WALKIES 10-13 NOVEMBER 2023

Carlton (nr Leyburn), Yorkshire Dales

A few reminders of our weekend


- Charlie "Soon to be unemployed!" Grant
- Pete "I have to leave early to be a 4-wheeled, motorised umbrella for the girls!" Smith
- Simon "I'm keeping your Tossler Tesla until Tuesday!" Piercy
- Tim "Five miles before breakfast!" Spate
- Dave "These butterfly sausages are even just a little bit too crispy for me, Chef!" Noble
- Steve "I've found the light switch!" Barker


Friday

It was Charlie's turn to drive, so Simon meets him at Tim's. He arrives, as expected, in a Tossler Tesla - but wait, it's not actually HIS car; it's a courtesy car. A long story about a flat tyre (and a flat battery!). Anyway, just like a year ago, the pit-stop location of choice is Woolley Edge services.


The guys then have a decision to make - get to the cottage before dark or stop in Leyburn for a pint? Well, you don't need Einstein for that one ...

Oh, OK - thanks, Albert.

A quick call to Pete finds him close-by so the 4 guys arrange to meet in a pub (which ends up being The Black Swan Hotel).

We jokingly say, "Oh, thanks for getting the beers in, Pete!" - and then, SHOCKINGLY, fair play to Pete - he actually DOES!

It's a real shame for Dave & Steve to miss-out on this extremely rare spectacle!

Cheers!


We all manage to find the cottage and, after some double-manly-hugs, room assignments and unpacking, Steve puts the keckle on, for a cup of tea.

It's not long before we walk the 0.3 miles to The Forester's Arms.

The beer flowed and we had a great meal. It was fabulous to have the full gang back together again. Thanks to various circumstances, it was the first time for 2 years!

The Usual Suspects


Later, it was time for the double-shorts.

                                Best drink in the world ...


Even later, back at base, Simon & Charlie make use of their personal poker room (the conservatory), so as not to disturb anyone.


Saturday

The place.


The accommodation.


The fleet.


Chef Smith was on fine form, again. Look at these platefuls - and there's still tomatoes and fried eggs to go on some, yet!


Steve's coffee tin ...

... which appears to contain tea!


Antique weather station.


Pete still seems to attract dogs (or is it b*tches??).


Babbling brook.


"Hmmm... hang on, lads. There's 3 buggies, 2 seats each ... 6 guys ... you do the maths!"


Waterfall!


NOT for breakfast.


The Usual Suspects



The way ahead.



Lunch in the sun.

Piercy Pot Noodle Pic


At his point, it was a familiar situation, with one group keen to crack-on & complete the full circuit and another faction ready to do a slightly easier there-and-back.

The A-Team.

The B-Team.


We make way for some friendly bikers. (Video)




The crossings. (Video)



The golden hour.


The B-Team take advantage of another benefit of their chosen route ... ( This photo is brought to you by Blurry-Vision © )


Boot camp.


A-Team map.

B-Team map.


Thanks to Simon bringing his laptop with Sky-Go, he is able to watch his beloved Newcastle United.

It didn't go well ...


Slippery.


We had previously booked a table at an Indian restaurant in Leyburn. Pete & Charlie kindly drove everyone to Leyburn. Before the meal, we have a quick drink in a different Leyburn pub.

Some of us show those young-uns that they're not the only ones who stay glued to their devices ... (Video)


We all had excellent curries, despite Charlie almost ordering FOURTEEN chicken tikka jalfrezis!


We headed back to Carlton, took the cars back and had another beers & doubles session.


Sunday

This is the beast that helped Chef Smith produce yet another cracking breakfast - The Rangemaster NEXUS.


With the weather being not-so-good, we set off for a low-level walk. With all 6 of us wearing our poppies, we find a suitable place to stop for our traditional two minute's silence.

The Usual Suspects


Luckily for Dave, the gap in the style exactly accommodates his leg.


Tim's chosen path leads us across a huge area of field mustard ...


The first of many river-crossing bridges of the day.

The Usual Suspects


The remains of Saint Simon's Chapel (Tim included for scale).


Anyone know what this stucture was? (Saint Simon included for scale).


Pete had been told that, to make himself a bit more interesting, he should take up a hobby - like collecting something. He chose to start a leaf collection.


Steve wanted the benefit of our wisdom, to know if we thought his nuts looked normal.


Even though Charlie's beloved Miami Dolphins were not playing at the weekend, he still showed his support.


Simon was keen to set-up this 3-in-a-line shot but we didn't know why. It turns out he'd spotted a common demoninator in clothing.

Team Analogy


[ ... INSERT WITTY PETE / SHEEP COMMENT HERE ... ]


Children's play park - on a budget!


Nearly home.


Sunday map.


Pete & Steve were able to watch their beloved Nottingham Forest.

It didn't go well ...


We headed-out to our 3pm reservation for Sunday lunch at the pub.

NOTE: if you accidentally leave your phone on the table when you go to the toilet, you'll probably end up with some photos (271), similar in vain to this one ...


Now, that's what you call a Yorkshire pudding!


A splendid dinner was had by all.

The Usual Suspects

(well, at least Steve is in focus - just about)


At long last, we managed to get Pete to settle his debt by finally paying the £1 he had borrowed from the kitty, to get a poppy!


We head back for a game of Botheration.

Although we didn't manage to stop Pete winning, Tim did at least share the top spot with him - and an honourable mention goes to Dave for being just one point behind them.


At this stage, Pete packed-up and left a night early (again). See below for a graphical representation of his crappy excuse, this time ...


Charlie watched some live NFL action before the remaining crew headed to the pub.


And then there were five ...

About half-way through the first beer, it was all a bit quiet around the table ... then Dave said, "Ooo, here's a story about a great experience I had this year!"

We decided to go around the table, with each person telling an anecdote about themselves, that had occurred in the past year. Without going into detail (you really had to be there!), stories were recounted about:

- a fortuitous event with one of the last two remaining operational Lancaster bombers, whilst on holiday with Trish  

- family history trinkets being found on The Isle of Wight and being flown to cousins in South Africa  

- a day of being in control of the West Hampstead (Bedford) power signal box - Panel 4  

- a shift in the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station control room  

- fun days out with a three-year-old  

... and lots of other bits 'n' bobs ......

The beers were sank all too easily and eventually, of course, the doubles. A really enjoyable night, ending with us being the last out of the pub, long after the last-orders bell.


Monday

We have a breakfast prepared by Sous Chef Barker (with helpers), finishing up the bacon and sausages.

We clear away some of the aftermath of "Storm Debi" before packing-up and heading home.


Oh, one last thing ...

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** DON'T HAVE NIGHTMARES!! **