Fortunately I did have a hat if it were needed for a walk on Ilkley Moor as I believe that is what the song is about (or not having a hat more to the point) apart from 'a courting Mary Jane' of course, of which I think Mrs Holt may have a thing or two to say.

The trip to this delightful West Yorkshire town was my Christmas gift from Heather and included a night at The Crescent Inn and dinner at Le Bistro Pierre too (which is situated in the same building).

With nothing in particular to do before dinner there was time to wander the streets of this pretty market town, which is about 30 minutes by train from Leeds. There was the chance to do some shopping, pop into a bar or two to sample the local liquid produce, and just generally take it easy. It also gave an opportunity to research a bit of railway history, something I find fascinating, given the town did have a through station until the 1960s.

The hotel room was very nice and with Le Bistro Pierre and the separate well stocked bar (plenty of real ales to go at!) all in the same building it was possible to leave the coats upstairs in the evening.

On the Sunday morning we headed onto Ilkley Moor and walked up to Ilkley Crags, it was about a four mile round trip and certainly very bracing. It cleared the Sunday morning cobwebs and burned a few calories as we climbed to get great views over Wharfedale.

We were going to pay a visit to Betty's Tea Rooms once back in Ilkley as this place is a bit of a Yorkshire institution, but as they were almost queuing out of the door we decided that the Friends of Ham was a better and easier option.

There is one other Friends of Ham currently open (in Leeds) and if you like charcuterie, cheeses, foreign beers and artisan brews then this place is well worth a visit. Being just opposite the station it also enabled us to make a quick hop, skip and jump to get the train back home.

A nice weekend away it was too!