15 April: 18:00-19:30
9 July: 14:30-16:00
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!
In 2019 the city announced a £3.34 million investment to re-establish Leeds as a port at Stourton Wharf, an environmentally friendly development which will take half a million tonnes of freight off the roads. The project is called Leeds Inland Port. The Leeds city fathers got there first! By 1700 they had built the Aire and Calder Navigation. This gave access 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 made full use of the waterways for its own extensive trade.
Join Professor Joyce Hill to for a walk along the waterfront to discover how these developments took place.
There are two walks on two different days. Please ensure you only book tickets for the walk you would like to attend. There are two different booking links for the two different dates. Tickets are non-transferable between the two walks for capacity reasons. Registration opens 7 February.
Click here to book for the 15 April walk
Click here to book for the 9 July Walk
Registration opens 7 February
Useful Information
Date and time: 15 April: 18:00-19:30 / 9 July 14:30 – 16:00
Meeting Point: Leeds Civic Trust office, 17-19 Wharf Street, Leeds, LS2 7EQ
Finishing Point: The walk terminates at Victoria Bridge, which is convenient for the train station and city centre buses.
Tickets: £6 for Leeds Civic Trust members, £8 for non-members. Tickets are essential. There are two different booking links for the two walks on different days. Please only book for the date of the walk you would like to attend. Registration opens 7 February.
Booking link: Click here to book for the 15 April walk
Click here to book for the 9 July Walk
Accessibility: This is quite an energetic walk: be prepared for spells of brisk walking!
