Lads outings

 27 December 2020 Below are twenty photos from the Lads outings, can you identify the locations and year? Good luck. 

 Otley Thursday 17 December 2020.  Colin, John and Brian rendezvoused at Leeds City bus station for the 10:15 to Otley for a stroll around the town and park which was something we had never done as a group before.  The journey was scheduled to take around forty minutes but a build up of traffic around Golden Acre Park lengthened the journey by about ten minutes.  On arrival we made our way directly to Weigmann’s butchers for pork pies, pasties, pork sandwich and sausages. My pork pie was consumed immediately and was possibly the best pork pie in the world? We then meandered down to the river and strolled through the park as far as it was safe to go but not before encountering some treacherous muddy pathways that were far too dangerous for cataract man and his erstwhile colleagues.  We then returned to the main road before crossing over to the other side and continuing our walk past the school and back into Otley for our dinner which we consumed in a sheltered communal area which includ

 Rodley Barge to Leeds Wednesday 9 December 2020.  Colin, John and and Brian rendezvoused at 10:15 and caught the 10:26 to Rodley alighting in Rodley about half a mile from Rodley Barge.  Arriving ten minutes later on the canal itself starting with a photo taken by John of Colin and Brian in front of the legendary pub where a criminal was brandishing a gun surrounded by police. Colin acted quickly and disarmed the idiot who was just about to shoot Brian.  Quickly moving on the boys strode purposefully towards Leeds where the six and a half mile journey was expected to take around 2 1/2 hours putting us in Leeds for around 2:30.  The weather was kind with bright sunshine most of the way and a little bit warmer than the previous day although it was fairly cold.  We arrived a little behind schedule at  bang on 14:50 with John catching the 14:56 to Skipton with Colin and Brian catching their respective buses back to Beeston and Morley. Another lovely walk of around 18,000 steps for me and

 Bingley to Shipley Wednesday 2 December 2020.  Colin and Brian caught the 10:26 to Bingley bumping into John on the platform at Bingley where he was doing some charity work for Barnardo’s! He got dispensation from his boss and then joined us on our social distancing escapade. The weather was cold and changeable as we strolled down virgin canal for most of the way before joining a part of the canal we had covered before on our trip to Milner Field a few weeks ago.   The canal was busy with walkers and the river with a multitude of rowing boats.  On our arrival at Soltaire John and Brian volunteered to go up to “Don’t tell Titus” to get some luch whilst I entertained the pigeons with my boots.  Lunch arrived shortly and we all enjoyed our choices before embarking on the final leg to Shipley with a few spots of rain just starting but disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.  At Shipley John went to catch his bus and we to catch the 13:45 back to Leeds arriving bang on 14:00 with Colin a

 Thursday 26 November 2020 Stank Hall Barn in Beeston Village to Middleton Café and Middleton Woods.  Brian and Colin met up at Tommy Wass for a walk up to Stank Hall Barn C1450 which is owned by Leeds City Council.   Before we got there we bumped into John who was feeding a couple of horses by the barn with Polo Mints.  We then walked past the Barn as it wasn’t open to the public but we could see it had had some work done but clearly needed more.  We crossed over the bridge where back in the 60’s it was the local haunt for trainspotters on the LNER and turned right along the path adjacent to the old South Leeds golf course and made our way towards Middleton.  The weather was sunny but cold as we made our way towards the Middleton water tower and through the Westwood Estate.  We then headed down the ring road to reside in the Middleton Café where we all partook in a bite to eat and a drink.  On finishing at the Café we made our way to Middleton Woods and on to the old tram track and fo

 Thursday 19 November 2020 Salt sure to Shipley.  Colin and Brian set off @ 10:26 on the Skipton train alighting at Saltaire at 10:45 and unbelievably bumping into John who had also decided on a short trip visit to his favourite West Yorkshire town.  We would also alleviate our  mental stresses of being locked down.  Before we all set off from Saltaire lwe decided on another visit to “Don’t tell Titus”where we stocked up for lunch and a sausage roll to send us on our way.  We were able to social distance as we roamed around the canal, park and church areas where John decided to show us the potential of a new walk upto Basildon Moor which he would do solo to get some direction and distance before any other members of this group would be tempted.  We then crossed over the river and onto the canal for a short walk into Shipley and taking lunch on the side of the canal.  On reaching Shipley we called in for a coffee at McDonld’s Colin and Brian then returning for the 13:45 back to Leeds an

