Quiz question: what do the fabled protectors of the Holy Grail have in common with the Anglo-Burmese War, Leeds Town Hall, 144 Test wickets, and the hero of the battle of Camperdown? The answer – which I’m sure you’ll have guessed – is that they’re all commemorated in the names of Leeds pubs.

The Duncan

At Camperdown in 1797, the Dutch fleet was defeated by the Royal Navy under the command of Admiral Duncan; Duncan now has not only a pub but a whole street named after him (for those of you who aren’t too quick on the uptake, or are reading this after chucking-out time, the pub is The Duncan, on Duncan Street).

The General Elliott

The Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, meanwhile, was the career highlight of Ripon-born William Henry Elliott. Elliott’s army career took him from fighting Napoleon in Europe to serving the Empire in Australia, India and Burma; eventually, in 1871, he was made a general, and is remembered as General Elliott in the name of a Boar Lane boozer.

Templar Hotel

And the Holy Grail? According to myth, the Grail was in the care of the Knights Templar, an order of religious knights founded at the time of the Crusades to protect Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land. Over time, the Templars became immensely powerful throughout much of Europe – Yorkshire not excepted.

Temple Newsam takes its name from the chivalrous grail-guardians, who maintained a community there. They owned a lot of property in Leeds; any building owned by the Templars was marked with a cross – a shorthand way of telling visiting tax-collectors where they could stick their Final Demands, because the Templars were exempt.

The Templars – whose rules did not allow them to get drunk – might not have appreciated the tribute, but yes, they, too, have a pub named after them: the Templar (note to older readers: no, it’s nothing to do with The Saint), on Vicar Lane.

It’s an unfortunate pub-goers’ truism that pubs with historical names tend to be the ones that are at best old-fashioned and at worst quite frightening (and at very worst owned by JD Wetherspoon’s). But the Templar has a lot going for it – not least the fact that it’s evidently steeped in more recent history.

The Templar has been a pub since the early 19th century. First owned by Leeds & Wakefield Breweries, it later passed to the venerable Leeds brewer Melbourne’s; the beautiful tiled exterior, complete with signs for ‘Lounge’ and ‘Vaults’, date from the Melbourne’s era.

It’s been a Tetley pub since 1964, and retains plenty of characterful old-style touches, including leaded windows and seating booths separated off by stained-glass screens.

Whitelocks (Turks Head)

But the granddaddy of Leeds pubs is unquestionably Whitelocks – or the Turk’s Head, as it was known when it was established in 1715.

This pub, just off Briggate, was serving beer before George Washington was born; when it first opened its doors to a crowd of hungry Leeds merchants and shoppers, Queen Victoria’s great-great-great-grandfather, George I, was on the throne.

The Turk’s Head really came into its own in 1867, when John Lupton Whitelock took over. Much of the ornate decor that gives the pub its unique character today – including an abundance of etched mirrors and polished brass – dates from JL Whitelock’s day. He was also responsible for installing some new-fangled nonsense called ‘electricity’.

Whitelock’s First City Luncheon Bar was handed on to John Lupton’s son, and then to his son’s sons. Theatre stars and even royalty (George, Duke of Kent, younger brother of stammering monarch George VI) dined there; the poet John Betjeman described it as ‘the very heart of Leeds’.

You’re unlikely to see Angelina Jolie or Kate Middleton supping there now, it’s true – but still, ‘the heart of Leeds’ sounds just about right.

Pubs named after Leeds’ historic past

Hedley Verity’s fame rests on the 144 Test wickets he took as a slow left-arm bowler for England. The Headingley-born Verity also took nearly 2,000 first-class wickets, served with distinction in the second world war – and has a Wetherspoon’s named after him on Woodhouse Lane.

Another Wetherspoon’s, the Cuthbert Brodrick on Millennium Square, commemorates the architect of Leeds Town Hall, the Corn Exchange, and the Mechanics’ Institute (now Leeds City Museum).

Leeds: home to war-hero’s, and tax evading knights

Pubs – even ones with sticky carpets and stale beer – are symbols of continuity within communities. The old pubs of of Leeds bear this out: where else can you so conveniently and comfortably be made aware of your town’s links with a long-dead general, a war-hero cricketer, or even a legendary band of tax-evading knights?

Even something as unremarkable as learning that your local boozer was a miner’s pub or an Irish pub in your granddad’s day, or that the pub you walk past every morning has stood there for more than two centuries, can trigger an evocative moment of connection – of belonging, even.

Of course, it helps if they can pull a decent pint, too…

Leeds Map

Browse the map and click on the pins to find the location of the places featured in this guide.

Read our guide to Leeds for ideas on the best places to visit, stay and eat in the city.

Walk around the best historic pubs in Leeds

Related Leeds Guides

1. Ideas for a good night out in Leeds
2. Good Leeds pubs and bars for students
3. Pub crawl around five of the best pubs in Leeds

The home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) has undertaken a huge metamorphosis in the last ten years. The fact that the ground is now officially known as ‘Headingley Carnegie’ tells you something about the influence that sponsorship can bring, as the impact that the omni-present sports division of Leeds Metropolitan University has had on the ground is everywhere, most notably in the huge upgrade to the stands and facilities evident in all directions.

Experience country and international cricket

A visit to Headingley to watch Yorkshire play is strikingly different to watching England, and it is very important to highlight the most significant disparities that make each of them a contrasting experience.

Yorkshire, despite a large and loyal members fan-base, enjoy only sparse crowds and a day, afternoon or just an evening session watching them is a relaxing and tranquil experience that offers memories of traditional, long-forgotten idyllic summers, weather-permitting of course. There is a constant hum of chatting and laughter amongst a crowd of largely cricketing aficionados.

