Wednesday 24 April 2024

Roundhay Mansion 

Today’s adventure would take three of us Derek, Mark and Me to Roundhay Park to join up with Tim. Russell would be joining us later at the Mansion. 

Tim was already there when we arrived at 11:20 after we had caught the No. 2 bus from Corn Exchange. Tim had also secured seating at a table with Chesterfield couches and our drinks were brought to us “presque immédiatement“ and we were all interested in catching up with Tim’s health recovery after his fall earlier this year and with his wife’s return to fitness.

Russell then arrived to increase the party from four to five and he soon found a seat which was placed in the Window. 

The conversation flowed as usual and before long it was time for the visitors to leave after over two hours chatting. Tim would have been happy to stay all day. 

We walked with Tim to meet his wife who came to pick him up.

At the end after a very enjoyable afternoon the lads then all made their individual ways home catching the No.12 back into Leeds and then getting their specific buses back home and were still looking forward to their day out in York next Wednesday on the 1st day of May.

Colin Hendrick Ward

Knaresborough

 Wednesday 17 April 2024

Knaresborough 

Today’s adventure would take four of us Brian, Glenn, Mark and Me to Knaresborough, Mark joining the train at Harrogate and apart from a stiff wind the weather stayed bright and sunny.

We left Knaresborough station Brian, Glenn, Mark and Me to join the Main Street turning left at the World’s End Pub. 

We then walked along Waterside in very pleasant surroundings. After a fair walk Colin suggested that we had missed our left turning up to the Castle. Glenn said categorically that it’s further along but Colin was adamant that we’d missed the steps and we should go back as it was time for Colin to eat to stop a severe hypoglycaemic attack. At this point Glenn acceded that he was thinking of the Chapel and not the Castle which after all both began with a letter “C.”

Retracing our steps we made it back to the steps in no more than twenty minutes and made it to the first stage to admire the view and had a photograph taken by a passerby which also had a train crossing the viaduct, an excellent and unexpected result.

On reaching the Castle we made our way towards the Market Square and found a lovely little cafe called The Secret Bakery where we stopped for a bite to eat. Unfortunately they didn’t do soup but they did fantastic sandwiches which we all participated in with homemade bread and sourdough if you fancied it. We spent a good thirty minutes in here putting the world to rights and recalling Thackray’s past then Glenn reminded us that we were catching the 14:07 back to Leeds not the 14:37 as he had a meeting back in Walton and as the Sheriff he had to be there.

We meandered down to the station but still had a few minutes to spare so a good look round the railway shop and a scone with Jam “pour moi” passed a few precious minutes before our train arrived.

The train journey back to Leeds was uneventful but pleasant enough with some spectacular views across the landscape and dropping off Mark at Harrogate Railway Station.

At the end after a very enjoyable day the lads all made their individual ways home and were looking forward to their day out in York on 1st of May with a visit to Roundhay Park Mansion on 24 May sandwiched in between.

Colin Hendrick Ward

Roundhay Roundup

 Wednesday 10th April 2024.                 Roundhay Roundup 

It would be a group of just 4 of the Lads that descended upon the region of Roundhay Park for today’s outing here in the outskirts of Leeds. They will be Colin , John , Mark and Dave making the journey courtesy of the No 12 bus , they boarded it outside the Corn Exchange at about 10:40 it was running a few minutes late. However this was not a problem, some 25 minutes length of journey through the streets of the city found them soon  alighting the bus just outside the entrance gates to the park.

From the bus terminus it was now across the road and onto the pathway leading to the Mansion House Cafe where they spent a short while taking refreshments etc. Upon leaving the Mansion House the lads now took the trail down through the park and on towards one of the lakes situated here in this lovely setting. A decision was now made to continue a circular route along the pathway leading around the edge of Waterloo lake , the underfoot conditions not being too bad considering the amount of rain that as been falling over the last few days. 

Eventually the lads made their way to a lower park entrance gate and then followed the main road for a short distance until they reached the location of Oakwood and the famous clock tower which as been sited there, with the forecasted rain now falling it was a hastily dash towards a nearby bus stop and hop on the No 13 taking them back to the city centre , then each making their respective onward journeys home.

