Top 10 Things to do in Leeds

When you go around Leeds, you will see just how many fun and exciting things there are in store for you! From Museums with thrilling experiences to family bonding time parks, Leeds is the right locale for any solo traveller or family alike.

 

1. Visit the Many Museums in Leeds

Hunt for ghosts at Thackray Medical Museum

Before you visit the Medical Museum, be warned that there have been paranormal sightings inside the premises, and if that doesn’t bother you, some of the exhibits and displays might, especially for young children. Locals and vacationers regularly make time to visit the museum as it provides a great deal of medical information as well as entertainment. Not only do you learn about the medical field, your teeth, and how high you can jump, but also what the grimy streets of Leeds looked like back in the 1800s.

Who wouldn’t love a museum that invites visitors to interact with history? This doesn’t necessarily mean touching the exhibits or the bones of the actual dinosaur on display, but by giving children space where they can dig up fossils on their own. Who knows what this kind of experience will do to the imagination of a child! I’m sure you want a go at digging up fossils as well.

 

2. Kirkstall Abbey

One of the most complete medieval Cistercian Abbeys in Britain, the Kirkstall Abbey also offers visitors and locals alike, a picnic area, a children’s play area, and a small café. Most frequented during the summer months, you will find different walking routes alongside the River Aire. You may even get a glimpse of the live Shakespeare plays in the ruins during this time of the year!

 

3. Houses of the Arts

As the local expression goes, “If theatres are more your cup of tea,” then you should visit the Grand Theatre. This marvel was built as a response to the decrease in the entertainment industry. Not only did stand-up comedians, ballets, or family shows have a venue where people could sit back and relax to enjoy the show, but because of the variation in architectural influences, this is also a sight worth seeing by travellers.

Nothing beats being able to bask in a locale where the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Harry Houdini once stood. This hidden gem is the oldest running theatre and the longest-running music hall. This once smoke-filled room above a local pub where the tired working class would eat, drink, smoke, and shout vulgar words while singing along to anything that sounds like a song. Established in 1865, the City Varieties Music Hall has come a long way to pay homage to the performing arts of the past.

This is the last surviving gas-light cinema of the United Kingdom that can be found in Leeds! This local gem opened in 1914, right before World War I broke out. Other original features that the Hyde Park Picture House offers are the external ticket booth, barrel-vaulted ceiling, and intricately ornate balconies. Not only will you enjoy the show when you watch Hyde Park, but also the architectural and interior design of this jewel in Leeds.

 

4. Find Serenity in the Parks

Golden Acre Park

Set in 932, this plot of land opened as a privately owned amusement park in 1932, The park has wildlife, benches, demonstrations, gardens, a special collection of anything, this part has it all.
Chevin Forest Park

It’s a 1-hour easy hike going up, the path and the views will all

 

5. Savour the Flavor of Nature

Inside the City centres of England, there may be a scarcity of open greens to run around in, but in the outskirts of England, there are acres and acres of parkland and lakes that stretch out as far as the eye can see. Three miles outside of the core of Leeds, you will be able to find yourself in a blissful escape and enjoy the formal gardens of Roundhay Park. Children are also very much welcome here as there are various playgrounds and an easy trek through a rainforest where you can see rare birds, butterflies, bats, snakes, spiders, crocodiles, and of course, the meerkats up close! This is one family activity that the kids won’t forget!

 

6. Shopping Like No Other

The Millenium Square acts as a focal point in the Civic Quarter of Leeds, this large square that is surrounded by buildings including the Leeds City Museum. This venue holds annual events and entertains civic ceremonies, fairs, flea markets, and other major events.

If it’s your first time in the Kirkgate Market, then you will surely have a unique experience! When people encounter the word “Market” they usually think of a farmers’ market with freshly picked fruits, vegetables, and poultry, but this Market has so much more to offer than farm-to-table stuff. Although there are shops that sell fresh produce and food, the Kirkgate Market also has jewellery, electronics, and clothes. What makes this Market unique is that the people or person selling their products really know what they are selling you because they have been doing this for decades. Not only will the people and culture fascinate you, but also the Victorian Era Glass Architecture, the Kirkgate Market is a place you will not regret visiting!