Ticket options at Headingley Carnegie

Often when Yorkshire play, particularly for 4-day Championship games rather than limited overs games which are much better-attended, it is possible to sit almost anywhere in the ground, though depending on which ticket you have purchased certain areas will be restricted, such as the members stands and the main stand. However, this freedom allows you to try a variation of vantage points, to sit and chat with friends you have spotted or simply to stretch your legs around the boundary edge.

Whilst the members stand does have restricted access, a member can sign guests in for the day by arranging a guest ticket at the Ticket Office on St. Michael’s Lane, and thus you will enjoy the excellent facilities of the refurbished East Stand and the stunning views of the pitch from the Long Room bar.

If you do not know a member, however, there are still several different stands you can sit in and several bars around the ground you can make use of, which become particularly useful in the very likely event of inclement weather.

Modern facilities at Headingley Carnegie

The recent and vast refurbishment of all the stands at Headingley has been undertaken chiefly to secure Test Match status for the ground, with every area now in good view of a scoreboard and replay screen.

Having spent £21 million on a new Pavillion in 2010, which also houses the media centre, YCCC offices and Leeds Metropolitan University Headingley Campus, the club need to redeem that money and an England Test Match is vital in achieving that, thus Test Match tickets are far more expensive than Yorkshire tickets.

Book hotels in Headingley in advance

When England play, the area is transformed for a few days; the many pubs and restaurants in Headingley are packed out, the transport system is busy and local hotels are fully booked up. With the close proximity of all the bars to the ground, the lunch-time pass-out system available for England and Yorkshire games is heavily-utilised.

Headingley has struggled in the past with a bad reputation for rowdy behaviour during England Test Matches and the club have made great strides in addressing that. In the 1990’s there were no restrictions on the amounts of alcohol that fans could bring into games, which seems incredible now. The vast Western Terrace had a damaging notoriety for drunkenness, lewd chanting, missiles and pitch invasions.

Family friendly day out at Headingley Carnegie

Gradually, alcohol restrictions were implemented, and when the stand was completely re-built in 2001 better control was established on public bars and, in addition to better stewarding, the experience in this stand is now more enjoyable. Though if you want a more refined day out there are several other stands to choose from, including the Family Stand which does not allow alcohol.

Parking near to Headingley Carnegie

The knock-on effect of the big crowds that England games and Yorkshire’s high-profile limited over games attract is on the transport system. With Headingley being a densely-populated area, parking is quite limited and there are a number of resident-only permit schemes in place.

Public transport to Headingley Carnegie

During Yorkshire Championship games it is quite straightforward to park locally, but for bigger games it is advisable to use public transport. Several buses run from the city centre to the Skyrack area of Headingley or up Cardigan Road, where the ground is only a short walk. Also, there are two local train stations; Burley Park and Headingley stations are both only a five minute walk. Alternatively, a taxi from Leeds City Station is not expensive.

In all, the Headingley cricket experience has evolved in recent years and whether you want the quiet, studied surroundings of a Yorkshire game or a lively and partisan encounter with England, everything is in place to serve your needs.

Leeds Map

Browse the map and click on the pins to find the location of the places featured in this guide.

Read our guide to Leeds for ideas on the best places to visit, stay and eat in the city.

Experience Yorkshire cricket at Headingley Carnegie

Related Leeds Guides

1. Guide to the history of cricket in Leeds
2. Places to eat and drink in Headingley
3. Leeds bars to watch World Cup football

The pubs of Leeds – or, at least, the good pubs of Leeds – are strewn haphazardly about the city, some here, some there, others in the backside of nowhere, leaving the uninitiated drinker in grave danger of stumbling unaware into a JD Wetherspoon’s. Clearly, some sort of helpful and informative guide is needed. This guide is that guide.

My definition of a pub

But first we need to define our terms. By ‘pub’, I mean something that could never be described as a ‘bar’ – which means that I’m not going to talk about such genuinely marvellous watering-holes as North Bar, Sela, the Reliance, or – most marvellous of all – the Nation of Shopkeepers.

No, I’m talking about boozers. Another qualification: I’m not one of those pub-goers who judge by beer alone – the sort that will tolerate overflowing toilets, hallucinogenic decor and a jukebox that features nothing but the works of Collins-era Genesis as long as there’s cask-conditioned Arkwright’s Old Coldsore on the hand-pump.

I do demand decent beer, but I’d also like good atmosphere, nice surroundings, a good range of snacks and spirits, and, if it’s not too much trouble, wine that doesn’t take the enamel off your teeth.

Grove Inn

So where should we start? How about the Grove Inn, an incongruously old-school pub nestled at the foot of the looming Bridgewater Plant tower-block complex. It’s widely known for two things: good beer and good music (as you might expect, we’re not talking the latest in dubstep or electro here, but if the prospect of jazz bands and folk-singing doesn’t scare you off then there are few better venues in West Yorkshire).

There are also more eclectic attractions. For instance, you have the choice of a number of rooms in which to drink and talk, which makes for good atmosphere and avoids that undesirable Wetherspoony airport-lounge feel. There’s also often an elderly terrier to be found wandering about the place: a treat for the old-school pub aficionado.

The Cross Keys

At the same end of town, just a shortish stroll down Water Lane, is, for my money, the best pub in town. The Cross Keys belongs to the stable of venues that includes North Bar, Further North in Chapel Allerton and Alfred’s in Meanwood (as well as, brilliantly, the Mr Frothy mobile bar).

It’s stylish without being cold, and classy without being snooty; the range of ales is fantastic (there’s a pump dedicated to beers from Knaresborough’s Roosters brewery, always one cask stout or porter on tap, and two pumps’ worth of guest ale), and it’s obvious that this is a place that cares about the quality of its wines and spirits.

