SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

A question for all the exiles ........ what do you miss the most about the city of Leeds?Well I left Leeds at the tender age of 19 to find my fortune ........ mmmm ..... i didn't quite find a fortune but have found home (if the definition of home is where the heart lies) north of the border in the Big County.24 years later there are still thinks that I really hanker for and miss a load. The ones that immediately spring to mind are:# Sharing a Sally Lunn with my dad# A pint of Mixed (Mild & Bitter)# Amateur Rugby League matches on foggy November saturday afternoons on Soldiers Fields# Fish shops understanding the order "once", "twice" or twice both with scraps" realiably cooked in beef dripping ....... in my first 19 years quality haddock & chips was the norm, in the last 24 years the exception (with one or two honourable exceptions ....... step forward the Anstruther Fish Bar and Allan Water Cafe)# Henry Moore exhibitions# Tetleys ales# Proper markets (Citizen of Leeds use, hold onto and treasure the Kirkgate Market!)There is however one local treasure I miss more than anything else and which I stock up with, indulge in and gorge myself on every time I pass the city .......... CURD TARTS. Surely there is no greater treat in humankind than a lovely deep curd tart!

Funny you should start a thread like this, 'cos I was gonna ask the same question. I left Leeds in 1974, tender age of 18, for Australia. Have been back several times over the years , most recently on the passing of both my parents. Things I miss :My brother & Sister who are still living in Leeds.LUFC - still follow them over the net.Fish and Chips.I thought Tetleys, but found it a bit warm , so Lager it is 4 me.The markets - love walking round them.The city centre in general, walked for miles when last back there.Don't miss the weather though.Just wish I would have known of this website before I came back last year. Some of the threads intrigue me - as an 18 year old living in seacroft, I never heard of places like HighRoyds. I was gonna ask if any of you who have stayed in leeds have regretted it? CheersJeff

I left Leeds in the 70s, and for many years have lived in Newcastle, Gateshead, Richmond (Surrey) and various parts of London. It seems to be a developing theme, but I did miss the beer and fish & chips! I returned to the Leeds area (Otley - I work in Leeds) after the birth of my first child in 1988 because, even though I enjoyed working in London, I didn't feel it was a great environment for bringing up kids. I have never regretted for a moment coming back. Yorkshire (and Leeds in particular) is still the best place I have ever lived. Every morning when I go to work (we start at 7 am) I still think of when I would be stuck on a smelly, cramped tube train, instead of travelling through the countryside between Otley and Leeds!Another thing I missed was the accent. "'Ey up" always sounds better to me than "wotcha!" PS Love curd tarts an'all!

I have been away from Leeds for over 6 years now, my parents and friends still all live in North Leeds. I live in a small village called Stanwick, a big difference from Scot hall where I was born I can tell you !!!I really miss the real fish and chips, our local sayings such as" ginnel "and "are we going to pub".I miss walking round Leeds City centre and getting drunk on a Saturday afternoon.I enjoyed watching my beloved Leeds Utd, so I have had to do with Rushden and Diamonds. I did go and support Farsley Celtic when they came down. I was one of 19 away supporters but it felt like I was back home !I will always be proud of where I was born and bread unfortunately my wife does not have the same views, so for the mean time we will be still living in Northamptonshire the county of shoe makers !!!!

I've only been out of Leeds 14 months so there's loads I'm missing ATM.

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I've been away more than 20 years now but come back fairly often - parents still live there and I have a season ticket at Elland Road. The thing is after all this time I still feel as though I'm coming home everytime I visit.One place I miss is Roundhay (Roundy) Park - from playing footy on the arena to watching cycle racing on Sunday morning as a kid to walking the dogs etc with the wife.It's a real working class urban park and there's nothing quite like it around me in the midlands.By the way I cannot agree with the post about the North East - I spent a year in Newcastle and found it an inhospitable place for a non geordie. (and the footy is almost as bad as ours)

I've been away nearly thirty years but do visit from time to time. I miss fish and chips in beef dripping, tetleys bitter, watching rugby league, particularly Leeds and popping over t Bradford for a proper curry.

I’ve been away over twenty years and the thought of fish & chips still makes my mouth water. It was only when I was in Leeds for the Secret Leeds Birthday that I realised how “out of it” I was. Very few family or friends but at least there was Coe’s Fish & Chips.Having bought the bloody things I realised that I’d nowhere to eat them [other than in the car], no brown sauce and no knife and fork to eat them with. I bought the sauce in the chippy and used the smallest plastic fork in the world. Lovely they were, lovely, even though they were in a polystyrene box!

Still miss many things, but as Khalil Gibran said, "Remembrance is a form of meeting", so this nostalgia site is worth its weight in gold.(Oh, and hi to Jeffn, from Phil W (me). Our Peter's just become a dad again to young Rauiri.) Get your Dave to drag him out for a pint.