 

7. Leeds Watering Hole

Originally these taverns and pubs were said to host solicitors and policemen’s long nights as they work on cases and reports, but as time went by, The local English people have come to enjoy the simplicity of pub food, especially when matched with a specially brewed beer on tap! With taverns and pubs that date back to the early 1900s, the reputation of Leeds’ friendly drinking culture comprises of thriving independent brewers, and are some of the UK’s best-kept secrets. Not only can you visit watering holes along the streets or nooks of Leeds, but you can also book a tour and leave it to the experts to let you experience the best craft beers.

 

8. Bask in the Rich History of Leeds

If you are a history fanatic, The Royal Armories in Leeds is perfect for you! With over 8,500 artefacts and displays across 6 different galleries, there is certainly a lot to see and learn about in this museum. This was conceptualized to show people how hunting, peace, war, tournaments, and self-defence looked like during the middle ages, to attract, inform and spark the imagination of anyone who enters.

The Abbey House Museum will really take you back to the Victorian Era with streets filled with small shops and houses. Inside the museum are displays of common items and toys from the 19th century, showing visitors how kids had fun back in the day.

 

9. More to The Architecture Than Just Stone and Glass

As a visitor, one of the very first things that you will notice upon entering Leeds is the contrast of the old and the new, as well as how they complement each other. This structure is one of the best examples of creating a space that can accommodate both the old and the new. The Victoria Quarter has an exterior that is gleaming with modernity, but as you step foot inside, you will immediately feel transported during the olden days with the glass ceiling and striving shops inside.

The Leeds Corn exchange not only provides you a great shopping experience, but also a perfect location inside a Victorian building that remains in pristine condition. Standing in the Northern part of England, this architectural gem is a cultural icon of Leeds, which makes it the city that it is today. This Corn Exchange is a hub for independent small businesses, shops, and vendors that offer a very intimate and homey bazaar like no other. From hand-crafted jewellery, hand-sewn leather bags locally made clothes, and cosy music shops and vinyl bars, this is the creative core of Leeds that feeds England’s most interesting people.

 

10. Battlefield Leeds

For small and big kids alike, if you want a realistic, exciting, and tiring day ahead, then you should try this adventure of a lifetime. Using state of the art equipment you get to perform a variety of tasks and missions, from acting as a VIP escort to capturing and holding your teams base, you need to strategize and work efficiently. Communicate with your team, and your fun will be guaranteed. Just another bizarre thing to tick off the bucket list!

 

Top 10 Fun Facts about Leeds

Whether you’ve lived in Leeds all your life or not, there are all sorts of cool stories that you will probably hear about. From trailblazing medical feats and tramway systems to mummies and flat hats, these bizarre and wonderful facts will surely blow your mind.

 

1. Leeds Used to Have a Tram System

It may be difficult to believe that there are other Tram Systems other than the one in San Francisco, California, but this city-wide tramline opened in October 1891. Originally, they were single-decker and horse-drawn, but the steam and electric trams started to change the way trams were built. There were several tramlines that ran between suburbs and country villages to the city centre, providing an easy commute for the general population of Leeds. Despite other cities abandoning their tram systems by the 1940s, Leeds continued to modernize the system until 1959 when they had to give way for the commercial tramway system of the United Kingdom, The Blackpool tramway. This eventually led to the opening of the Manchester Metrolink, which eliminated all use of tram systems in 1992.

 

2. Famous Writers and Leeds

Karl Marx on the other hand started writing for the local Leeds paper to be able to spread his influential thoughts. He was then recognized as one of the most important philosophers of the 1900 century. J. R. R. Tolkien lived in Leeds before he began writing the world-renowned “The Lord of the Rings.” On the other hand, Charles Dickens publicly expressed that his impressions of Leeds were not very good and that it was “an odious place.”

