This week we have chosen to look at a popular HelpHound City and the city with the most reviews is Leeds! Congratulations HelpHounders of Leeds! So for all of you out there, maybe you fancy a City break or maybe just a day out? Well take a look...
An introduction to Leeds
Courtesy of www.enjoyengland.com
"Live life to the full in Leeds, from the moment you rise to the minute you retire.
"Welcome to Yorkshire's 24-hour city. The county's prime shopping capital is bouncing with nightlife, boasts deliciously creepy back alleys, old pubs with cheese 'n' onion crisps and swinging calypso. A place where state-of-the-art architecture and streamline attractions jostle alongside the restored Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian facades of its industrial heartland.
"But, first, the shopping. An unimaginable 4.3 million square feet of it, prompting the city's boast of being the 'Knightsbridge of the North'. Harvey Nichols reigns supreme alongside a gaggle of individual shops in quirky arcades. Like the domed Victoria Quarter where light floods through stained glass onto marble and mosaics, and arches lead into stores of Swarovski crystal and cuts by Vivienne Westwood. Built in 1863, the oval-shaped Corn Exchange, a Grade I Listed building, no longer sells kernels; instead, its staircases wind down to funky jeans and retro clothing. Weekends and Bank Holidays down at the canal waterfront, at Granary Wharf, are alive with jugglers and dancers, its regular craft shops and food stalls jazzed up with Moroccan lamps and Indian necklaces."
Places to eat and drink...
Leeds is known for the Otley Run. It seems to be one of those traditions that no-ones knows the answer to - perhaps someone could fill us in? Just what is the correct order?? All we know is that there are a lot of pubs involved and you have to have a pint in each! This is the list according to the Strawberryfields café website:
1. Woodies Ale House; 2. The three Horse Shoes; 3. The New Inn; 4. The box; 5. The Skyrack Hotel; 6. The Original Oak (A silver Award company!); 7. Hyde Park Pub; 8. The Library; 9. Pack Horse; 10. The Eldon; 11. The Fenton; 12. Strawberryfields Café; 13. Dry Dock
Some appear to add: the Old Bar (Another Bronze Award company!), The Headingley Taps and The Ark in to their runs to make a grand total of 16, we've heard that even 17 stops are achieved some years!
That's drinking exhausted, we feel exhausted just thinking about it! Now onto food, we have two Restaurants listed on HelpHound as Bronze Award businesses due to how highly people have reviewed them, and they are, Dare Café a Mexican restaurant and BRB which is also a bar and club, "the pizzas are delicious" according to ejh18. If you fancy a curry then why not try Akbars with 8 reviews, all of them positive, it comes highly recommended by your fellow HelpHounders "Akbars is at the pinnacle of Indian cuisine" Charlottep. Another is Tariq's Indian Cuisine who according to Annabel Scott is the "best Indian takeaway / restaurant in Leeds!" So why not try them all for yourself and see if you agree with your fellow HelpHounders?
Places to see...
Besides the famous Victoria Quarter home to Harvey Nichols, Jo Malone and Vivianne Westwood, Leeds has a variety of attractions to satisfy all interests. Whether art is your thing or perhaps Jousting, Leeds has an attraction to interest you! The Leeds Royal Armouries houses an armoury collection in its museum but also hosts Jousting competitions, which proves popular among our HelpHounders. You could then maybe go to Temple Newsam famous for its Museum, Golf course and park, namely the Rhododendron and Azalea walk, or the Thackray Medical Museum jam packed with historic facts and gruesome insights! The Leeds Art Gallery and The Craft and Design Gallery both display beautiful pieces of art and in the latter hand crafted jewellery collections. There is also a HelpHounder recommended attraction if films are more your thing, Hyde Park Picture House is known and loved for showing independent and foreign films and according to louderthanbombs87 is "one thing to do before you die."
Visit websites: Victoria Quarter; The Leeds Royal Armouries; Temple Newsam; Thackray Medical Museum; Leeds Art Gallery; The Craft and Design Gallery; Hyde Park Picture House
Places to stay...
