Carlisle racecource

Another year and another foray into England and, armed with our Scotrail Friends and Family tickets courtesy of Jim McCulloch, 14 of of jumped on the bus to Barrhead to begin our day trip to Carlisle.

Yes, we double-checked Raymond had the tickets after last years trip to the Solway Aviation Museum almost got wobbled, and then we got the train to Carlisle, which takes about two and half hours.

We'd also checked that the dress code for the course allowed us to wear shorts as the weather was good. Thankfully, it did allow shorts and a fair number of us did that although I'm sure Robert's shirt must've been touch'n'go!

Some of the lads at Carlisle Racecource

Well, the weather South of the border was even better so the shorts and hats were much appreciated. Some of the lads put a few small bets on the races but I don't think anyone got rich, except maybe the bookies.

As for the races, once we had a start time for a race, everyone would crowd to the edge of the course to get a view of the last few seconds of the race. The horses and jockeys paraded around a wee paddock so everyone got a chance to study them before each race, then it was off to the starting gate. They'd start on the far side of the course and charge round and towards the finish line, where they'd flash past too quickly to see very much but it was still entertaining.

I'm sure no one really goes to a racecourse to watch the races as you'd see more on TV but it's all about the atmosphere.

We managed to get in five races before we had to catch our ride to the station and head home. It was a good day and everyone enjoyed the outing.