It’s also a gastro-pub in the proper sense of the term: not uninspired Thai fishcakes and sauce-slathered barbecue chicken, but traditional British food made with locally sourced, seasonal ingredients; the acclaimed Sunday roasts are a match for your mum’s, and there’s a kids’ menu, too. And if the weather permits, there’s loads of room to sit, drink and eat outside in the courtyard. Caveat: it’s not cheap. But there’re few better places to spend your Sunday.

The Victoria Hotel

Saunteringly slightly downmarket, we find ourselves considering the venues managed by the increasingly ubiquitous Nicholson’s chain, which, by maintaining an admirable focus on real ale and sausages, seems to have gathered most of Leeds’ historic pubs in its embrace. You can be sniffy about chain pubs, if you want – but if do, you’ll be missing out.

The Victoria Hotel on Great George Street, behind the Town Hall, is a striking chunk of Victoriana in the heart of the city. Many of the pub’s original nineteenth-century features remain (it was built in 1865): it’s not the most stylish venue you’ll ever see, but it’s steeped in history and retains a bustling charm.

It’s spacious and split into several rooms, so it’s seldom too hard to find a seat (if you’re lucky, you might be able to grab a berth in one of the handsome windowed booths by the bar). This being a Nicholson’s, the range of ales is generous bordering on the bewildering, the prices are none-too-painful, and the food will do. It’s handily situated, too: northwards is the run of lovably scruffy pubs up to the university and beyond, while on the other side of the Town Hall are ale-fanciers’ favourites Mr Foley’s and the Town Hall Tavern.

The Adelphi

Lovers of pub Victoriana should also be sure to stop by another of Leeds’ crowning glories: the Adelphi Hotel on Hunslet Rd, just across the bridge on the way out of town. Like any great institution, the Adelphi has its chunterers and hecklers who mutter that it’s not as good as it used to be – which may be true, but doesn’t really detract from the pub’s excellence.

It’s a huge place, quartered into four downstairs and also boasting an upstairs bar and sheltered (if not hugely sheltered) beer garden/smokers’ huddling-place.

The beer is always varied and well-chosen, the food is very good, the bar snacks are impressively unusual, and the staff are simply great. When the post-work crowd are out in force, even the Adelphi’s seating resources can be stretched, but the service always remains friendly and efficient (or at least as efficient as can be expected in the face of a four-deep bar-scrum).

The pub prides itself on being a Sunday-afternoon specialist, laying out newspapers and offering top-notch Sunday roasts and potent Bloody Marys. The only problem with that is, after a big Saturday night out, you might be reluctant to inflict further damage on your pocket by stumping up for the Adelphi’s on-the-steep-side prices.

But never mind that: the Adelphi is a real all-rounder, daytime or night-time, schoolnight or weekend, real-ale or craft Euro-lager, suit-and-shoes or beard-and-check-shirt.

Additional recommended Leeds pubs

This is only a small selection, of course, of the praiseworthy pubs to be found in Leeds city centre. I haven’t mentioned the distinctly raffish and budget-friendly Angel in its just-off-Briggate yard, or, a few doors down, the historic Whitelocks. And that’s only in LS1 – once you venture into the suburbs, a whole new world of pub-opportunity opens up. But that will have to wait for another day. For now – that’s time, gentlemen, please.

Leeds Map

Browse the map and click on the pins to find the location of the places featured in this guide.

Read our guide to Leeds for ideas on the best places to visit, stay and eat in the city.

Favourite real ale pubs in Leeds city centre

Related Leeds Guides

1. Review of five popular bars in Leeds city centre
2. Leeds city centre hotels for all budgets
3. Express Holiday Inn Leeds City Centre

The Headingley of 10 to 15 years ago received much bad press for pandering solely to the decadent lifestyle of its condensed student population and was largely dismissed as an area of diverse and enriching cultural offerings. Today, Headingley, as a concentrated quarter of shopping, eating and drinking has matched the ambition and influence of the universities and the Rugby and Cricket clubs in grabbing the opportunity to offer more to its local population and the visiting crowds the area attracts.

Home to Yorkshire Cricket and Rugby League

From April to September each year, and particularly when hosting England International matches, Yorkshire Cricket club attracts fans to the Headingley area, often staying in the vicinity overnight and requiring local sustenance during lunch breaks or at the close of play each day.

Similarly, the two Rugby clubs Leeds Rhinos and Leeds Carnegie, who share the neighbouring Rugby Football ground, play games all year round now and attract local and visiting fans to games in good numbers. Add to that the student population in the city of 200,000 and it’s clear to see that Headingley has a captive market requiring an assortment of enticing options.

Thriving local independent places to eat

What strikes you most when walking around the area today is the array of local, independent enterprise. This has always been there to some extent but along the main streets of Otley Road and North Lane there are now as many as nine independent café/deli’s offering a personable selection of resident, home-cooked delicacies and the inviting and comfortable ambience that is not always present in the many fast food shops that share the same streets.

True, there is Costa Coffee, Greggs and Subway, amongst others, attempting to tap into the same market, but the sheer number of individualistic establishments available suggests that there is a preference for the more particular and intimate feel.

Good mixture of pubs

Headingley has always had a reputation for good pubs and that remains to this day. A staple ingredient of a students’ initiation into life in Leeds for many years has been the ‘Otley Run’, or more accurately the ‘Otley Wobble’. This involves starting proceedings in the Woodies Ale House at the top end of Otley Road near the Becketts Park University Campus and taking in the many traditional pubs en route into central Leeds, basically as many as you can manage.

From Woodies you have the Three Horseshoes and New Inn within yards of each other before a five minute walk to Headingley Taps, which in 1994 became the most recent traditional pub addition to the area, and then onto the two behemoths of Headingley nightlife, the Skyrack and Original Oak, who sit across the road from each other just before Otley Road turns into Headingley Lane.

