A guest post by Darren Cronian. The photos in this post are courtesy of My Life in Leeds.
My favourite places to take photos in Leeds
The diverse array of landmarks, including rural open spaces and impressive buildings, reflects both its industrial past and multicultural side of the city so it is a great city to visit if you enjoy taking photos. Whenever I am travelling around the city I am always armed with a camera and so I thought I would share my favourite places to take photos.
Leeds Corn Exchange
The Leeds Corn Exchange is a Grade I listed Victorian building which was designed by Cuthbert Brodrick and completed in 1864. It is currently home to Anthony’s restaurant and various independent shops and a gourmet hotdog café. I love the architecture of this building and you must walk inside to see the magnificent dome shaped ceiling.
Millennium Square
You can literally stand in the middle of Millennium Square and take photos of the Civic Hall, Leeds City Museum and Carriageworks theatre. All of them are impressive buildings in their own way. Walk further along the square and you’ll be able to take photos of the Town Hall and Mandela garden.
Broadcasting Tower
It’s like marmite – people love it and hate it in equal measures. Personally, I love it and find myself taking photos of it whenever I walk by. Depending on the weather you’ll see the sunshine shining off the rusty building that now houses students attending the local Leeds Met University and it recently won an award for the best looking tall building in Europe.
City Square
The City Square is one of the first places visitors to Leeds find on arrival to the city. It is directly opposite the train station and the Black Prince is the centrepiece of an array of statues in the square. The Old Post Office is now a luxury aparthotel and restaurants but it’s a stunning building to photograph.
Leeds waterfront
The city has three waterfront developments, and all of them are great places to take photos of the riverside with its locks and canal boats. On Granary Wharf you’ll find the impressive looking Candle House. At Brewery Wharf, walk across to the middle of Centenary Bridge and take photos of River Aire. Head to Clarence Dock and take photos of all of the canal boats and city views from Millennium Bridge.
Considering Leeds is the 3rd largest populated city in the UK it has a small city centre. You can easily walk around to all of the places I have mentioned in this post. So, head up North, bring your camera and walk around my home city.
Search for hotels in Leeds (Booking.com).
About this week’s guest writer
Darren Cronian is the editor of My Life in Leeds, a guide written by local people for locals and tourists visiting the city. Find out the best places to stay and visit in Leeds from local writers who are passionate about their home city.
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really nice job thanks for sharing.
Leeds sounds like a fabulous place to go! I’ve always thought of it to be quiet and laid back but boy, look at the Millennium Square! Amazing! And the Waterfront too! 🙂
Well, Leeds is definitely on my list! It sounds like a great place to visit.
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Anis, you’ll be surprised how many people think that it is ‘grim up North’ and think back to it’s industrial past. It is an image that I am trying to change, while not forgetting the history of the city. Another issue we have is the image that it’s all shops and nightlife, and there’s so much more than that.
The city centre is very compact, but by population it’s the 3rd largest city in the UK with over 700,000 residents, and is often overlooked compared to other cities like Edinburgh, Manchester and London.
I tend to think of industry when I think of Leeds, but it seems it’s a great place to visit for a traveler like me who enjoys photographing beautiful buildings. The fact that it also has a small city centre makes it even more appealing.
these photos are great, now i want to visit leeds
Keith, thanks for allowing me the opportunity to show off my home city to Velvet Escape readers.