Leeds City Centre City Walk

Varied route through the centre of the 'Capital of the North'

St. Paul's Place, from street corner SWC City Walk 7 - Leeds City Centre
St. Paul's Place, from street corner

SWC City Walk 7 - Leeds City Centre

Jun-24 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Victoria Quarter Interior SWC City Walk 7 - Leeds City Centre
Victoria Quarter Interior

SWC City Walk 7 - Leeds City Centre

Jun-24 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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The Leeds Dam (River Aire) SWC City Walk 7 - Leeds City Centre
The Leeds Dam (River Aire)

SWC City Walk 7 - Leeds City Centre

Jun-24 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Tetley's Brewery SWC City Walk 7 - Leeds City Centre
Tetley's Brewery

SWC City Walk 7 - Leeds City Centre

Jun-24 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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The Candle Building, Granary Wharf, Leeds SWC City Walk 7 - Leeds City Centre
The Candle Building, Granary Wharf, Leeds

SWC City Walk 7 - Leeds City Centre

Jun-24 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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Length

9.0 km (5.6 mi), with 55m cumulative ascent/descent. For a shorter walk, see below Walk Options.

Toughness

2 out of 10, with 2 hours walking time.

Walk Notes

This route leads through the centre of Leeds – the self-proclaimed ‘Capital of the North’.
It is the largest city in Yorkshire, known both for its history as a centre of textile making and trading and of light industries and for being a very green city in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. From the train station, you emerge onto the City Square and then pick up the River Aire where it rushes through four large arches under the elevated railway station. The route leads through some areas west of the city centre dominated by former wool merchants’ houses and warehouses, now largely occupied by law and finance firms, with grand old buildings and the tranquil Park Square pleasing the eye.
Large civic buildings along The Headrow (Town Hall, Library, Leeds Art Gallery, Henry Moore Institute) are passed before a loop past the Catholic Cathedral and across Millenium Square leads to the Victorian Quarter, home to many fascinating shopping arcades (a few of which are walked through) as well as the large indoor Kirkgate Market and the former Corn Exchange with its eclectic mix of shops.
Next up is the area of The Calls along the River Aire, full of converted warehouses and including the Anglican Minster Church, followed by a crossing to the south bank of the Aire, where you pass converted industrial buildings as well as the Armouries Museum and assorted river and canal basins with largely sympathetic housing developments.
The route finishes with a short exploration of the Holbeck Urban Village and Granary Wharf areas, formerly dominated by light industry, now filled with new housing and atmospheric pubs and eateries.

Walk Options

Bus and Water Taxi stops are never far from the route to enable shorter walks.
Outbound and return route are never far from each other to enable shorter walks.

Maps

OS Explorer: 289 (Leeds)
OS Landranger: 104 (Leeds & Bradford)

Transport

Leeds City Station, map reference SE 299 332, is 272 km north north west of Charing Cross, 32m above sea level and in West Yorkshire.

Leeds City Station is the terminus of the Leeds branch of the East Coast Main Line from London King’s Cross, with usually two trains per hour (journey time from 132 mins Mondays-Saturdays, longer on Sundays).

Food and Drink

Numerous options are passed on or just off the route. They are highlighted in the text.

Profile
Help Us!

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swcwalks
city7
By Train

Out (not a train station)

Back (not a train station)

By Car

Start Map Directions

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Help

National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Version

Sep-24 Thomas G

Copyright © Saturday Walkers Club. All Rights Reserved. No commercial use. No copying. No derivatives. Free with attribution for one time non-commercial use only. www.walkingclub.org.uk/site/license.shtml

Walk Directions

Full directions for this walk are in a PDF file (link above) which you can print, or download on to a Kindle, tablet, or smartphone.

This is just the introduction. This walk's detailed directions are in a PDF available from wwww.walkingclub.org.uk