North East Leeds is the north-eastern portion of the city of Leeds. This part of Leeds is one of the wealthiest parts of the city with many leafy, affluent districts and suburbs, as well as trendy areas such as Chapel Allerton. There are several deprived areas such as Little London and Chapeltown but these places are generally not representative of this part of Leeds. The district is characterized by wealthy housing and gentified areas. There is not many industrial districts besides the estates in Sheepscar just north of the city centre.
Understand
[edit]North East Leeds roughly starts at the bottom of Scott Hall Road in Sheepscar, extending as far north as Alwoodley, Shadwell and Wetherby. It is separated from East Leeds by Easterly Road and from North West Leeds by Stainbeck and Scott Hall Roads. It includes:
- Chapel Allerton - popular with young professionals and locals alike. Chapel Allerton has a host of restaurants and bars and is well worth visiting for a meal and a drink when visiting Leeds.
- Roundhay - is an affluent and attractive district of North Leeds, famous for the beautiful Roundhay Park. The area is centered on the main thoroughfare of Street Lane, which curves round to become Princes Avenue, which runs through the park to Oakwood.
- Moortown - centre of Leeds' Jewish community
- Alwoodley - Extensive and very wealthy suburb on the northern fringe of the city.
- Shadwell - Pretty old village that has now become a suburb.
- Moor Allerton - Area in the Moortown district.
- Potternewton - Culturally diverse area which is a stone's throw away from the interchange at Chapeltown Road and Harrogate Road.
- Scott Hall - Series of council estates bordering with North West Leeds.
- Gledhow - Mainly residential area with extensive woodlands.
- Oakwood - Small suburb next to Roundhay, home to the Oakwood clock.
- Chapeltown - Centre of the city's Afro-Caribbean population with a dangerous reputation and some beautiful buildings.
The district is covered by the postcodes LS7, LS8, LS17, LS22 and LS23.
Get in
[edit]
There are no Rail Stations in North East Leeds so the best bet of accessing it through public transport is by bus. Several buses go through the district. These are:
- 2 & 3/3A - These buses go up Chapeltown Road and through Chapel Allerton and Moortown into Roundhay (2) and Gledhow (3/A).
- 12 & 13/13A - Both buses go up Roundhay Road, past Oakwood Clock where they split for Roundhay Park (12) and Gledhow (13/A).
- 42 - Primarily an East Leeds route but terminates at the roundabout at Easterly Road and Oakwood Lane.
- 49 & 50/50A - Both Eastbound services but they go past Harehills Parade and up Easterly Road towards Seacroft.
- 51/51A - Terminates at the Moor Allerton Centre.
- 71 - Goes up past Scott Hall bound for Alwoodley.
To access by car, Sheepscar Interchange is the best option as all three major roads in the area, Scott Hall Road, Chapeltown Road and Roundhay Road meet at this vast collection of junctions.
See
[edit]North East Leeds has several attractions. There are a few:
- 1 Roundhay Park. One of the largest urban parks in Europe. Huge picturesque park with 2 lakes, café, flower gardens and walks. It is next to Tropical World, and the lovely formal Canal Gardens: be sure to visit them all in one day.
- 2 Oakwood Clock. The biggest landmark in Oakwood.
- 3 Gipton Spa. A Bath House built in the 1600s.
- 4 Harewood House (7 miles north of Leeds on the main road to Harrogate, frequent bus # 36). Open April-September. Palatial 18th-century mansion built by Carr & Adam with extensive grounds by "Capability" Brown and an exotic bird garden.
Do
[edit]There is a fair bit of nightlife. Chapeltown plays host to the West Indian Centre which hold several club nights almost weekly including the famous Subdub.
Roundhay Park is popular for activities including the Leeds Mela. It is especially good in the summer. Chapel Allerton annually hosts the Chapel Allerton Festival, a festival which takes place at the end of the summer holiday, which has live music and international cuisine, whilst the Leeds West Indian Carnival is held at Potternewton Park and is usually a week before Chapel Allerton Festival.