Recommended places to eat in Headingley

In between those pubs, recent years have seen a healthy sprinkling of bar/restaurants appearing which now offer a huge choice for anyone combining both pursuits or sticking to just the one. The Box, situated around the corner from the Skyrack and The Arc; a huge, imposing building set back from the top of North Lane, are the most significant of these.

Both modern and inviting and with good, varied menus The Box and The Arc are capable of versatility and evolving from an appealing place to eat to a lively and alluring place to drink without you even noticing. Add to these the smaller venues of the three –floor Voodoo Café Bar at the top of North Lane (offering, food, drink and pool tables).

Trio Bar & Grill further down North Lane towards the cricket ground and Arcadia Ale & Wine Bar on Otley Road, and there is now sufficient choice to suggest the ‘Otley Wobble’ rarely ends up in Leeds City Centre any more, and any participants are likely to be well fed in the meantime.

Award winning Headingley restaurants

For any visitors wishing to stay away from the more buoyant and spirited aspects of Headingley nightlife there is also a liberal dash of fine restaurants to suit all tastes along the main streets of LS6. Tariq’s Indian next to the Skyrack is well established as is the Caliente Mexican Café around the corner.

There are also the award-winning Salvo’s Italian and Sukhothai, situated on Otley Road at the crossroads with St Anne’s Road, which have both helped to add a refinement and quality to the Headingley experience. Further up Otley Road towards Becketts Park there is an Olive Tree and Giorgio’s Italian, plus the two famous and traditional Fish ‘n Chip and Seafood restaurants of Bryans and Brett’s to complete the culinary journey around the world.

Added to all the choice, is the proximity to the Rugby and Cricket grounds (everything listed here is within ten minutes’ walk of those venues) and the availability of several local hotels and everything is in place to ensure a visit to Headingley is convenient, varied and hugely pleasurable.

Leeds Map

Browse the map and click on the pins to find the location of the places featured in this guide.

Read our guide to Leeds for ideas on the best places to visit, stay and eat in the city.

Places to eat and drink in Headingley

Related Leeds Guides

1. Things to do in and around Headingley
2. Best places for students to live in Leeds
3. Places to visit, eat and drink in Chapel Allerton

The festive revelry is over for another year, but never fear! The upcoming months of health and austerity needn’t be dull. Leeds is full to bursting with great live music over the next two months, with a range of exciting touring bands as well as a host of local talent to light up your winter nights.

In fact, now there’s no boring office parties getting in the way of proceedings there’s no excuse to not be on the front row nursing a healthy orange juice… or a beer, if you please.

The Cockpit

First off the blocks is the Cockpit, and it‘s a strong start for 2012 under the arches. We’ve got explosive lady-rock from Wild Flag (featuring former members of Sleater-Kinney) who are pimping their brilliant debut album around Europe – they’ll be dropping in on Leeds on the 29th January to put some spark into Sunday night.

February sees lo-fi genius from the critically lauded tUnEyArDs on the 13th and atmospheric Swedish future-pop from Little Dragon on the 23rd. Dubstep (ish) producer SBTRKT stops off on the 24th February – he’s remixed everyone from MIA to Basement Jaxx and is now taking the stage to push his own brand of catchy wub-wub. There’s also Mancunian electro-indie from The Whip on the 25th February, following up on their knockout performance at last year’s Live At Leeds.

Leeds University Union

Student haunts will be getting busy again from mid January, so expect crowds for Lee Scratch Perry on the 2nd February and the ever-reliable Mr Scruff on the 25th, both at LUU. Also at Stylus on the 20th January is europhic chillwave sensation Anthony Gonzalez, aka m83, currently riding a fresh wave of interest following the success of 2011’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.

Brudenell Social Club

Local favourite the Brudenell Social hosts Scottish indie-poppets Veronica Falls on the 28th January and percussive folkisms from Slow Club on the 8th February.

The Wardrobe

On a similarly woozy indie tip you might want to check out the lush harmonies of the startlingly talented First Aid Kit at the Wardrobe on February 28th. These Swedish sisters have drawn comparisons to Fleet Foxes and Joni Mitchell, but their heart-melting balladry stands alone.

City Varieties

The recently re-opened City Varieties is starting 2012 with some suitably big acts – re-live Britpop’s greatest anthems with the Lightning Seeds on the 10th February, and catch music legends Elkie Brooks and Fairport Convention on the 22nd and 25th February respectively. King Creosote and collaborator John Hopkins also grace the stage on the 9th February, with music from their Mercury nominated album Diamond Mines.

Leeds 02 Academy

The O2 Academy welcomes more household names – James Morrison on the 17th February is now sold out, but at the time of writing there are still tickets for MTV2 sensations Panic! At The Disco on January 26th and the NME Awards Tour on February 15th which this year features the hotly tipped Metronomy and the seriously profane Azealia Banks.

If you’re looking for something with a little less hype and a lot more heart, the sublime instrumental dream-rock of Explosions In The Sky is also at the O2 on the 24th January and promises to be the best of the bunch.

The Well

Over at The Well, veteran local label Bombed Out hosts its annual New Year New Start all-dayer on the 28th January, featuring gruff punks the Dauntless Elite, feel-good choruses from Caves and all-round awesomeness from Pontefract powerhouse Above Them, among many others. If this sort of scuzzy basement rock is your thing, you’d also do well to catch noisy Cornish 3 piece Bangers at the Royal Park Cellars on February 13th.

Mint Warehouse

Finally, it’s time to dance Minimal tech prodigy Nicolas Jaar returns to Leeds on the 27th January for an eagerly anticipated live set at brand new Mint Warehouse. His self-described “blue-wave” takes electronic music to sparse, emotional places and will delight house music enthusiasts and IDM geeks alike.

