Visiting Leeds in March to scope out university life, suggestions welcomed!

I've been to Leeds a number of time for the big international Medieval Congress which is held every July. I've stayed at the Radisson Blu and really enjoyed the hotel, its location, breakfast, and service - but there are lots of hotels and even some B and B's with good proximity to the University. It's about a 15 minute walk (up hill) to the Campus. I don't know what the double rooms are like, so you might want to investigate that before booking. Leeds is a good-sized but walkable city which has preserved and repurposed a lot of its Victorian architecture. It is also home to several museums, good restaurants, and is close to a number of interesting places for daytrips. Be prepared for chilly weather!

Leeds is a fantastic city, full of excellent Victorian architecture (check out the shopping arcades).

It’s also lively and fun. It’d be a great place to be a student.

I don’t know ICMP - I think it’s new to Leeds - but some of the other universities are gathered just to the NW of the city centre.

The centre is quite walkable. I’m glad you’re not driving because I’m scarred by the Leeds ring road. One dip in attention and you end up driving the whole circuit again.

I was there working for a bit back in 2018 and had a nice stay at the Leonardo, although it’s in the SW corner of the city so not particularly close to the universities.

I remember eating good Vietnamese street food in Kirkgate Market, and also enjoyed a branch of the smallish Indian streetfood chain Bundobust near the train station (are you picking up a theme?).

The city centre is a blend of those amazing Victorian arcades and a modern shopping centre, with absolutely anything you could want in terms of shops and food.

There’s a wonderful place called The Leeds Library right in the city centre. I was lucky enough to do a show there, and it’s just the most perfect example of a historic library. https://www.theleedslibrary.org.uk/

Hi rallard -

Born and raised in Leeds. I can’t really offer much advice in the way of accommodation advice given that I live here, but there are may be a couple of pointers I an help you with.

First, Leeds/Bradford International Airport, to give it its full and rather overblown name, is possibly the hardest airport to get to and away from in England. It is pretty ill served as regards public transport, but there are buses, or a rather a bus into Leeds city centre. As an alternative you could get a taxi to either Horsforth or Guiseley station and take the train into the centre. Or you could take a taxi all the way if feeling flush. A word of warning - the taxis on site at LBIA have a monopoly and thus are expensive. If using a taxi to get home from the airport I use one of the local firms like SJK - they have an app so you can book in advance when you know your flight is on time - or if you use them I’ve seen Ubers pick up from the airport. Also, if taking the train, the stations are generally unmanned (Guiseley is manned, but not all the time) and you’ll need to get a ticket before boarding the train (they are very strict about people travelling without a ticket, and fine heavily, so don’t risk it.). You can get a ticket from the automated machines on the platform, or in advance on your phone (my preferred option) by Applepay or whatever your phone uses, by going online to Northern Rail. You can get them from other operators and I use LNER because that’s the app I have on my phone. In the event that the ticket machine is broken (voice of experience here) usually indicated by the strip light at the top being red - green when it’s OK, orange when it’s got ‘limited function’ - take a photo on your phone and either show it to the conductor, who might sell you a ticket, or go to the ticket office in the bottom left hand corner of the station, show them the photo of the non functioning machine and buy a ticket from them. You will need the ticket to exit the station via the automatic barriers. There’s usually a staff member there lurking if you need assistance. The front of the station is currently massively dug up so if your hotel is in the south of the city exit via the station’s south exit by ascending the escalator and crossing above the platforms to exit at the far end.

If your son is going to the Leeds College of Music or Leeds Conservatoire as it now calls itself, that is quite a way from the main campus. It’s in a different part of the city centre behind the playhouse and opposite the main bus station. Leeds University campus is massive, sprawling outwards from the city centre all the way up to Woodhouse Moor (a city park, not one of the famous Yorkshire Moors) and beyond.

Leeds has much to recommend it - the Town Hall and the Corn Exchange are of architectural interest and you can wander the Corn Exchange freely (well unless you spend in one of the many shops in there), Kirkgate Market is interesting and famous locally at least, the Parish Church is worth a look round and I rather like the tiled hall cafe on the ground floor on the left as you enter the art gallery (next to the Town Hall). There’s the extensive ruins of a Cistercian monastery at Kirkstall Abbey about three to four miles outside the centre and very near where I grew up). The museum opposite is under threat of closure by the local authority and there’s a bit of a row going on about that at the moment. The problem would seem to be that they open when nobody wants to visit and close when they do, ie at weekends. Crackers.).

CONTINUED..

I’m sure your son will get a good list of hostelries - there’s a whole raft on the infamous ‘Otley Road Run’ - to visit if he comes to study in Leeds, but off the bat, there’s a couple I could recommend. For a traditional and old pub, head up the pedestrianised Briggate and on the left hand side as you walk up look for a tiny little alley signed ‘Turk’s Head/ Whitelocks’ and a pub of enormous character is revealed. The other one, which I visited the other day - had a good lunch there - is the Lamb and Flag next door to the Parish Church and above and behind to the left of the bus station. There are some really sketchy pubs in Leeds centre, less now than there used to be, but approach with care! If you stick your nose in and your gut reaction is “uh-oh” leave immediately! Most these days are civilised, but I used to work near the Corn Exchange and any pubs in the vicinity of there I would still give a wide swerve to!

I’m afraid I’m out of town at the beginning of March, off to the slopes! - so I’m afraid I can’t offer to be unofficial guide (will guide normally for the price of a pint!) but if there’s anything you need me to advise on or give an opinion on (bar accommodation possibly which wouldn’t be my strong point!) please feel free to ask.