 

3. The World’s Largest Animal Armour

An amazing, and most impressive artefact that is being exhibited at The Royal Armories Museum is the elephant armour. This was brought to Britain in 1801 from the wife of the Indian Governor. This armour weighs an astonishing 118 kilograms and comprises 5840 plates and has been available for public viewing since 1996. These were originally worn by war elephants, who not only carried soldiers to battle but also acted as a weapon with wavey blades as swords in place of tusks.

 

4. First Films Were Made In Leeds

The very first motion pictures were invented by the French artist and inventor Louis Le Prince or the “Father of Cinematography” who lived in Leeds since 1866. Le Prince was the first person to shoot a moving picture sequence with a strip of film and a single-lens camera. His experiments on moving pictures ended with The Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge and The Roundhay Garden Family Scene were shot in 1888, which paved the way for cinema as we know it today. Similar claims have been raised by the Lumiere Brothers and Thomas Edison, but it was really Le Prince who changed the game of motion pictures. The Frenchman was never able to showcase his invention at an exhibition, or even just as a public demonstration because he mysteriously vanished on September 16, 1890, after boarding a train.
 

5. The Leeds Viaduct Powered the Industrial Revolution

The Holbeck Viaduct, also known as the Farnley Viaduct spans 92 archways, running from Leeds railway station passing through Holbeck Urban Village, Old Holbeck, and finally ending in Wortley. This ground-breaking piece of engineering was built in 1869 for the London and North Western Railway during the Industrial Revolution. This has been described as the blood flow of the City, providing vital transportation into the booming core. The viaduct fell out of use in the 1960s after following the Leeds City Station modernization. It was on October 11, 1987, when the train was scheduled to have its last pass over the viaduct.

 

6. First Flat Iron Building

The Flat Iron Building is a well-known structure in New York City, but little did we know that the one erected in the Big Apple wasn’t the first built. The Temperance Hotel, also known as the Leeds Bridge House, is the original Flat Iron Building, narrowly escaping demolition. This was completed in 1879, which is a 23-year age difference with its version in New York, and was a public building that met the needs of the increasing demand for better and more comfortable living provisions for the poorer classes. This so-called People’s Café, which is now a forgotten concept, was formed in 1874. To establish places of rest and recreation for the working class. After different uses of the building as a commercial and office space, it had finally become a cultural centre where visitors can stay and travel because of its distance from the City Center. The building is now being occupied by charitable tenants, thus in a way, bringing back the context of the building to its philanthropic roots.
 

7. One of The Mummies Survived The War

Leeds was once home to Ancient Egyptian mummies in 1824 but were damaged during the Second World War by a German bomb strike. Two of the mummies were destroyed, but incredibly, only the inner lid of Priest Nasef-Amun’s coffin was damaged, leaving his remains untouched and in complete condition.

 

8. Birthplace of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Marian Ionescu was a remarkable cardiac surgeon who escaped the communist regime of Romania before moving to the United States and then to Leeds. It was here that he pioneered cardiothoracic surgery, invented artificial heart valves, and became the leading surgeon to reconstruct a heart using a single ventricle. The legendary surgeon had completed over 242 original scientific articles all revolving around cardiovascular thoracic surgery and have been published in various medical journals.

 

9. The Invention of Cluedo

One of the most famous board games in history was created by Anthony E. Pratt, as he turned his love for murder mysteries and detective novels into the game we know as Cluedo. Although he was born and raised in Birmingham, it was in Waddington’s Games in Leeds where he brought his creation. The game shop knew that this board game had the makings of a great game but could not mass produce Cluedo because production was stalled during the war. It was finally released 5 years after it was brought to Waddington’s in 1944.

 

10. The Last Flat Cap Manufacturer

Holbeck was home to the last manufacturer of the flat cap in the United Kingdom. JW Meyers was the biggest flap cap maker in the world in the 1920s, but by 2000, the cost of production was so high, they had to close shop and moved manufacturing to China.