Upon reflection today’s so called roundup was both fun and exhilarating to say the least, plenty of fresh air  to consume with conversation to match.

Cheers Everyone 

Saltaire Saunter

 Wednesday 3rd. April 2024.           Saltaire  Saunter 

As the title suggests today’s outing for the lads took them to the West Yorkshire town of Saltaire , a location steeped in history from a bygone era. But the lads were not here for an history lesson ,instead it was for a stroll along the banks of the river Aire and then a return journey along the towpath of the Leeds to Liverpool Canal, this would be a total distance of about 3 to 4 miles approximately.

Today’s group would include Colin, Brian, Glenn and Dave travelling to Saltaire by train, John would travel by bus and meet up with the Lads at the railway station which indeed he did , the time was about 10:50 am. With rain forecast the lads were suitably dressed for the occasion but fortunately it was only a few brief showers that fell upon them during this adventure. Their outward journey was strewn with many rainwater puddles from an overnight downpour which hampered their progress a little, the return leg was less of a challenge as part of the towpath now includes a long stretch of tarmac surface etc.

After about 90 minutes of walking the lads found themselves heading towards the Boathouse Cafe for a lunchtime meal, which on this occasion they all found quite satisfactory so to speak. Over lunch as per usual the conversation turned to future plans and the prospect of either different locations to visit or return to previous places that the lads have visited and enjoyed, several venues came to mind as you would expect. York, Scarborough, Whitby, Hebden Bridge, Filey, Lytham , Knaresbrough plus many others.

With some kind of planning put in place the lads now left the comfort of the Boathouse Cafe and took the short walk towards the railway station with John making his way to the bus stop, all for their intended homeward travel arrangements etc.

Yet another enjoyable day out with the Lads 

Cheers everyone.

  Wednesday 20th March 2024.                  Ambling at Anglers

On a day that was predicted to be rather wet, we were rather fortunate not to contend with any serious downpours of rain as we walked around the lake here at Anglers Country Park. This is a location on the outskirts of Wakefield near the village of Crofton.

It was a group of six that would venture out on a wet morning to converge on this location, their means of getting there would involve various modes of transport, John and Colin by train and bus , Derek, Dave and Glenn by bus, Keith arriving by car. Their journeys not running smoothly though. The 196 bus at 10:51 from Wakefield to Anglers was cancelled so a ride on the 195 was substituted only to find out that this particular bus didn’t go the full route to Anglers, it dropped off John, Colin, Derek and Dave at a bus terminus in Crofton and await the arrival of a 196 bus to continue their journey. 

In the meantime Glenn took a car ride with Keith to the car park at Anglers, eventually we all met up at some point by the lakeside pathway and from this point made our way to the on site cafe for a spot of lunch. With various meals ordered we found a suitable place to sit and enjoy them, spending about 45 minutes over lunch discussing future plans and events etc. We have decided to visit Selby for our next outing with times of trains to be confirmed at some point.

Leaving the comfort of the cafe we said farewell to Keith, he wasn’t feeling up to continuing our journey around the far side of the lake. So the rest of us trudged along through rather muddy conditions and completed a full circular lap of the lake ending up back to our original entry point, a wide trackway that would lead us to the bus stop. 10 minutes later we boarded a 196 bus heading back in the direction of Wakefield with Dave leaving the bus first followed shortly afterwards by Glenn, Derek , Colin and John taking the rest of the journey to the city centre bus station, from here making their respective homeward bound journey. 

Upon reflection today’s outing was eventually a successful adventure despite the odd setback or two.

Cheers everyone.

  Wednesday 13th March 2024.                Plan B. Revisited 

With a forecast of possible heavy rain today’s planned walk was abandoned in favour of a return visit to the Ten Pin Bowling establishment in the Merrion Centre Leeds. A suggested meeting time of 11am was put in place and this is indeed what occurred.

It would be a group of 7 that would take up residence upon lane 12 , those being Brian, Colin, Derek , Dave, Glenn, John and Mark , they would contest 2 games , which proved to be both entertaining and enthralling to say the least.

As the first frames began , it was evident that Glenn had participated in this sport before and he proved to be a formidable competitor, Derek, Brian and Dave giving him a good run his money, the other lads struggling to find any sort of rhythm during this first game.

