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Leeds

Located in the middle of the UK, Leeds is perfectly positioned for you to enjoy a city break and countryside retreat in one.

In the city centre you’ll find everything in easy reach. It’s just a short walk from one side to the other and along the way you’re bound to find whatever you’re looking for. With an abundance of shops, museums, theatres, music venues, restaurants and bars, Leeds is a great place to live and work.

You won’t have to travel far to find thriving market towns and historic sites, and the magnificent Yorkshire Dales. We’re also not far from the Yorkshire Coast. Further afield, the sights of London are just over two hours away by train.

In this section we aim to give you a flavour of the Leeds City region, including housing options.

Housing

Leeds has a variety of housing options which can match almost any criteria.

The city centre offers trendy and smart apartments perfect for city living and professionals. Waterside villages such as Holbeck Urban Village, Clarence Dock and Granary Wharf make the most of a relaxing setting only minutes away from the city centre. The leafy suburbs of north-east Leeds such as Oakwood and Roundhay offer popular semi-detached and detached family dwellings. These areas benefit from their close proximity to Roundhay Park comprising of 700 acres of parkland, woodland and lakes. Popular for young families is Alwoodley which boasts a number of well performing Leeds schools and is an attractive and generally affluent family suburb.

Leeds is also great value for money. The average price of a flat is approximately £142,000, a semi-detached approximately £210,000 and a detached house approximately £360,000. This compares favourably to the national average of £242,000, £252,000 and £392,000 respectively (Zoopla 2019).

Countryside

Leeds is set amongst some of the UK’s most striking landscapes. Just a short drive or train ride out of the city centre will take you into the stunning Yorkshire countryside aptly nicknamed ‘God’s Own County’. Here you can find brooding moors, green dales and dramatic coastlines along with a whole host of historical sites.

Famously, the picturesque moors around Ilkley and Haworth were the setting for many of the novels by the Bronte sisters and the Yorkshire Dales are ideal for outdoor activities such as walking, horse riding, climbing and cycling. Historical sites such as Kirkstall or Fountains Abbey, built by Cistercian monks, are of great interest.

Yorkshire offers much more to see and do, learning more about the region’s attractions is undoubtedly worthwhile.

Culture

Leeds offers a thriving cultural scene and is packed with galleries and museums to suit almost any taste.

The Royal Armouries is the place for arms and armour it is also the oldest museum in the UK. The Henry Moore Institute is great for those looking for sculpture and culture, the Leeds City Museum can provide you with a wealth of information about the city you are about to call home and the Leeds Art Gallery holds a vast collection of twentieth-century British art to peruse through.

To find something that grabs your interest take a look at Leeds Museums and Galleries web page.

Events

Leeds hold numerous events and festivals throughout the year. Some of the most popular include:

Leeds Festival – Music festival;
Light Night Leeds – Light festival;
Leeds International Film Festival – Film festival;
Christkindelmarkt – Christmas market;
Leeds Food & Drink Festival – Food and drink festival;
Opera in the Park – Music festival;
Leeds West Indian Carnival – Caribbean carnival.

Find an event to suit you at Visit Leeds.

Film

Leeds is full of festivals and venues that together offer one of the best city experiences for film fans. Yorkshire itself, with its vast range of landscapes, lends particularly well to filming and as a result, has a thriving production industry with films such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The King’s Speech being partly filmed in the area.

The Vue Cinema, only a 5 min walk from campus, offers the latest mainstream releases and the Everyman Cinema located in the Trinity shopping centre brings a luxury viewing experience. The Oblong Cinema, in Woodhouse Community Centre, has a monthly event for local filmmakers in Leeds to discover and showcase talent.

The Leeds International Film Festival is the largest film event in England, outside of London, it presents a variety of world cinema and the Leeds Young Film Festival offers a chance for young people and their families to learn about the film industry through classes.

The National Media Museum, a 20-minute train journey from Leeds, houses an IMAX cinema as well as a collection which encompasses some of the finest and most compelling visual material to be found anywhere in the world.

