While we all love Leeds’ vibrant city centre, there is so much more to the local area if you take the time to go see it. Why not hop on a bus or train (or befriend a car owner) and head out to see more of what Yorkshire has to offer…

Roundhay Park – Perfect for Picnics

If you catch the number 12 bus from the Corn Exchange, in half an hour you’ll be at the beautiful Roundhay Park. At more than 700 acres, it’s one of the biggest city parks in Europe, and the perfect place to escape the city buzz on a sunny day. You can stroll around Waterloo Lake (Named after the retired Napoleonic soldiers who built it) or visit Tropical World, a collection of glass houses which simulate various foreign climates to hold one of the largest collections of tropical plants in the UK. It’s the perfect place to go if you’re having post-summer travelling blues.

Xscape, Castleford – Release your Inner Child

This leisure complex is the perfect place to release essay stress. Trains leave central station regularly, and within half an hour you could be out on the slopes at the centre’s indoor Snozone. If skiing isn’t your thing then there’s a skate park, a bowling alley, a cinema or, my personal favourite, a trampoline park. At Gravity you can bounce for hours in a room made entirely of trampolines, practising flips in to a foam pit or organising the ultimate game of dodgeball. A great way to spend time with flatmates is at The Raid, the laser quest centre, where you battle against each other in what becomes a surprisingly competitive game… even if you are fighting alongside a 12-year-old’s birthday party.

Knaresborough – Quintessential England

On arrival at this historic market town you’ll be greeted with the picture perfect view of the railway viaduct over the River Nidd, before heading down through the ruins of Knaresborough Castle to the riverside. Here you can soak up the sun in a cafe or The World’s End pub (not the one from the movie sadly), or hire a rowing boat and sail gently along the river… it’s the traditional British day trip at its very best. The town is home to Old Mother Shipton’s Cave, one of the oldest tourist attractions in the country and the legendary birthplace of soothsayer and prophetess Mother Shipton. Next to the cave (complete with creepy statue) is a petrifying well, which has turned everything from a teddy bear to a bicycle to stone. You can reach Knaresborough in around half an hour via car, or just under an hour if you take the train from central station.

The Forbidden Corner – Strangeness in the Yorkshire Dales

This day trip is a little further afield so definitely requires a car – it takes just over an hour to drive there. It’s labelled as ‘the strangest place in the world’ and while that may be a slightly exaggerated statement, it’s certainly a wacky experience. It’s a like a slightly darker more twisted Wonderland. Around every corner are weird statues, doors leading to underground rooms and motion sensors which squirt water at you as you walk past. The goal is basically to see as much as you can in this chaotic garden with no organisation whatsoever. There’s an enormous axe wielding soldier, a disorientating maze and the scariest part of all, the creepy Armstrong Mausoleum complete with terrifying noises and skeletons. The £11.50 entrance fee is a bit pricey, and you have to book a time slot in advance, but it’s guaranteed to be a memorable experience.
Jessica Murray

 

Featured image from clark-rebecca.blogspot.co.uk