It was a totally different outcome during the second game, with John finding his mojo and putting together almost 3 strikes in a row he went into an unassailable lead almost. Brian and Derek keeping in close contention, Dave and Glenn now finding it hard to put in any form of challenge, Mark and Colin’s second game performance being much better than their first, although Colin finishing strongly once he recovered his somehow missing bowl.

Throughout these two games there was much banter and jollity between the lads, the thrills of the elusive strike ever hopefully apparent in each of their thoughts.

Never as Almost 3 hours passed so enthusiastically, not even time for drink or bite to eat as we parted company and headed for our respective homeward journeys.

Cheers Everyone 

Bewildering Bishopthorpe

 Wednesday 28th February 2024.        Bewildering Bishopthorpe

As the title suggests, today’s outing for the Lads was a rather bizarre event to say the least.

It all began with a telephone message to John, it said that our intended outing today was not going to take place due to a rather late cancellation by our prearranged guide.

So yet again Plan B was quickly put into action, a random internet search of possible walks in the city of York the night before by Dave had thrown up a possible alternative, so with map in hand and a sort of bus schedule to consider, this new approach was put into place.

All this rearranging taking place on board the 10:30 train heading from Leeds to York, those considering this alternative were John, Brian, Colin, Mark, Glenn, Derek and Dave.

On arrival at York it was a hastily purchase of a meal deal at the Sainsbury’s outlet before heading for the bus stop situated outside the railway station, unfortunately it turned out to be the wrong place, we should have been on the opposite side of the road, as our intended bus came and went. A look of confusion now ensued, but moments later a solution appeared in the form of a indication board informing the lads that a No.11 bus was due in a few minutes time that would transport them to the village of Bishopsthorpe, sigh of relief.

Once aboard the bus further inspections of the map were  pondered over with a few other passengers having their input. However a couple of stops further down the Main Street in Bishopsthorpe than intended we alighted the bus and headed for a footpath that would take us in the direction of the river Ouse. Once by the riverside we now headed in a southerly direction , eventually reaching open views of the river which was quite wide at some points, many boats and sailing craft were moored along this stretch of water .

45 minutes into our walk we considered resting for a short while in order to consume our meal deal snacks plus shelter from a rather cold breeze which was blowing in our faces on this outward journey. Another half mile or so found us outside the Ship Inn and from this point our return journey back across open fields to the village of Bishopsthorpe.

From here we eventually boarded a bus taking us back to the city of York and once again we had stood at the wrong bus stop for a while, it would be the No21 bus rushing through the outskirts and streets of the city reaching the railway station at a few minutes before 3 o’clock giving us just enough time to purchase a cuppa etc. Minutes later we were on board the 15:20 taking us back to Leeds and from there our respective homeward journeys.

Upon reflection today’s adventure was full of mishaps interspersed with endless enjoyment and fun, plus no rain to contend with.

Cheers Everyone.

 Wednesday 21st February 2024

Bowling Battle 

Today’s adventure walking along the canal from Woodlesford to the outskirts of Leeds was postponed due to the shocking weather. 

Nevertheless the lads rallied round and decided on another Ten-Pin Bowling session. 

This would take the Lads back to an establishment in the heart of Leeds, a place they visited quite a few weeks back. Which  brought much excitement and pleasure for them.

So it was Colin , Brian, Mark, Derek and John, that would step forward once again and set foot inside this building. 

The building in question is the refurbished Ten Pin Bowling Alley situated in the Merrion Centre in the city. A suggested time of 11:00 was agreed for the group to meet up, so after the formal handshakes it was a change of footwear for some and step up to the mark so to speak.

We were assigned lane 26, so with the scorecard filled in alphabetically Brian once again was first into action bowling with a rather decent bowling action his good form stayed with him throughout our first game closely followed by Colin and Derek, the rest of us just plodding along trying to get into some sort of rhythm. 

Eventually things began to change as each frame passed us by with a couple of Strikes entered on the scorecard. 

However, It would be Brian and Colin who came out on top for our first game with unfortunately a score of less than 100 for both of them, with a winning score of 87, well done Brian and Colin. 

