June 5
Bourne End to Leeds
It is unusual for me to begin a major holiday without immediate recourse to either an airport or a ferry terminal. As ever on early mornings, I awoke before the alarm and was out of the house slightly ahead of schedule. Outside, it was cloudy and not as warm as I was expecting. My single sweater strategy might have to be re-thought.Right: Cloudy in Bourne End |
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The roads were quiet until I reached the motorway, where it was busy but not overly so. The first traffic jam I encountered, after 45 minutes, was when I left the motorway. The road North was busy but, as luck would have it, my destination was the service area for a breakfast coffee. My efforts in emptying the fridge over the last few days and the resulting bad news from the bathroom scales, ensured that the coffee, a good one, wasn’t accompanied by anything more solid than an apple, which I had brought with me. |
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As I left the service area, an aerosol of rain appeared on the windscreen but never developed into anything serious. The traffic jam at the start of the A43 cleared as soon as I passed the second roundabout and I made good progress. The verges were full of wild flowers and there was a lot of oil seed rape in the fields. I was able to stop to take a few photos, the benefits of driving along an A road. Right: Green & white verges, yellow fields |
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Back on the motorway again, it was dull and cloudy but the journey was uneventful until I reached Tina’s at coffee time. An hour or so later, we climbed into her car and drove across the Peak District (some of it at least) to Baslow. This is a pretty village with old buildings, a river bridge, a church, wisteria and lots of road works. It even had its own peloton, which rushed along the main road as we waited to cross. |
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Charlie’s Bistro supplied substantial lunches of sandwiches and salads. I even managed a glass of Australian chardonnay. After lunch, we explored a bit more of the village, including the church with the beautifully restored clock.
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Just after 3, I left Tina’s and drove through reasonably busy roads until I reached the outskirts of Leeds, where it was very busy. All went well until I completed 2 circuits of Horsforth, at which point I rang for help. It transpired that I had only made one wrong turn. This was quickly rectified and I was at Jan and Frank’s in 5 minutes.
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In the evening, we drove a few miles to Otley, for an excellent dinner in a wine bar. This even featured a very good and hoppy beer from Ilkley.
I slept well.