Leeds, City 15/69 in the UK Cityscape's Project

Leeds is the third largest city in the UK currently, at the time of the last census the population had an estimated population of over 775,000 people.  The thing is though that it doesn't all feel as massively bustling as some of the other cities I've visited in the UK Cityscapes project, some parts are surprisingly quiet and tranquil, especially around the canal area.  I really only found that through staying at the Holiday Inn Express, Armouries, it's a good hotel, about 20 minutes walk along the canal from the city centre or 30 minutes walk from the railway station, I'd recommend staying there because it's a lovely walk and it's quieter than the city centre, no annoying traffic to keep you awake at night and if like me you use lastminute.com you might just get a bargain, I got a room with breakfast included for just over £30.

The weekend I was in the area was the Tour De France so when I arrived in Leeds from Bradford on the Saturday evening the city was alive and vibrant, it was coincidence that I'd actually booked the trip to Leeds some months ago with my lovely best friend Aggie from Grow Up Green so we could see Wicked at The Grand, Leeds.  In fact I think when we booked it, UK Cityscapes wasn't even imagined.

I love Leeds, it's a city I'll definitely go back and explore some more, if you have kids there's so much to do, The Royal Armouries and The Leeds City Museum are just 2 ways to while away the hours and yes there are dinosaurs in the museum!

Leeds is also great for shopping, Abigail and Looby love to go shopping in Leeds, I love the Corn Exchange for it's plethora of independent shops.

So, I think it's about time we saw some photos of beautiful busy Leeds, just a warning, there are lots.

Look at the top direction on this sign, I wonder why it says that, not the nicest sentiment ever

and so there you have it, the old, the new, the beautiful and the pretty juxtaposed right next to the new, the garish and the ugly, it's very much a city of contradictions but I love that, it's a city that I feel I still need to go and discover more of, especially the rural areas and the large parks but I hope you've enjoyed your meander through Leeds with me and if you want to purchase any print from this blog you can check out on the right hand side of the screen.

Next up, it's Wakefield and, well there's a whole lot of story that goes along with my visit to Wakefield....