Food

Leeds has a variety of cafés, coffee shops, trendy bars bistros, sleek restaurants and fine dining. You can find food from almost every corner of the globe.

Red’s True Barbecue offers generous portions of burgers and barbecued flavoured food. The Grill on the Square offers ‘proper food’ from quality steak, fresh fish to indulgent puddings. Fazenda Rodizio Bar and Grill specialises in meat with a card system for service; the green side for more meat and the red side for enough! Chaophraya has divine Thai food and Teppanyaki Japanese, and the Trinity Kitchen has a monthly rotation of the best street food vans from around the UK.

To find eateries in Leeds, websites such as Book a Table can help.

Music

Leeds city is a fantastic place for music lovers to be. If you enjoy live music then Brudenell Social Club and HiFi Club offer lively and fun venues with a wide range of music catering for lots of different crowds. If you prefer commercial acts then the First Direct Arena always has loads of great artists lined up.

Leeds also hosts some impressive music festivals. Live At Leeds and Beacons celebrate upcoming local bands alongside more established national acts and every August bank holiday over 80,000 music lovers descend on Bramham Park for the well-known Leeds Festival.

The Leeds Music Scene webpage provides more information on the Leeds venues and events.

Nightlife

No matter what your perfect night out looks like, Leeds is likely to have a bar, pub or club that is perfect for you. The city boasts a large array of independent bars, pubs and nightclubs as well as all the usual high street chains.

Popular night spots include the Call Lane bar circuit where you can drink and dance at Revolution, Maven Bar, Jake’s Bar and many more. Millennium Square and Greek Street has lots of trendy bars and you can catch live music at the 02 Academy. For real ale and views over the river head to The Hop or if you prefer sipping cocktails on a rooftop terrace then the Alchemist and Angelica are for you. You can find laid back vibes and jazz music at the Hi-Fi Club or late night parties at clubs like Mint.

An internet search can provide further information on the nightlife in Leeds.

Religion

Leeds has many places of worship from churches, to temples, to mosques. If you are searching for a place of worship in Leeds then an internet search or websites such as City Visitor can help.

Yorkshire has lots of chapels and Minsters to visit for not only religious purposes but for cultural and historical purposes. These include York Minster, the largest medieval gothic cathedral north of the Alps. Leeds Parish Church a Grade I listed Victorian building steeped in history and the Ripon Cathedral an atmospheric building that inspired authors such as Lewis Carroll. To search for similar religious sites visit the Welcome to Yorkshire website.

Shopping

Leeds has a thriving shopping scene, with high street and designer stores, independent and boutique shops and market stalls.

From independent boutiques in the Corn Exchange, to the high street stores in the Trinity Shopping Centre, to the designer stores in the Victoria Quarter, Leeds has something for every occasion and budget. The buildings are also as good to look at as they are to shop in. The Victoria Quarter is home to the biggest stained glass window in Europe and the Corn Exchange is an interesting domed structure.

The Visit Leeds website provides further information on shopping in Leeds.

Sport

Leeds has a strong sporting heritage mainly in the fields of football rugby and cricket. The city’s football team, Leeds United, is based at Elland Road stadium located close to the city centre. The Headingly Stadium sporting complex, which is a short distance from our campus, is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Leeds Rhinos rugby league team and Leeds Carnegie rugby union team.

If you wish to get active yourself Leeds has many facilities to make use of. The Edge gym on campus has a swimming pool and fitness centre, there are also many other private gyms in the city centre. Other facilities include numerous leisure centres, the Leeds climbing wall, a real snow indoor ski and snowboard slope with ice climbing wall at Xscape and a sailing centre at Yeadon Tarn amongst others.

To find local sporting facilities please visit the Leeds City Council’s Sport and Active Lifestyle web page.

Theatre

Leeds has some of the best theatres in the North offering a wide variety of stage performances.

You can find thought-provoking plays and modern dramas at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, touring productions of West End shows at the Grand Theatre, amateur productions at the Civic Theatre, classical ballet at the Northern Ballet Theatre and comedy at the City Varieties.

You can find out about other venues and showings on the what is on stage web page.