A number of our Helphounders have been kind enough to review Hotels in Leeds, but we're going to mention a few that caught our 'all seeing' eye. Travel Lodge comes top of the page with three reviews, all positive, due to its central location and low prices "It is situated opposite the Grand Theatre, which means it only takes 5 minutes to walk into the centre" kara16. The Met Hotel is rated highly by HelpHounder Corrina "Great city centre hotel. Really close to all the shopping and the railway station... the hotel has a stylish interior, good bar, sophisticated restaurant." What more could you ask for? So why not check out the hotel page today and see if we can help you with your travel plans.
Places to shop...
Now, earlier we mentioned the Victoria Quarter Andy_C has this to say, "Leeds' designer stores are housed here in a wonderful glass roofed arcade" and also thinks it's worth taking the time to stroll through the Quarter and browse but "don't expect a bargain." As we said it's home to Harvey Nics, Jo Malone, Vivianne Westwood, Ted Baker, Grieves & Hawkes and many, many more exclusive boutique stores and according to the website is the place to eat, shop and be seen! Outside of the Victoria Quarter there are loads of reviewed stores courtesy of our HelpHounders, including a Bronze Award company, CATS (Card and Ticket Shop) due to 13 positive reviews! Also one worth mentioning is The Corn Exchange another shopping centre but this one is geared towards more alternative wear and suits a lower budget. But Leeds has all of the run-of-the-mill High Street stores and much, much more, which is plain to see by the sheer number of reviewed shops, there are 10 pages of them!
Visit websites: Victoria Quarter; The Corn Exchange
Places to listen to...
As EnjoyEngland.com puts it, "The County's prime shopping capital is bouncing with nightlife" and they weren't telling a lie. Leeds has always been known for having a great nightlife and our HelpHounders appear to have sampled a huge portion of it! It is also the home to two of our 'Business Members', The Oceana and COCO* Bar. Among the four pages listing Leeds' clubs on HelpHound the Cockpit stands out as a famous venue for live music, who have seen bands such as Placebo, Rancid, Coldplay, Feeder, Queens of the Stoneage, White Stripes and Korn grace their stage! "The best music venue in Leeds and also one of the cheapest club nights in Leeds at £2 spirit and mixer" Bencroz21. If live jazz is more your scene then the HiFi Club often have Jazz nights, the Wardrobe and Sela Bar also host Jazz evenings and appear popular amongst our HelpHounders. See our full listings of reviewed clubs and live music venues in Leeds.
Visit websites: Oceana; COCO* Bar; The Cockpit; HiFi Club; The Wardrobe
Place to place...
Right, so that's a large majority of the available activities in Leeds covered, now there's just the small issue of getting around the fun-packed city! Firstly we feel that we should mention the Silver Award company Amber Cars with 13 positive and 1 neutral review, you get the feeling that you must be onto a good thing with these guys, "Really good service, always on time, always really friendly drivers, clean cars, safe drivers" ellie_crawshaw So if it's a taxi you're looking for, why not give them a call. If you'll be travelling via the Train Station then don't fear, they are a Bronze Award establishment with 11 reviews and the majority are positive. They are complimented for their friendly staff, quick and reliable service and great array of shops, pubs and eating holes within the understandably huge station. National Express Trains also have a separate mention Charlottep thinks they "offer fantastic service to travellers and, despite initial worries that they would not live up to the good reputation established by GNER, they provide a decent service with trains running smooth. The trains are cheap, clean and offer WIFI facilities and electric points." Leeds really sounds like they've got it right on the transport front, which often can be a city's let down. Their Free city bus and First Bus service also received raving reviews with Sophie21 saying this: "Lots of the stops now have digital displays letting you know what number and which destination of bus is expected next and their time of arrival. They also have a handy service when you can text the stop number you are at to find out how long the next bus will be." This is such a great feature that it prompted HelpHounder dopey to respond! So with good reviews in all sections of transportation Leeds must be doing something right! Let's hope all the other UK cities can take a leaf out of their book!