 Monday 16th. November 2020.     The Large Fish This story starts some years ago, in fact it was the winter of 2016, the lads were on a train journey heading for Carlisle. Jeff a very keen angler was showing Keith a photograph of a very large trout that had recently been pulled out of one of the local rivers , rumour as it , it was up north somewhere! On an outing to Newark  later that year we met up with Jeff again  ,he made the decision to take us on a trip on the river Trent and point out to the Lads the place where they think the large fish was caught ! Some months later, on yet another one of the lads adventures the conversation this time was about the size of the fish served at North Bay Fisheries, Keith overhearing this story assumes the lads were talking about the photo Jeff had shown him some months before. So he was trying to convince the lads the true story of the size of the fish, meanwhile the lads disagreed with him saying it was not that big. However Keith is adamant th

 Blog! Thursday 12 November 2020 Ardsley Reservoir near Wakefield.  It was a glorious day as the usual triumverate was reduced to a pair consisting of Brian and Colin who rendezvoused on Barkly Road in Brian’s automatic Honda Jazz for a short trip up to Ardsley Reservoir for a couple of laps.  Parking was at a premium in the car park so we parked on the adjacent road.  The area was extremely busy with dog walkers and families staying healthy in the latest lockdown.  The sun was trying its best to break through but it never actually succeeded and there was a cold breeze whipping up off the water.  There were lots of gulls but the piece de resistance was the hovering Kestrel hunting in the adjacent fields next to the reservoir. It had disappeared by the time we did the second lap. The walk was around an hour and a half with around 8,000 steps to keep our bodies in good health.  On departing the reservoir we returned via Middleton along Sharp Lane and called in to the Middleton Café for a

 Friday 6th November 2020. Just took a much closer look into the statistics regarding the amount of views to our Blog. Since the beginning we have had almost 7100.visits to the web pages over the years, so someone  is interested in what we get up to. Below are a few photos of the statistics for the last few days, amazing. As you can see,  we have followers using various means of Internet communication apparatus. Cheers Everyone.

 Tuesday 3rd. November 2020.          Looking back over our shoulder, gives the Lads the opportunity to reflect upon the adventures they have shared over the last few years. Without each other, thing’s could and would have been much different for each and everyone of us. So with some tricks up his sleeve Dave has put together a short array of photo’s from these outings. Enjoy and spot the difference. Just a short glimpse of what we got up to during those years. Let’s hope that when this Corvid Pandemic as left us and we can return to some normality that our outings can continue for many more years to come. Cheers Lads 

 Friday 30 October  Roundhay Park.  It was overcast as we assembled waiting for the First Bus No. 2 opposite Corn Exchange. There would be three of us today with the usual triumvirate consisting of John, Brian and Colin.  The journey took about twenty-five minutes as we headed towards north Leeds going along North Street, Chapeltown and turning right at Moortown Corner along Street Lane arriving at the Front Gates at around 11:40.  We decided to walk anti-clockwise around the Park arriving at the Café where Brian made a pit stop before continuing around the lake. There was an intermittent rain fall but nothing serious that eventually gave way to sunshine. Stopping at a bench where those eating a bite to eat and a drink could do so.  We continued around the lake and crossed over the bridge with the weather still holding out.  We then climbed up towards the Castle and then located the smaller lake and made our way towards the Mansion where we encountered a group of cyclists who were all

 Wednesday  21 October 2020 Sandal Castle - Pugneys Colin, John and Brian met at Leeds City Staion on Platform 6 for the 10:15 to Wakefield. Arriving in Wakefield Westgate in fifteen minutes from Leeds and a ten minute walk up to the bus station to catch the 110 up to the Three Houses Public House almost next to Sandal  Castle.  On arrival at the Castle we ascended the steps to view the castle area and beyond. After a chat with some locals and espying a possible route to Pugneys we set of in an anti-clockwise direction towards the Café where we stopped to eat our lunches in glorious sunshine that the pessimists didn’t predict before continuing anti-clockwise until we reached the path that took us towards the ASDA and our 110 bus back to Wakefield and subsequently Westgate to catch the 14:10 back to Leeds where John sought the Skipton train and Brian and Colin their respective buses to Morley and Beeston.  A little bit about our destination Sandal Castle!   The romantic ruins of this me

  Milner Field and Titus Salt April 17, 2014  By  Bingley Hub Milner Field – Walking in the Footsteps of Titus Junior? In this article our local historian Alan Cattell seeks to add to knowledge of what Milner Field and its grounds may originally have looked like when built 141 years ago. To do so his research has included articles written in the 1870’s, discussion with Roger Clarke the Saltaire historian and identification of maps, architects drawings and etchings from the time. Thanks also go to Bradford Libraries and Shipley College, Saltaire Archives for their time and help. What might Titus have considered? At a time when photography was in its infancy Titus Salt Junior would have had to rely on the vision of his architects and other contractors and their ability to convey design and building considerations to him. This would have been by means of maps, sketches, drawings and stained glass cartoons which gave more than a flavour of what was being suggested or recommended to him. In