Hi-Fi

If you love electronic music but that all sounds a bit serious, you may prefer the glitchy pop stylings of the fantastic Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs at the Hi-Fi on 10th February. Previous live shows have featured glittery canons and actual (sort of) dinosaurs, so get your dancing shoes on and check your chin-stroking at the door.

As ever, this is only the tip of what’s on offer over the next few months in our fair city. Make your new years resolution to take a chance on some new music – who knows, you might just find your next favourite band.

Search for Leeds gig tickets with SeeTickets.com partner

Leeds Map

Browse the map and click on the pins to find the location of the places featured in this guide.

Read our guide to Leeds for ideas on the best places to visit, stay and eat in the city.

Leeds gigs to kick off the New Year

Related Leeds Guides

1. Guide to Leeds clubs and live music venues
2. Guide to Leeds live music venues
3. Best gigs in Leeds this Autumn

My young son is a fairly nifty mover when strutting his stuff to the Michael Jackson Wii game, but he’s never taken a dance class in his life. However, he has developed the ability to balance on one leg for quite a long time due to his karate training and also possesses the special talent of pretending to be a monkey (he didn’t need any training for this).

Thankfully, both these special abilities came in useful at the Northern Ballet Kids Dance Workshop for their recent production of Beauty and the Beast.

Children’s workshop at Northern Ballet

The children’s workshop took place in a dance studio at the new Northern Ballet building, which sits behind Leeds College of Music and the BBC, across from the bus station and market. There is lots of parking in the Quarry Hill car park, next to the West Yorkshire Playhouse. The dance workshop included lunch for the children and a goody bag with pencils etc.

Most parents had booked a workshop along with tickets for the matinée performance on the same day, which took place at the Grand Theatre about 10 minutes walk away. There is a small theatre in the Northern ballet building where the company also perform.

Professional class for mixed ability group of children

Selina, who ran the workshop, is Director of Learning at the company and she gave a smooth and professional class to a large, mixed ability group of children of varying ages. My son was initially reluctant to take part, but the warm and gentle welcome he received soon put him at his ease and he joined in with enthusiasm.

The session started with a warm up and some simple ballet moves, after which Selina told the story of the Beauty and the Beast, setting the scene for the performance later. The children then acted out some of the themes in the ballet, such as posing vainly in front of a mirror, and moving like a beast.

Fun for all of the family

It was great fun and although some of the children were clearly much more experienced at ballet than others, everyone was able to join in and my son didn’t even notice the few pink tutus. The class was predominantly female, as you would expect, but there were enough boys in the group for him not to feel like the odd one out.

Children practising their dance moves. Photo attribution: Louisa Parker.

Afterwards, while eating lunch in the cafe/bar, Selina, who trained at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Chapeltown, told me that her department run regular workshops in schools and in the community with the focus on making ballet as accessible as possible including audio described performances for the visually impaired.

Workshop helped understand the story on stage

The workshop we attended really helped my son to understand the story unfolding on stage when we watched the performance later. It was the first time he had experienced a ballet and I think he would have found it hard to work out what was going on without Selina’s expert help.

Beauty and the Beast at the Grand

We had good seats at the Grand, right under the enormous chandelier, but I always feel the racking the stalls is not quite a steep enough slope, as I always seem to have my view obscured by several people. (Or perhaps I’m just short?).

However, we both enjoyed the performance, an updated fairy tale in which the sisters like to shop and bailiffs turn up with a huge lorry to take away the families possessions. The dancing seemed pretty good to me, but then I’m not an expert.

The Beast was suitably energetic and Belle beautifully elegant. It’s quite a few years since I saw a ballet, but I do love its odd conventions and formality. There was some great and inventive design in the versatile but crazy sets by Duncan Hayler and the colourful costumes by David Nixon and Julie Anderson. I particularly liked the costume for La Fée Luminaire, a slippery silvery fairy and La Fée Magnifique, a dayglo goth/punk witch.

I’ll finish with some comments from my 7 year old, who was my delightful companion on the day.

I liked the beast. I liked it when he jumped off a metal web. The castle looked awesome when its eyes glowed. I enjoyed the dance workshop, especially when we did Beast moves and I liked it when she told us the story of Beauty and the Beast. I didn’t like having to think up poses when we were pretending to be the prince looking in the mirror, it was too hard.

Click here for more information on Beauty and the Beast with Northern Ballet.

Leeds Map

Browse the map and click on the pins to find the location of the places featured in this guide.

Read our guide to Leeds for ideas on the best places to visit, stay and eat in the city.

Northern Ballet Beauty and the Beast review

Related Leeds Guides

1. Guide to what’s on in Leeds theatres
2. Your guide to Theatres in Leeds
3. Ideas for kids’ days out in Leeds

Everyone needs to get away and unwind every now and again, so what better way to relax than booking a few nights in a hotel with spa. Relax in the sauna, steam room or jacuzzi and treat yourself to a beauty treatment. In this guide I’ve featured five of the more popular spa hotels in Leeds.

Mercure Leeds Parkway hotel

Located only 30 minutes’ away from the breathtaking Yorkshire Dales, Mercure Leeds is set in 130 acres of nature reserves and parkland. This hotel has an indoor pool, gym and free parking.

The rooms feature luxury Hypnos beds and a flat-screen TV with pay movies included in each room. Also featured are free tea and coffee, ironing facilities and a modern private bathroom. In the hotel’s brassiere you will find a restaurant and bar which offers traditional and modern cuisine.

Mercure Leeds Parkway offers fantastic leisure facilities, which include a sauna, spa bath, steam room and tennis courts. Reflexology, massage and other relaxing beauty treatments are on offer in the Spa. The hotel is 5 miles north of Leeds city centre and on the doorstep to the scenic Golden Acre Park with its lake, gardens and walks along the Leeds country trail.

