not been allocated to carry out this exploration, maybe another time then for this adventure.

It was a steady retreat from the dizzy heights of the tower and back to a more familiar feeling of ground under our feet and the streets of the village before us, a steady walk up one of those streets took us back towards the bus stop and the vicinity of St. Peters church for a brief look around, unfortunately the doors were locked so no internal viewing was achieved, the ice cream shop opposite had also closed its doors at 2 pm, so off to the bus stop and back to the town of Doncaster with the intention of finding an ice cream parlour there, we did eventually come across a suitable establishment in the form of BurgerKings situated in the Frenchgate shopping centre built partly above the transport interchange. 

Once our ice creams had been devoured it was just a short walk back towards platform 6 and take a much earlier train than expected in the direction of Leeds , once aboard this particular train some confusion ensued as to who was able to travel on this earlier train, especially John and Derek, at one point Derek left the train only to return having cleared the mix up with the ticket inspector , John trying to discreetly hide from her by moving seats and pulling his cap over his face. Somehow this seemed to have worked, lucky for him.

Upon reflection today was a most memorable and joyful experience for the Lads with perfect company and weather to match.

Cheers Everyone.

Ribblehead Revisited

 

Wednesday 6 September 2023

Ribblehead District

Todays trip would take three of the lads John, Colin and Glenn to Ribblehead by train catching the 10:49 from Leeds  arriving in Ribblehead a little after 12:07. John having got on at the outpost of Bingley!

We descended the road out of the station and down to the main road turning right over the cattle grid and taking the left turn down the path towards the magnificent Ribblehead Viaduct.

We then turned left and followed the road round until we reached the gate to take us towards the Blea Moor signal box and the open countryside. However, John had solicited the help of the phantom route changer who wanted to add another ten miles to our morning ramble. Colin soon put a stop to this chicanery and explained we wouldn’t be taking his suggestion as we had a train to catch @ 16:16. Miffed by this rejection he wandered off muttering “If nobody’s listening to me I might as well be off!”

We recovered from this interlude by strolling through the peaceful surroundings until we reached the crossroads and took the right turning that took us through a number of gates where we eventually reached our picnic area to partake our picnics and discussed our future plans and the sad decline of our parliamentary representatives across all parties. 

We then resumed our walk towards Blea Moor and through the gate taking us under the railway. We turned right at this point and after a short steady climb we descended towards the railway station in the distance arriving on the platform to wait for the 26:16 back to Bingley for John and Leeds and Sandal for Colin and Glenn respectfully. 

Another lovely day out with the weather being more than kind all day reaching temperatures of 27°. 

Happy Times at Hull

 

Wednesday 30 August 2023

The Royal City of Hull

Todays trip would take only two of the lads Colin and Glenn to Hull by train catching the 10:27 from Leeds  

arriving in Hull Paragon @ 11:25. 

On exiting the station we asked for directions at Customer Service and it wasn’t long before we were heading towards the Museum Quarter after being informed that the Maritime Museum our principal attraction was closed for another two years as it was being renovated. 

However, we had a contingency plan which included The Streetlife Museum, The Archeological Museum of the East Riding and Hull Minster. 

Both Museums were excellent with a wealth of information and we spent a couple of hours seeking out information and seeing wonderful exhibits ranging from the early 20th century and much earlier history in the Archeological Museum of the East Riding. 

The wealth of medieval Hull is exemplified by the Church of the Holy Trinity, which is the most magnificent and largest Parish Church in England. Now classed as a Minster and Cathedral. 

What a fine historic place to attend Sunday services and other acts of worship, or indeed a fantastic 'medieval' setting for a music concert. It is partly built of brick - the use of bricks in Hull dates from at least 1303, when several brickyards are known to have existed. For over 700 years the people of Hull have worshipped at Holy Trinity. It is considered by many that Holy Trinity Church, Hull is the largest parish church in England. Holy Trinity Church, Hull was established in 1285 as a chapel of ease to Hessle. 

Holy Trinity Church, Hull was consecrated in 1425 and made a parish church in 1661. It is one of the earliest examples of the widespread use of brick. What you see in the architecture of Holy Trinity Church, Hull is mainly from ~1300 to ~1530, with restoration work in 1841-1845 by H.F. Lockwood, 1859-1872 by Sir George Gilbert Scott and lastly in 1906 by F.S. Brodrick.

We put the Minster to good use whilst inside buying hot drinks for consumption in the peaceful community area of the church. 

On leaving the Minster we wandered around the clean and tidy streets finally making our way back towards Hull Exchange stopping in a Mall for another hot drink. 

We left the coffee shop and wandered back to the Railway Station for our 17:03 train back to Leeds and only had a few minutes to wait before the doors opened allowing us to get ensconced in our carriage with a full window to take in the sights for our short hop back to Leeds stopping only at Brough and Selby arriving in Leeds at 17:57. 

Another lovely day out with the weather being kind all day. 

-- 

Colin Hendrick Ward