Beverley

BEVERLEY VIA HULL THURSDAY 11 JANUARY 2018

It was a reduced group of five that assembled in Leeds City Station for our trip to Beverley meeting once again at the new seating area on PLATFORM 11 – 15 for the 09:38 to Hull

The Sturdy Six today consisted of Colin, Keith, Malcolm, Eddie, Derek and John. Dave unable to travel due to illness.

We departed on time discussing our Christmas experiences with John’s story of how he complained about the air passenger who exercised his right to use his recliner seat much to the chagrin of John who did not take too kindly to someone using their reclining seat. Although upset about it he assured us that it did not come to blows but it very nearly did. 

By this time, we had arrived in Hull on Platform 3 and wandered round to Platform 7 for the 10:44 Bridlington train which was waiting for us and would drop us off in Beverley at10:57. Here we were met by our host for the day Kevin who was to show us around Beverley. He was extremely well organised with maps and other information in the form of leaflets.

We made our way along the streets and over the bridge that allowed us to view Beverley Station from another perspective. We then made our way to the Minster which we circumnavigated to get a full view of its magnificence. On entering the Minster, we found a treasure trove of artefact’s and architecture to marvel at and spent almost two hours looking round with beautiful wooden carvings to compliment the masonry.

By this time the lads were showing a bit of concern for my well being and wondered if I was ready to eat as they knew that if my blood sugar became too low I could fall into a hypoglaecemic coma so we made our way to Wetherspoons (The Cross Keys) for some light refreshment where we ordered a variety of food ranging from Veggie Burger, Ham and Eggs, Vegetable Curry, Noodles and Steak and Kidney Pudding. Everyone saying how much they enjoyed their meal, even Derek!

Time was against us now as our next visit was to the Church of St. Mary’s which closed at 3 O’clock.  On leaving Wetherspoons we made our way to St. Mary’s Church which was another Gem when we arrived. It had beautiful designs and gorgeous coloured glass. Inside the church was a resident guide who told us all about the church which was started seven hundred years ago and completed 500 years ago.

On exiting St. Mary’s church, we crossed over to the East Gate which was the only gate remaining in the town and we discovered some pavements and signage that showed what the costs were when it was erected. Walking through the Arch we passed a lovely Elizabethan Hotel and we stopped by some information boards that gave further insight to Beverley’s historic heritage. At this point we had a group photograph taken in all our Glory. We continued along this road until we encountered Beverley Racecourse and in the distance across the racecourse we could see new builds for housing worth in excess of £1,000,000 each.

We then turned about on ourselves and made our way to Nellies (The White Horse Inn) for some liquid refreshment which is hard by the bus station. Inside it was another veritable treasure trove and a labyrinth of rooms befitting a sixteenth century public house. It was certainly of times gone by with gas lamps to light the room we eventually ventured into which was packed to the rafters with patrons. It also had a lovely warm natural fire to keep everyone warm as we settled down at a corner table and soaked up the heat which was a welcome relief as the day had now started to turn colder. 

We left the Pub after an hour or so and made our way back to Beverley Railway Station and the 17:14 back to Hull and thanked our host Kevin for his wonderful hospitality and looked forward to meeting up with him in Scarborough in two weeks’ time.

Our return to Hull was completed in twenty minutes in time for the 17:38 back to Leeds. At this point it all started to go down hill as our train back to Leeds was delayed due to engine failure of a goods train but after some ingenious improvising we decided to catch the 17:57 to Sheffield alighting at Selby although we were advised not to do it by the train guard. However, we completely ignored his recommendation and jumped on board. By the time we got to Selby the express train that we wereoriginally supposed to take was making up ground and we then had to decide whether to wait for the express to arrive at Selby or take the 18:54 Selby train to Leeds. We had asked the train driver of the 18:54 whether he would have to wait for the express to pass or would he leave on time. He said if they give me the green light to go before the express then the express would remain behind his train all the way back to Leeds as there was nowhere it could pass him. We gambled on taking this train which arrived back into Leeds at 19:30 coming in on Platform 14 which allowed Derek just enough time to run and cross over to Platform 16 and catch the elusive express to Dewsbury. 

Another fantastic day out in Beverley and a great time had by all. Thank you to Kevin for being such a wonderful host.

CHW