Now on to our second game, maybe a different result this time round with our skills slightly improved. 

However, Colin did improve and came out the winner but only just in front of Derek. John started off like a train but soon ran out of steam. At one time he thought he was going to be asked to play for the over 80’s but alas it never transpired. 

The overall winner when combining both games was Colin the Champion with Derek securing second place, well done to both of them.

At the end after a very enjoyable two hour session the lads all made their individual ways home and were looking forward to their day out in York. 

 

Wednesday 14 February 2024

Ossett Greenway Revisited 

It was the 10:15 from Leeds to Liverpool and alighting at Dewsbury that most of us would be catching today with Brian, John, Mark and Colin meeting in the station. 

We arrived in Dewsbury at 10:25 and made our way down to the Bus Station to catch the 10:41 to Wakefield alighting at Ossett. It would be the 126 that would convey us to Ossett. Just before we got to the bus station we were joined on the bus by Derek.

Dave would not be joining us today as he was doing a spot of childminding for the family. 

Arriving in Ossett at just after 10:00 we then waited for Glenn who was travelling from Wakefield. Unfortunately his bus was cancelled so this delayed us for about twenty minutes or so. 

We walked from the bus station towards the Greenway and picked up some food for later on the way. 

We joined the Greenway and the Panoramic views were excellent with one of the landmarks instantaneously in view “Emley Moor.”

We followed the path towards Dewsbury and what a pleasant walk it was we seemed miles from anywhere and it was so peaceful and quiet. 

We soon approached the valley in Earlsheaton where in bygone days it was an active railway community.  

A little further on we walked under Earlsheaton Tunnel and then we stopped for a bite to eat and a chat finalising our future trips. 

We then set off again and instead of going over the viaduct this time we turned right and headed towards Savile Town and into a trading estate before crossing over the road and into Dewsbury and settling down in Cloggs, a coffeehouse that was extremely welcoming and served delicious food where we all enjoyed a bite to eat and a hot drink. 

It was now getting time to leave around 14:15 so we all made our ways back home to Wakefield, Otley, Ossett, Bingley, Morley and Beeston catching the necessary trains and buses home. 

Another lovely day out and it was great to have a sunny and warm day at last!

Colin Hendrick Ward

Addingham back to Ilkley

 Wednesday 7th February 2024.        Addingham back to Ilkley 

Today’s outing for the Lads will represent a significant milestone in their exploits of over the last decade. It will be their 300 Adventure, what a great achievement for this so called Walking Group.

To mark this milestone the Lads have chosen to revisit one of their earliest outings with a trip that will take them to the lovely village setting of Addingham and then take the rather scenic route back towards Ilkley. In doing so they will picnic at a location that is dear to them, Postman’s Shelter.

Today’s participants will be John, Colin, Brian, Derek, Dave and Glenn putting their best foot forward and enjoy what proved to be a successful adventure, the weather was perfect and the company was great.

It would be the 10:33 train leaving Leeds heading for Ilkley that 5 of the group would travel , John would be waiting for them , from the railway station at Ilkley the six boarded a bus taking them to Church Street, Addingham then their walking began, just a short distance to the suspension bridge that spans the rather fast running river Wharf on this occasion.

 

Now it was follow the footpath for a few hundred yards before joining a country lane that would take them in the direction of the hamlet of Nesfield and the Postman’s Shelter strategically positioned there. This country lane was fraught with danger at times the lads having to avoid the speeding cyclists from time to time. 50 minutes after crossing the river the lads were now enjoying their picnic lunches sat in close proximity to their chosen venue. Quite a while was spent here just enjoying the moment reminiscing the fond moments spent here in times gone by. 

Sunshine and sandwiches in a picturesque setting, wonderful. From  this point it would be downhill travel for the next mile or so until we crossed back over the river now in the town of Ilkley and a steady uphill climb heading towards the railway station.

The lads now participating in a cuppa etc sat in the warmth of the station cafe, John leaving first in order to catch his homeward journey, the rest of us left some 10 minutes later to board our train heading for Leeds 14:40. 

Upon reflection today’s milestone adventure was simply great.

Cheers everyone.