Explore the Leeds waterfront to find out how the city’s industrial and trading successes were made possible, even before the age of the train, by waterway connections to the east and west coasts. We don’t think of Leeds as a port, but it was!
Tuesday 30 June 11:00-12:30 / Saturday 25 July 14:00-15:30
By 1700 the Leeds city fathers, on their own initiative, had built the Aire and Calder Navigation. This gave access by water to the North Sea and the Baltic. In a little over 100 years, with the completion of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, we also had water-access to the Atlantic.
Leeds flourished as the change-over port between the two systems and also made full use of the waterways for its own extensive trade, which by the 1770s included approximately one-third of all woollen cloth exported from England — one of the country’s longstanding large-scale exports.
Join Professor Joyce Hill to for a walk along the waterfront to discover how these developments took place and how Leeds was, for a time, a major port, despite its inland location.
There are two booking links, one for each of the two dates. Please only book tickets for the date of the walk you would like to attend. Tickets are not transferable between the two walks. Please take care to make sure you book tickets for the correct date.
£6 for Leeds Civic Trust members, £9 for non-members
Click here to book Tuesday 30 June 11:00-12:30
Click here to book Saturday 25 July 14:00-15:30
Useful Information & Accessibility:
Dates & times: There are two walks. One on Tuesday 30 June 11:00-12:30, one on Saturday 25 July 14:00-15:30
Meeting point: Leeds Bus Station – entrance foyer on York Street (pictured below)
Approximate walk distance: 1 1/4 miles
Locations covered: The Leeds Waterfront: Centenary Bridge to the Royal Armouries, and then along the waterfront as far as Victoria Bridge, where the walk ends (near the train station and City Square).leodis
Is the walk step free? There are a few low steps to get onto Centenary Bridge, and some slopes for the bridges, but this should be manageable for wheelchairs and buggies. Otherwise, the walk is more or less level. The cobbles/setts can be avoided by using the pavements.
Is this a brisk walk or a relaxed walk? There will be some brisk walking between the major stopping points, but these are quite short distances.
Please wear: Comfortable shoes for walking in town: all surfaces are paved in one way or another.
Transport information: The meeting point is Leeds Bus Station, where many Leeds buses terminate. The bus station is near the NCP Market car park and a 15 minute walk away from Leeds Train Station.
Booking link: There are two booking links for the two walks. Please make sure you book tickets for the correct walk.
Click here to book Tuesday 30 June 11:00-12:30
Click here to book Saturday 25 July 14:00-15:30
