SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Hi, new member hereIt's kind of strange but for the past 3 or 4 years one of my hobbies has been getting on a bus and going to a random part of Leeds. I've done this so many times that everywhere along the bus routes are familiar to me and there's nothing "new" about the certain parts of those areas that the buses go to and what used to be something quite thrilling, in terms of urban exploration and discovering places in my own city I've never seen prior, is now a mundane ritual and it doesn't feel fresh.Usually I'd simply get off the bus, have a cigarette at the terminus and wait for the next one to arrive, so I was wondering if there was any parts of areas that I should walk round and visit?I particularly like visiting:BramleyBeestonPudseyMorleyCrossgatesYeadonGuiseleySo if there was anywhere worth walking to round those parts I'd love to know! Cheers for any answers!

Hi LDe There is a nice walk in Pudsey through Sykes Wood it takes you up to Tong Village then down Keeper Lane along the valley back to your starting point.Enter Sykes Wood at the bottom of Roker Lane the path goes to your left and to your right take the right path that runs by the side of the beck follow this untill you see a steel bridge go over this bridge and follow the path. On this part of the path are the remains of at least two old mill sites but you have to know what you are looking for as i found out when i did the walk with my friend Jim who posts on this site. They date from around the sixteen hundreds i think, follow the path for about half a mile keeping to the side of the beck untill you come to a point were the path goes left or right.Take the right this leads up to Tong village its nice to look around the church yard at some of the old grave stones.Follow the road to the right of the church past the Greyhound Pub nice place to slack your thirst. untill you come to Keeper Lane you will see the old hand pump used by the village in years gone by.Go down Keeper Lane to the valley bottom cross the bridge and go right follow the path at the edge of the golf course keep going untill the path meets Roker Lane you are back to your starting point.        

Beeston can cover quite a wide area. Are you talking about Beeston Village (the terminus for the 1), Beeston Hill (on the 1 route) or the Dewsbury Road area (no terminus but 2/3? routes). To the west of Beeston village there is obviously the Heath's and the Elland Road with a lot of brownfield land to the Motorway where you are proably into Wortley/Holbeck. To the south of Beeston village you can either go down Crows Nest Lane (a right turn though effectively straight on at the Whistlestop) and cross the London rail line to the ring road with Cotttingley Cemetery directly opposite. Alternatively following the road round to the left at the Whistlstop will take you past the old Beeston station (you'd be hard pressed to spot it) and down to the ring road where you can either cross over to Churwell Hill or turn left and head about half a mile along the Ring Road to the White Rose Centre.To the east of Dewsbury Road is of course Middleton Woods and close to the back of South Leeds Stadium is the end of the Middleton Railway (of longevity fame). Inbetween Dewsbury Road and Beeston Hill is the fairly large Cross Flatts Park. Other than the Cemetery at the top of Cross Flatts Park over Beeston Road the rest of Beeston is pretty much housing mainly terraced with a lot of back to backs but with some more modern semis the further south you get from the Park

I recently went on an organised walk (Heritage Open days) of Holbeck Urban Village and surroundings. The walk was led by the excellent Mr. Kevin Grady of Leeds Civic Trust and the things we were shown and heard commentary about were fascinating - and previously totally unknown to me - beyond belief. No more than a mile from the City Centre at any point it was a wonderful two hour voyage of discovery - I daresay you could do it on your own and I'm sure you'd enjoy it greatly.

Agreed with Blakey about Holbeck.Here's a photo story I put together a while ago around the areahttp://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=16681

Go to Hunslet and ride on the Middleton Light Railway (oldest industrial railway in the world) up to Middleton woods. If you search around the woods you should find the ruins of the old bell pits and you can come out near the stadium for a leisurely walk down hill to Dewsbury Road for the buses.

Some excellent ideas guys, I've been on a little walk round Pudsey once, down Fulneck, down Bankhouse Lane, past the Bankhouse pub, up the field, down the ginnell which takes you out to what I believe is the Fox And Grapes although I'm nor entirely sure if the latter part is true as I remember there being another ginnell opposite on Smalewell Road but on Google Maps there's nothing there! Strange...I know the part of Holbeck nearer Granary Wharf is rich in Victorian history and essential in Leeds-ness, so to speak. May I ask how you got onto the Viaduct? Can imagine the view would be great up there!RE Beeston - anywhere really! Preferably somewhere that there's a minimal chance of being mugged or assaulted in broad daylight haha. The 1 and the 2/3 essentially run parrallel to each other, although I think Beeston Village looks nicer than the parts around Dewsbury Road!

Also, does anyone know where the quarry in Wortley is? I keep hearing that it's excellent for views over Leeds but I can't seem to find it on Google maps!

Possibly the one to the north of Leysholme Crescent in the Cabbage Hill area? Looking on Google, it appears to have been landscaped, but there was a considerable quarry here in the past.

LDe wrote: Hi, new member hereIt's kind of strange but for the past 3 or 4 years one of my hobbies has been getting on a bus and going to a random part of Leeds. I've done this so many times that everywhere along the bus routes are familiar to me and there's nothing "new" about the certain parts of those areas that the buses go to and what used to be something quite thrilling, in terms of urban exploration and discovering places in my own city I've never seen prior, is now a mundane ritual and it doesn't feel fresh. If you go to the civic trust bookshop in Wharfe street or the central library you can get cheap or free to read local history books that will set out the interesting sights and points in each of the Leeds districts.Then armed with the book or a photocopy or things marked up on your own street map you can go and find all the little blasts from the past. The "Beeston Trail" is brilliant.I like finding remains of the past, especially industrial archeology, and the old villages swallowed by urban sprawl. Some monster walks like all the way from Golden acre through adel to meanwood to town. Water supply enginering, quarrying and early industry.etc etc etc