For leisure activities, Scott Hall Sports Centre is popular with a gym and a swimming pool to boot.
- 1 Gledhow Valley Woods. A large woodland which separates Gledhow from Chapel Allerton. Has a rural atmosphere and are very attractive for a wander.
- 2 Seven. A theatre and arts centre on Harrogate Road
- 3 Roundhay Park. The area's premier attraction. Delightful in all seasons, this massive park provides a respite from city life (or a busy trip of shopping, sightseeing and drinking!) and the surroundings couldn't be more beautiful. Two large lakes, extensive woodlands, formal gardens, lawns, golf courses.In winter the grass is crisp and the atmosphere ethereal, in spring it comes to life in glorious technicolour, in summer the park is full of sunbathers, children playing and various events, and autumn sees the parks leaves turn hues of red, brown and gold. If you have an hour or two, you will not be disappointed.
- 4 Canal Gardens. Essentially an extension of the park across Princes Avenue, are formal gardens divided up into sections, the principal one surrounding the 'canal.' There are extensive rose gardens and the gardens are especially picturesque in the colours of spring.
- 5 Tropical World. This is a must-do for children (and a pleasure for people of all ages). It is considered a 'menagerie', rather than a zoo. There are no lions or elephants here. Tropical World is organised into several zones within which exist ecosystems from around the planet: jungle, desert, underwater, nocturnal. There is an extensive collection of tropical fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, and other types of animals to please the family, as well as some very cute lemurs and monkeys outside.
Buy
[edit]The largest shopping centre is the Moor Allerton Centre, directly off the Ring Road at Moortown. This has a Sainsbury's, a Homebase, and even its own Library. There is also a large Tesco on Roundhay Road just a little further down from Oakwood. In Oakwood is a very large range of shops.
Chapel Allerton's busy centre has a rapidly expanding (if not yet huge) selection of shops, including several boutiques, craft and design shops.
- Ginger Ink - branch of the Leeds fashion chain.
- Fit to Bust - bespoke and designer lingerie
- Area - award-winning design shop (larger store in the city centre)
- Casablanca - interesting little gift shop with real character
- Amanda's - funky designer boutique with a quality selection of latest fashions
- Radish - quirky and interesting little book and craft shop
Compared to central Leeds, Roundhay is not a shopper's paradise, however the shops of Street Lane and Oakwood offer a range of boutiques and interesting smaller shops as well as a few chains and local amenities
- Bang and Olufsen - stylish electrical goods in the Street Lane branch (now closed)
- Oaks - fashion store in Oakwood
- Oakwood Tailors. Top quality bespoke tailoring
- Ultimoda - more fashion in Oakwood
- Keith Shepherd is one of Leeds' leading independent shoe shops (Street Lane)
- Hot Brands really is what it says on the packet
- 1 , 58 Street Lane, LS8 2DQ. Exclusive and elegant jewellers.
Eat
[edit]There are dozens of restaurants in the district. Several restaurants and take aways are dense along Roundhay Road in Oakwood, Street Lane in Roundhay and Harrogate Road in Chapel Allerton.
Drake's Fish and Chip shop in Scott Hall is a famous take-away.
Harehills has several South Asian take-aways.
Wtherby plays host to several eateries, a lot along High Street.
- 1 San Carlo Flying Pizza, 60 Street Lane,Roundhay. M–Th 4-9PM, F 3-10PM, Sa noon-10PM, Su noon-9PM. North Leeds institution. In the centre of Roundhay, a fantastic Italian restaurant since 1974. Pizza £10-15, pasta main courses £10-25, meat £18-30.
- 2 Pizza Express. There is a branch of this chain restaurant on Street Lane.
