Not only did I think that Rodley was a picturesque place, so did half of Leeds. Our quite mooring spot beside Canal Road was soon surrounded by cyclists, walkers with and without dogs of all shapes and sizes and of course, gongoozelers and a nearby ice cream van was doing a roaring trade.
At one point several Red Coat solders marched passed and stopped at the Rodley Barge for refreshment, they must have been warm under all that uniform. We found out from one of the camp followers that these Red Coats of His Majesties 33rd Regiment of Foot, a regiment that was recruited from the West Riding of Yorkshire and had fought at Waterloo, were getting marching fit before travelling to Belgium and retracing the actual positions of that battle. Apparently the metal heeled army shoes of that period had no left or right, making them cheaper to make and quicker to put on in an emergency.
Ann & Brian arrived late afternoon, but as the crowds drifted away we decided to stay where we were for another night and promised ourselves an early start.
No comments:
Post a Comment