Leeds is a diverse city with plenty to offer, but when summer hits its peak, many residents feel the pull of the great outdoors.
You don’t actually have to get out of the city itself to keep cool around Leeds – there are plenty of places to relax that are easily reached on foot or via public transport, or in your own car within a matter of minutes.
Here’s our round-up of some of the best places to relax and keep cool around Leeds, from the city centre to the nearby surrounding area.
Roundhay Park
Roundhay Park is huge and one of the most popular places in Leeds to enjoy the great outdoors, with walking and cycle routes, lakes and a host of other attractions.
General access to the park is free, family friendly and suitable for wheelchair users; there are even playgrounds with accessible equipment on site, specifically the playground located close to Princes Avenue.
If you can stand the heat, head into Tropical World, also on the Princes Avenue side of Roundhay Park, to meet animals ranging from bats and butterflies to meerkats and monkeys.
White Rose Shopping Centre
The White Rose Shopping Centre is easily reached via Dewsbury Road, with free parking and a selection of shops and restaurants if you want to get out of the sun for an hour or two.
It’s open 10am – 8pm weekdays, with an extra hour on Thursdays, and with weekend opening hours of 9am – 7pm on Saturdays and 11am – 5pm on Sundays.
South Leeds Golf Club is just across the road too, so if you don’t want to spend all day in a shopping mall, you can get outside and play a round either before or after you hit the shops.
Ilkley Pool and Lido
We’re casting our net a little further afield here, because just 15 miles from Leeds city centre, there’s Ilkley Pool and Lido, offering outdoor swimming throughout the summer from May to September.
Weekday ‘Swim For All’ sessions are open to all ages from midday to 7:30pm, and at weekends from 10am – 5:30pm, with early weekday morning lane swimming sessions from 7am – 9am for more serious swimmers.
The Tetley
The Tetley on Hunslet Road is a former brewery building that opened as an art gallery in late 2013 and has staked its claim as the heart of the Leeds art community in the South Bank area of the city.
It’s minutes on foot from the main rail and bus stations, and not far from other attractions like the Royal Armouries Museum, if you want a packed itinerary for your day out.
The Tetley is open daily from 10am – 5pm, but you might want to check in advance to make sure there is an exhibition on, as the galleries are sometimes closed while new artworks are installed.
Kirkstall Abbey
If Ilkley is too far out, then just three miles north-west of Leeds city centre, there’s Kirkstall Abbey, on the banks of the River Aire.
The Abbey itself is open Tuesdays-Sundays all year round, with admission from 10am until at least 3pm in winter, and 4pm in summer (April-September).
It’s closed on Mondays, but open 10am – 4pm on bank holidays, and there’s plenty of free parking adjacent to the Abbey on Abbey Walk, including some spaces suitable for disabled drivers and passengers.