- 3 The Lakeside Cafe. A lovely café that sits on Waterloo Lake in Roundhay Park, offering a range of lighter meals and treats
- 4 La Palmera Restaurant (Park Lane). Elegant restaurant that exudes old world class and offers fine dining with views over the park
- 5 Ricos, ☏ +44 113 295-9697. Su-Th bookings taken. A popular family run restaurant in Oakwood.
- 6 Haley & Clifford, 43 Street Lane, Roundhay, LS8 1AP, ☏ +44 113 237-0334. Haley & Clifford is an innovative deli selling the best of Yorkshire produce and ingredients from around the world. These include a comprehensive range of local cheeses, local artisan baked bread, jams, chutneys, condiments & oils, delicious local cakes & chocolates, and fish & meats smoked in Yorkshire. Haley & Clifford make fresh soups and salads daily as well as handmade sandwiches and meals to take away. The deli also offers an outside catering service and hampers made to order.
- 7 Aagrah. Kashmiri curries.
- 8 Casa Mia, 10 Stainbeck Ln, ☏ +44 870 444 5156. Italian, a Leeds institution.
- 9 Crust and Crumb Bakery, 110B Harrogate Rd, Chapel Allerton. Sandwiches and baked goods.
- 10 Pinche Pinche. A Mexican restaurant.
- 11 Sukothai, 8 Regent Street, Chapel Allerton. M-Sa 5PM-11PM, Su 6PM-11PM; F-Su noon-3PM. High quality Thai, once named by The Times one of the ten best Thai restaurants in the country. Sunday buffet lunch £12.95.
- 12 The Olive Tree. One of three branches of Leeds' multi-award-winning Greek restaurant. In The Times top 4 Greek restaurants
- 13 Seven. The new arts centre has a cafe bar serving organic and locally sourced food until 9PM every night.
Drink
[edit]- 1 Three Hulats, Harrogate Road, Chapel Allerton.
- 2 Further North, 194 Harrogate Rd (North Leeds, Chapel Allerton), ☏ +44 113 237-0962. Hidden gem owned by the people who brought you North Bar. excellent Belgian beer selection in a cosy Belgian style corner bar.
- There are several pubs (including a Wetherspoons) in Chapel Allerton of varying quality and atmosphere, some with better reputations than others.
- 3 The Regent, 15-17 Regent St, Chapel Allerton, ☏ +44 113 293-9395. The Regent is a local favourite.
- Seven. The arts centre bar is open until 12:30AM daily.
Street Lane is growing as a drinking area. There are several traditional pubs in Roundhay as well as upscale new bars on Street Lane.
- 4 Roundhay Fox, Princes Avenue, ☏ +44 113 269-3352. The Roundhay Fox is a traditional country-style pub par excellence with bucketloads of charm.
- 5 The Dear Park, Street Lane. A chain pub, with a nice atmosphere, plenty of seating and pretty good food for a reasonable price as well as friendly bar tenders, a fairly good selection of drinks and an outside seating area.
Sleep
[edit]Here are several places to stay if you are visiting Leeds overnight and are looking for somewhere in the North East district:
- 1 High Bank Hotel, 83 Harehills Lane, Chapel Allerton, ☏ +1 113 262 5550, highbankhotel@gmail.com.
- 2 Beechwood B&B, Street Lane, Roundhay, ☏ +44 113 266-2578, +44 798 47895555, enquiries@beechwoodhotelleeds.com.
- 3 Deer Park Hotel, 68 Street Lane, Roundhay, ☏ +44 113 246-3211.
Connect
[edit]Go next
[edit]- Back in a taxi or bus to Leeds.
- Get the number 36 bus to Harrogate
- Other districts of Leeds:
- Central Leeds
- North West Leeds including Headingley
- West Leeds
- South Leeds
- East Leeds
| Routes through North East |
| West Leeds ← Central Leeds ← | SW  NE |
→ Wetherby |
| South Leeds ← Central Leeds ← | S  N |
→ Harrogate → Ripon |