Hope your visit is successful and enjoyable.

Ian

My goodness, what wonderful and thoughtful advice, both of you! I will take all of it to heart and have already shared with my son. He is even more excited about the possibility of studying in Leeds after this warm welcome. He's a volunteer at our community library, so the mention of the Leeds Library has us oohing and ahhing at the website and planning a visit.

Ian, on the off chance that you'll be back from the slopes by then, we'll be arriving 11 March and in town for a week (with a brief jaunt to Inverness in there somewhere, because as my cheeky son proclaimed, "Even if I can't see the Loch Ness Monster, I want her to see me."). If we can offer a pint in thanks, we'd be delighted. Your info is so very helpful already. Even if he ends up at the local uni here in Arizona, he's eyeing a semester or year abroad at University of Leeds for the experience of a lifetime. You've provided an excellent first impression indeed.

We're flying in and out of Leeds

Any particular reason why? While Leeds does have an airport it is mostly used by low cost airlines for flights to the Mediterranean and other holiday destinations. So trying to find a flight to Leeds can be a bit tricky and your options will be limited. If it was my trip I'd look at flying to Manchester instead. A much larger airport served by direct trains to/from Leeds.

Hi again rallard -

Thanks for your response! My pleasure and if you need further info between now and March please do ask. As it transpires, I am back before March 11, hopefully in one piece, and will be around the week you are in Leeds so maybe I can help as ‘boots on the ground’ after all. We can discuss that nearer the time when your plans are clearer if you would like.

I have done a little research as I was puzzled by the ICMP which I didn’t recognise. Not surprising really, as it doesn’t open until September this year. It is located in the old ‘Electric Press’ building (long, long ago a printing company) which is smack in the centre of town at the bottom of the street where I used to go to school (currently being converted into Leeds’s most prestigious apartments, which is an eye opener given that it was a dump when I was there, albeit many, many years ago. After it closed as a school, it became the council offices at which point they may have spent some money on it!)

Your decision to stick with public transport is wise. I rarely drive into Leeds (I now live just outside the city) as it’s far cheaper to catch the train in and out than it is to park a car for any time at all. Plus most of Leeds centre is closed to cars and only buses, taxis and delivery vans can drive there. There is a ‘City Centre Loop’, a one way system for private motorists that skirts the centre that appears to have been designed by people under the influence of mind expanding drugs, and to make life more exciting, they seemingly alter it, close it or randomly divert it every time I try to use it (in recent years I’ve actively avoided it where possible, just because I can).

As I said feel free to ask if you need any further info. My responses here seem to be overly long and I attempt (not always successfully!) not to go into too much detail, so recognise that flesh may need adding to the bones!

Ian

Thanks again, everyone!

Regarding our flight plans, we looked at a few options, knowing we don't have a lot of time for this trip and wanted to maximize the time exploring in Leeds, leaving the more complex transport/transfer experiences for later if we end up finding ourselves returning often in the next few years. We're novices re: UK geography, and now will keep Manchester in mind for future travel (thank you for the suggestion!). Our flight goes through Dublin to Leeds, which will mean a new country for all three of us (doesn't truly count, just being in the airport, I know).

Ian, I'm delighted to hear you'll be in town while we are. I would love to take you up on your offer to connect for a chat and a pint. We're sorting our details and will be back in touch closer to. One thing we know we're keen on doing is going to a pub for the United game on 12 March (my partner's dream of going to a Premier League match will have to wait for another day or a lotto win). Would either of the pubs you recommended above be a good spot for watching? We're a mixed bag of VERY enthusiastic sports fan gent, myself a football fan (following women's football much more avidly than men's) but tend to be shyer about crowds, and son who will enjoy the spectacle but isn't a superfan of any team or sport.

We're scoping out accommodation options and excitedly booked a quick trip to Inverness for the weekend. Awaiting word from the university about timing for a tour to get a feel for that, understand it'll likely be Tues/Wed/Thurs for scheduling.

Getting excited! It always takes me a bit to get from overwhelmed by possibilities to happily making choices and bookmarking other options for the next trip, hoping for the opportunity to return again down the road.

Thanks again, everyone. This is a wonderfully helpful and welcoming community.

Ruth

Flying via Dublin is a perfectly logical route to Leeds, especially if you don’t have easy access to a direct flight from the US to Manchester. Is will be as quick as any other one stop route as long as the layover isn’t too extreme and you have the benefit of US pre-clearance at DUB on the way home.

I’m intrigued by your reference to “United” having a game on 12th March. Assuming that it’s Leeds United you mean, they are not currently in the Premier League but the Championship. They are top of that league and may therefore be promoted by May (although still a long way to go). They are at home to Millwall on 12th March and whilst their home games usually sell out I would have thought that you may be able to get tickets at not too stupid a price. If interested I would try contacting the club and explaining that you will be visiting Leeds from the US.

Oh goodness, of course you're right, I had the league details embarrassingly off for Leeds United. As you can see, I'm not following closely. Thanks for the gentle correction. We looked into tickets for the match on the 12th and they're out of reach for us. We'll keep an eye out as the date comes closer in case prices come down, as they sometimes do stateside. They might be too popular for such things to be hoped for, but we'll check nonetheless.

Someone already beat me to it, but highly recommend taking in a Leeds United match if you can (not exactly impartial on this as I've been a supporter for 35+ years). A home match against Millwall should be a pretty great atmosphere.