Click here to check availability at Mercure Leeds

Oulton Hall hotel

Oulton Hall is an 18th-century mansion with a spa, and a 27-hole championship golf complex in its grounds. There is free Wi-Fi, free parking. The rooms feature custom-made beds and Egyptian-cotton bed linen.

Rooms also feature satellite TV and facilities for making tea and coffee. The Claret Jug restaurant serves wholesome meals, and has stunning views of the golf course. Calverley Grill has 2 AA Rosettes, and offers fine Yorkshire dining.

Most of the rooms have magnificent views of the wonderful rolling parkland around Oulton Hall. The hotel has a beautiful azure indoor pool, so you can swim in all weather. There is also a gym where you can treat your body to a really good workout with the help of a personal trainer, and you can even indulge in Pilates and dance aerobics.

Click here to check availability at Oulton Hall hotel

One of the rooms at the Village North Leeds hotel

Village North hotel

With an impressive leisure centre, Village Hotel Leeds North offers modern rooms with free Wi-Fi. The hotel is situated in Headingley, 10 minutes’ drive from Leeds city centre. The leisure club features an indoor swimming pool and fully equipped fitness centre. Relax in the sauna, steam room and jacuzzi, or try a range of beauty treatments to truly pamper yourself.

The hotel offers spacious rooms each have a satellite TV. All rooms feature a cosy seating area, and a private bathroom with free toiletries and a hairdryer. Tea/coffee facilities are also provided. Within the hotel there is a dry cleaning service and a barber/beauty shop.

The Verve Bar & Grill serves traditional British cuisine in contemporary surroundings. Victory Pub and Kitchen offers casual evening dining, and there is also a Starbucks coffee shop.

Village Leeds North is just a mile from Headingley which has a plethora of restaurants and bars including Salvos and Sukhothai and my personal favourite, Arcadia bar. The hotel offers free on-site parking, and is convenient for the city centre, with its shops, nightlife and culture.

Click here to check availability at Village North hotel

Thorpe Park Hotel & Spa

This stylish 4-star hotel is just 6 miles from Leeds city centre. Thorpe Park features a modern spa and leisure centre, boutique-style bedrooms and a creative restaurant. The luxury bedrooms have free Wi-Fi access and elegant décor.

All rooms feature fresh ground coffee and mineral water, and each has a modern bathroom with a hairdryer and fluffy bathrobes. The first-class spa features an indoor swimming pool and fitness centre. Relax in the sauna, steam room and jacuzzi, or try treatments in the beauty salon.

The restaurant at Thorpe Park serves contemporary British cuisine where you can enjoy drinks on the sun terrace or beside the open fire in the cosy bar. The hotel is just 2 miles from Temple Newsam with its huge estate – go for a romantic stroll or a walk around the Tudor–Jacobean mansion.

Click here to check availability at Thorpe Park spa

While you are treating yourself, read our guide on pamper days in Leeds. Or try out a session at one of these Yoga classes in the city centre to completely relax your body. I hope this guide has given you some ideas for your next relaxing break in Leeds.

Leeds Map

Browse the map and click on the pins to find the location of the places featured in this guide.

Read our guide to Leeds for ideas on the best places to visit, stay and eat in the city.

Relaxing spa hotel break in Leeds

Related Leeds Guides

1. Review of Radisson Blu Hotel Leeds
2. Stay at the Leeds Queens Hotel
3. Leeds hotels with free WiFi internet

Leeds is ever popular with tourists and locals travelling from near and far to sample the multitude of shops, scenic parklands and treasure trove of museums and galleries which make this city so appealing. However, Leeds is also known for its thriving arts and crafts scene. Numerous events regularly take place where local crafters and grafters can showcase their work, and there is a variety of specialist shops, based in the city centre and beyond, which cater to the creative mind’s every whim.

Here are just a few select examples.

Yum Yum Beads

Yum Yum Beads has come a long way from its roots in the south of France to its current location in the Thornton’s Arcade. Established in Leeds in 1999, the small shop does what it says on the tin and offers a huge selection of delicious beads in a range of colours and materials.

Customers can pick and mix their way through beads, threads, findings and leathers in order to create their custom pieces, with knowledgeable members of staff on hand ready to answer any queries you may have. The shop also hosts a weekly workshop in order to assist the novice jewellery maker create their first masterpiece.

Baa Ram Ewe

Many Leeds knitters were fed up of sourcing their favourite local and contemporary yarns from the internet, and longed for a local yarn store where they would be able to enjoy their favourite brands in like-minded company. Meanwhile, Verity Britton was behind the scenes devising a plan which resulted in the birth of Baa Ram Ewe.

Situated in Headingley’s thriving community, this shop is small but perfectly formed. Staying true to its location, there is a focus on Yorkshire-based wool brands, as well as stocking the best of the rest that British wool producers have to offer.

Verity had a vision of encouraging an active community of knitters, and the popularity of the regular Thursday “knit night” is testament to her success. Baa Ram Ewe has truly succeeded in putting its stamp on the British knitting map.

Samuel Taylor

Samuel Taylor is ideally situated in the city centre, just a stone’s throw away from Leeds Corn Exchange and the Kirkgate Market. As with any typical haberdashery shop, Samuel Taylor has two floors which are stuffed to the brim with everything the discerning crafter desires.

The ground floor is a true aladdin’s cave containing everything from zips to sewing boxes, yarns and sewing cottons to card making supplies and perusing their range of buttons, lace and ribbons will keep you busy for hours. In the rare cases where the shop does not stock the item you are seeking, staff are more than happy to order it for you. There is also a large stock of fabric to buy off the roll in the basement.

B&M Fabrics

B&M Fabrics is a small, family run stall residing in Leeds’ famous indoor Kirkgate Market. Situated on Row E near Jack Fulton, you will not be able to miss this shop which is crammed to bursting point with a dazzling array of practical cottons and linens, as well as fun, printed fabrics to suit every occasion.

