Enjoying Elvington

 Wednesday 8th July.                 Enjoying Elvington 

 

With a flight crew of just 6 it was off to the Air Museum at Elvington, this old airfield is in a lovely location on the outskirts of the city of York. The crew members today will consist of Derek, Dave and Glenn travelling from Wakefield, whilst Brian, Mark and John Howarth will be making their way from Leeds. A rendezvous time of about 11 am at York railway station was agreed upon, from there they intend to take a No. 36 bus heading for Elvington and beyond.

With a slight delay in the train leaving Wakefield due to signaling problems, all hope for these lads is will their train arrive in York on time to catch the bus, as it is only a limited service to Elvington etc, plans could be somewhat effected.

Luckily this train eventually arrived with only minutes to spare, the lads from Leeds had no such problems, soon the group of 6 where on the 36 and heading through the streets of York and out into the countryside that surrounds this city.

Another very hot day was forecast with a temperature of 28-29 degrees expected, so certain sun protection was necessary. 

The bus journey would take about 30 minutes to reach the airfield establishment and dropped them off in close proximity to the entrance gates. A few minutes later and their experience of this nostalgic place began, entrance fees paid and it was off to the Restoration hangar first, with a glimpse of some early flying machines etc and various materials used in their construction. From here it was onto the Hangar that housed the infamous Halifax bomber and all its accoutrements etc, loads of memorabilia on display with a helpful staff member giving us some insight into this planes activity during the war years. Great stuff. Now it was outside for a short period to view the various aircraft on display, a return visit to a stationary Dakota was experienced has we all sat inside for a few moments reflecting upon our previous visit to this memorable airfield. A few more planes to view parked on the old runway then it was off to the Naffi for a spot of lunch and some respite from the very hot weather. A leisurely time was spent here in this canteen before we visited a few other smaller buildings with various displays of things associated with military aircraft etc.

Now the time approaching 2pm. It was time to leave this nostalgic establishment and make our return bus journey back to York. Once back in the city we took another short bus ride back to the railway station and with a little time on our hands it was a refreshing drink for us all before boarding our respective trains taking us homeward bound.

A great experience today well worth the visit.

Cheers Everyone 

Double Celebration at Ilkley

 Wednesday 1st July 2026.           Double Celebration at Ilkley.

Today will be a joint celebration in the West Yorkshire town of Ilkey , firstly to celebrate the birthday of our good friend Brian and secondly to assist our other good friend John’s so-called Stag do!

Those attending and taking part in the riverside walk will be Glenn, Keith, Dave, Brian, John and his son Mathew, the rest of the team will be joining us later at the Flying Duck pub, this will be Derek, Mark and John Howarth along with 2 of Mathews friends, Martin and Russel also joining in the celebration will be Kevin, John’s neighbour.

The riverside walk is due to commence at a few minutes after 11am, hopefully meeting the rest of the guys at about 12:15 pm in the vicinity of the Pub.

The walk will take the group of 6 heading down stream as far as the suspension bridge,once they have crossed the river they will return upstream to the point where the old packhorse bridge is situated, then recross the river and head for the pub, a total distance of about 3 miles or so.

It was a pleasant morning here in Ilkley, not too hot like last weeks outing to Stanley Ferry ! just great for walking with no apparent signs of rain. It was a leisurely stroll along the riverbank taking in all aspects of the surrounding scenery etc, at one point a group of schoolchildren were encountered making various observations also.

Waiting on the wall outside the Flying Duck was Derek he had arrived a few minutes before the rest of the joining bunch, upon entering the pub we were greeted by the landlord that he would be unable to cater for 12 guys for lunch, somewhat disappointing reaction from him to say the least!!

Anyway drinks were ordered and various conversations ensued, once all gathered in the pubs quaint setting the frivolities began, Brian received a resounding rendition of Happy Birthday to his great delight, while John was adorned with a Groom to be sash to great amusement by all. With no prospect of a lunchtime meal here in the Flying Duck an alternative venue was sorted out by Mark, so it was drink up lads and venture off to pastures new courtesy of the Bar’t  Tat pub a few hundred yards away up the road. This was a more accommodating place, we eventually got seat at numerous tables with various groups of us engaged in various conversations etc. Our food orders were taken and soon delivered, meanwhile Russell was engaged in taking individual Polaroid photos of us all much to our delight.

Eventually it was time for some of the group to disperse and take their respective journeys home , the rest continued to enjoy themselves frequenting a few others pubs and activities etc.

Upon Reflection today was a great time for all concerned 

Cheers Everyone.