Not to be contentious or anything, but Manchester doesn’t have it all.
We’re sorry, we didn’t want to admit it as much as the next person.
We have an abundance of fantastic cafes and world-class sports facilities, we’ve had people busking in Piccadilly Gardens dressed in rat costumes (only feels like yesterday we still had the Piccadilly Rats) and we’re not afraid to embrace the wacky and wonderful.
Having said all this, it’s impossible to have every possible cuisine, gallery, mode of transport and invention under the sun – and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to further than this side of the Pennines.
And where better than the unofficial capital of nearby Yorkshire?
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Just an hour on the train, Leeds is home to a flourishing food and drink scene, beautiful architecture and brilliant museums and galleries.
Here are five places to visit on your trip to Leeds that we promise you wouldn’t find in Manchester (and are well worth a visit over for).
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Water Taxis
Image: Leeds Dock Image: The Hoot Leeds
That’s right, who would have thought that Leeds would have been home to the coolest way of getting from A to B. Drie and Twee were transported over from Amsterdam to take passengers from one side of Leeds below the train station to the Leeds Docks.
Every 15 minutes you can catch the striking yellow taxis over the River Aire and embark on a sightseeing tour of Leeds street art, including a 500ft mural of Kalvin Phillips (yes, he’s still in a Leeds United shirt, yes it’s still pretty impressive) and the Me & You, You & Me mural.
Tickets will cost you £2 each – and better still, dogs and children under five are free.
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Where to find them: Either at 1 Canal Wharf, Granary Wharf, Leeds City Centre LS11 5BB or alternatively at La Salle, 147 Chadwick St, Leeds Dock, LS10 1NW
Roast Dinner Fondue
Image: The Hoot Leeds
The Yorkshire Puddings in Leeds are second to none (as you’d expect from the namesake county) – but have you ever thought about how tasty they’d be dunked in gooey Swiss cheese?
The Cheesy Living Co. is doing roasts differently and combining the humble Sunday dinner with what they do best – cheese.
Plate up with piles of slices of Lishman’s ham and peppered beef, fluffy Yorkshire puddings and roasted veggies aplenty before dipping in the gooey Swiss melting pot. Add lashings of gravy before tucking in – it’s a Sunday roast like you’ve never experienced before.
Where to find them: Ground Floor of Leeds Corn Exchange, Call Lane, Leeds City Centre, LS1 7BR
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Birthplace of Marks & Spencer
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Over 200 years ago, Kirkgate Market was home Europe’s largest indoor market as well as the first ever Marks and Spencer.
The original home of M&S is still treasured today inside the market where you’ll find walls adorned with historical memorabilia and information about the 200-year-old history of the British supermarket- plus plenty of Percy Pigs and sweet treats to tuck into.
Where to find them: Inside Kirkgate Market, Vicar Lane, Leeds City Centre LS2 7HY
The Tetley
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Now a beautiful contemporary art gallery and exhibition space, The Tetley was once home to one of Leeds’ oldest brewing dynasties. The iconic Leeds landmark is a hub for local and international artists to showcase their work. Pop by and explore the exhibitions or take part in their ever-changing calendar of workshops.
Down in the bar and kitchen, you can still grab yourself a pint of Tetley’s own whilst sampling a selection of sustainably sourced meals, including the Tanzanian tofu and coconut curry and one of the best Sunday roasts in the UK (officially) with slow-cooked Yorkshire porchetta and plant-based ‘lamb’ with pomegranate molasses.
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Where to find them: Hunslet Road, Leeds LS10 1JQ
The UK’s last remaining gas-lit cinema
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Hyde Park Picture House has been undergoing some serious renovation work recently but plans to reopen at the end of the month, with its beautiful 1920s architecture still very much intact.
Besides catching the latest blockbusters here, Hyde Park Picture House showcases independent movies from near and far, and has launched a ‘lost cinemas of Leeds’ tour where you can head across the city centre to rediscover some of Leeds’ movie spaces that have disappeared or been repurposed over the past century.
Where to find them: 73 Brudenell Road, Hyde Park, Leeds LS6 1JD
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Sophie Smith -
30th August 2023 