Many of the lines sold are based on designs created by well known, high-end fabric designers, but without the hefty price tag to match. The B&M Fabrics team not only cut and sell fabric off the roll to you, but can also advise on the best choices to make and share their wealth of knowledge in textiles.

Sugarcraft Supplies

Sugarcraft Supplies caters for both trade and retail customers to ensure the creation of perfectly decorated cakes from beginning to end. Operating from a large unit on a site in Garforth, they boast the largest range of cake decorating stock in West Yorkshire. In fact you can buy all the best known brands in the industry including Regalice, Sugarflair, Squires, Wilton and FMM to name but a few.

Additionally a plethora of tools, boards and non-edible decorations is also available. They understand that not all their customers are master cake decorators and that is why there is also a range of courses on offer to help nurture hidden skills within their students. Check the website for a current list of courses.

So whether you are into knitting, beading, textiles, haberdashery and sewing you can be sure to find art and craft shops in Leeds to stock up on all the essentials. The range of specialist shops in Leeds highlights just how passionate we northerners are about our craft.

Leeds Map

Browse the map and click on the pins to find the location of the places featured in this guide.

Read our guide to Leeds for ideas on the best places to visit, stay and eat in the city.

Art and craft shops for creative minds

Related Leeds Guides

1. Best sweet shops for a treat in Leeds
2. Independent shops for Leeds shoppers
3. The independent spirit in Leeds shops

Leeds, has its share of shadows and secrets, its forbidden history of black deeds, dark doings and blood-curdling devilry; there’s no shortage of skeletons a-rattling in the city’s cupboards. What’s more, some say that, on certain nights, in certain places, these skeletons – tormented souls, unquiet spirits – rise from their cold graves, and walk abroad.

Just as you don’t have to believe in Santa Claus to have a great time at Christmas, you can be sceptical about ghosts and ghouls and still enjoy being chilled to the marrow by a good ghost story – especially when the ghosts haunt the street you grew up on, the pub you do your drinking in, or even the house you live in.

Peace the murderer

One of the most sinister characters in Leeds’ long history is rumoured to haunt the very heart of the city. Sheffield-born Charles Peace was thick-featured, heavy-jawed and short in stature; he had three missing fingers, and walked with a limp – a legacy from a steel-mill apprenticeship. He was skilled at two things: playing the violin, and burglary.

He roved Victorian England, womanising, playing his fiddle in pubs and robbing the homes of the gentry. He killed at least twice. In 1878, he was finally nabbed – betrayed by his mistress for a £100 reward. In the winter of 1879, at Armley prison, Charles Peace was hanged by the neck until he was dead. Dead, but perhaps not gone: it’s said that today the restless ghost of the murderer lingers in the dank prison cells – used to hold prisoners awaiting trial – that can still be explored beneath Leeds Town Hall.

Yarn Spinners Tours
Listen to tales of the dark and macabre as our ´ghost´ guides you around the streets of Leeds to some of the most haunted buildings in the land. You will hear tales about ghosts, poisonings, witches and murders, so book a Yarn Spinners tour today. [Ad]

According to local folklore, Peace is far from the only spectre to have made his eerie presence felt in the town centre. At Bond Street, old Leeds heads tell of a cobbler, one James Wood, who died at the tail-end of the eighteenth century, only to return in the nineteen-seventies when careless builders disturbed his grave.

Ghost in a bowler hat

The old City Varieties music hall is said to be home to a courtly ghost in a bowler hat, and to the spirit of a lady actress; one tale tells of a man accidentally locked overnight in the theatre’s bar, who woke from an uneasy sleep to find the lady staring at him.

The Library phantom

One particularly detailed account of an unsettling encounter with ghost comes one of Leeds’ most evocative locations: the 250-year-old Leeds Library on Commercial Street. Young librarian John MacAlister was finishing work late one evening in March, 1844. As he hastened from his office, fearful of missing his last train home, the lamp he was carrying suddenly, and startlingly, illuminated a man’s face at the end of a gloomy passageway. Fearing a burglar, John ran back to his office – and returned with a loaded revolver.

‘I called out loudly to the intruder to show himself several times, more with the hope of attracting a
passing policeman than of drawing the intruder,’ he recalled. Then, from behind a bookcase, the face reappeared.

‘The face was pallid and hairless, and the orbits of the eyes were very deep,’ John wrote later. ‘I advanced toward it, and as I did so I saw an old man with high shoulders seem to rotate out of the end of the bookcase, and with his back toward me, and with a shuffling gait, walk rather quickly from the bookcase to the door of a small lavatory.’

He followed the figure – and found that it had vanished. ‘I confess I began to experience for the first
time what novelists describe as an “eerie” feeling,’ he remembered.

It was a local priest who, on hearing John McAlister’s disturbing tale, identified the hairless phantom as one Vincent Sternberg – John’s predecessor as librarian, who had lost all his hair in a gunpowder blast, and had died not long before.

Ghosts of the old mortuary

You couldn’t have blamed John MacAlister if, after such an experience, he’d decided to forget about catching the train and instead headed to the nearest pub for a stiff drink to restore his equilibrium. But even then, he might not have been safe from sinister encounters; Leeds’ pubs have a long history of ‘grey ladies’, phantom footsteps and haunted mirrors.

Take the Abbey Inn in Newlay: an inn since 1834, in the 19th century it doubled as the town mortuary – a grisly past that has, it’s said, left the Abbey the most haunted pub in Leeds. Then there’s the grand houses of the aristocracy – the sprawling, crumbling old mansions whose owners tend to regard their resident ghosts as simply part of the furniture.

