Dad and Lad Day on the train

Thanks to a Northern Trains promotion in the local newspaper we bought some special offer Day Ranger tickets which meant we could travel anywhere by train in the North West of England, but only by Northern Trains (i.e. the old, slow, 2-3 carriage trains that stop at every station). However, if you aren't in a hurry and don't mind going old and slow then for just 10 British Pounds you can travel a very long way for a fraction of the normal price. We had originally planned on going to York for the day with everyone, including the kids, but the day we booked our Day Ranger tickets for unfortunately turned out to be one of the many strike days when the trains were not running!!! So as the tickets needed using before the end of March we decided to split the tickets into a couple of duo days out. So Dad and I got out the train network map and planned a day out over the border to Yorkshire - Silverdale to Preston, change at Preston for the York train and stop off at Halifax to visit Peace Hall and then depending on the weather jump back on the train and to Hebden Bridge on the way home. In a week of very mixed British weather it turned out to be a cracking day with blue skies and mostly sunshine (not something you see much of in Yorkshire)...

The 8.31 from Silverdale, dad listening to Ellie Goulding, changing trains at Preston.

Piece Hall, Halifax is a spectacular 18th Century Georgian Textiles Hall which on a sunny day made you feel like you were visiting an Italian Piazza or Spanish Plaza not a Textile Hall in West Yorkshire!! We acted like Italians and drank coffee al fresco at one of the many nice outdoor bars and cafe's that lined the square.

A quick look around the Halifax indoor market and Town Centre and then back on the train to head past Soweby Bridge and onto Hebden Bridge for lunch. We enjoyed a walk down by the canal and lunch at the "Shoulder of Mutton Inn" pub (Pint of Wainwrights Gold and Steak & Ale Pie) before walking off lunch and heading back to the train for the journey home to Silverdale, via Preston. A lovely day out in West Yorkshire...