The infamous Blue Lady

At Temple Newsam, visitors are told the chilling story of poor Mary Ingram, who was only a girl when, in 1652, she was subjected to a terrifying attack on the highway; she suffered a breakdown, and died. But it’s said she remained at her family home – and that today she haunts Temple Newsam as the infamous ‘blue lady’.

These tales represent just a fraction of the hundreds of whispered ghost-stories and hand-me-down legends that over the years have been told and re-told by the people of Leeds – a city not just of grand buildings and brightly-lit shops but of shadowy graveyards, deep cellars, ancient passageways and a decidedly dark side..

Read our guide to Leeds for ideas on the best places to visit, stay and eat in the city.

The tales of haunted Leeds

Related Leeds Guides

1. The history of Leeds in the Industrial Revolution
2. Preview of Leeds International Film Festival

The City Varieties Music Hall isn’t the first theatrical celebrity to reach ‘a certain age’ and decide to have a major facelift. But most don’t wait until they’re 144 years old – and most facelifts don’t take two-and-a-half years to finish. In January 2009, the Varieties – a Grade II listed theatre that has been entertaining the people of Leeds since 1865 – shut down for refurbishment.

Keeping the character and style that made it a go-to venue

It needed modernising and, more importantly, the facilities for access and movement within the building were limiting the theatre’s ability to reach out to all members of the community. Modern theatres do so much more than simply put on a show; audience development, outreach and education were key goals for the team beyond the Varieties’ overhaul.

At the same time, the revamp has sought to restore to the theatre much of the character and style that made it a go-to venue in its late-Victorian heyday. Historic features such as the ceilings and main staircase have been restored.

The soft furnishings have been spruced up, the lighting re-jigged, the windows re-glazed, the sound system brought up to date. The centrepiece of this fusion of the Victorian and the 21st-century is a glazed public lift that brings new flash and glitter to gloomy little Swan Street.

From pub back room to famous Music Hall

There’s no getting away from the fact that the City Varieties Music Hall is, not to put too fine a point on it, up a back-alley. This is both a big part of its charm and a reminder of its history: for years, the Varieties was a none-too-upmarket rival to the rather snootier Grand.

Indeed, it started out as little more than a pub’s back room, a place for the adjoining White Swan to put on music-hall acts. In the 1890s, the music-hall nights staged at the Scarbrough Hotel on Bishopsgate Street by owner Fred Wood served as try-out sessions for the Varieties’ talent scouts.

City Varieties best-known British venue

The Varieties was one of the country’s best-known venues for Victorian music-hall (the genre that gave us such enduring hits as Burlington Bertie and I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside and made stars of the likes of Will Hay, Marie Lloyd and Stan Laurel). Music-hall was known for its sing-a-long musical standards, cheeky sense of humour, and rowdy, beery audiences – all of which meant that it was (a) great fun and (b) frowned upon by the Better Element.

Home to BBC longest running variety show

As ‘music hall’ morphed into ‘variety’ with the emergence of radio and TV in the 20th century, the City Varieties found itself playing host to BBC television’s longest-running variety show: ‘The Good Old Days’, a nostalgia-fest that was broadcast from the theatre from 1953 to 1983.

Performers dressed in the costume of the music-hall age, sometimes impersonating real personalities; the show was always brought to a close with a rousing rendition of ‘Down at the Old Bull and Bush’.

Among those appearing during the show’s heyday were Morecambe and Wise, Bruce Forsyth, Les Dawson, Eartha Kitt and the ‘Lido Can-Can Girls’. It’s unlikely that any of them had to audition at the Scarbrough Hotel first.

The new look White Swan

The new Varieties retains its historic links with Leeds pub culture: to widespread delight, the theatre’s triumphant re-opening was accompanied by the re-launch of its sister hostelry, The White Swan. In the past, the Swan had something of a raffish reputation (to say the least: one police officer in the 1980s described it as “a cesspool of vice”).

Now reopened with the support of the increasingly ubiquitous Leeds Brewery, it has replaced the small circle bar as the Varieties’ main watering hole. Before its closure in ’09, the Swan had favoured quirky decor and a louche, loungey feel; for its new role, it has basically given a haircut, shave and shoe-shine – it looks sleeker and smarter.

Friends of the City Varieties

The rebirth of the City Varieties has not, of course, come cheap. The fund-raising process has been a marathon effort, not least on the part of the ‘Friends of the City Varieties’, who, through a series of ventures – including opening their own charity shop on Eastgate – have contributed more than £165,000 towards the redevelopment. Further financial fillips have come courtesy of the Monument Trust, personal donations, and innovations such as the ‘seat sponsorship’ scheme.

The Good Old Days are back

Now the theatre is up and running again, high-profile acts are queuing up to perform and strong ticket sales will surely ensue. The Varieties’ forthcoming comedy roster is particularly impressive: the venue that once hosted the likes of Les Dawson and Morecambe & Wise now welcomes stars including Stephen K. Amos, Rob Brydon and Omid Djalili. The venue is also developing as a great venue for folk and alternative music acts: June Tabor, Mike Harding and the former Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn are all to appear.

City Varieties is the jewel in Leeds’ crown

One of the most impressive aspects of the Leeds theatre scene is its capacity for reinvention. The same vigour that saw the Howard Assembly Room go from porno cinema to high-class arts venue in the space of thirty years has now seen the old trouper of Swan Street re-emerge as one of the city’s most exciting Bright Young Things.

Find out what’s on at the City Varieties

Leeds Map

Browse the map and click on the pins to find the location of the places featured in this guide.

Read our guide to Leeds for ideas on the best places to visit, stay and eat in the city.

The Good Old Days are Back at City Varieties

Related Leeds Guides

1. The history behind theatres in Leeds
2. Your guide to Theatres in Leeds
3. Guide to what’s on in Leeds theatres