Leeds as we've never seen it

It it relentless this sun, been out now for a week. The good folk of Yorkshire are lapping it up. This is not always a good thing as the number of beer bellied white male whales basking on every bench ad strip of grass quite puts an aesthetic dampener on the visual enjoyment of a vista. More than made up for though by the summer frocks and the minimal outfits sported by the Leeds lovelies. We saw on the local news that Leeds had attracted it's very own open top double deck red tourist bus this year.... Had to have a go and got on for it's first lap of the town last Saturday. I will not try and relate all the facts the recorded voice delivers but it is an hour of solid infotainment the likes of which I was unaware Leeds could support. We got all drowned in history, fame and interesting stuff.

For example Leeds ad the first mobile steam engine, they used it to haul coal from the mines to the foundries and mills. The rail thing got so important they even dug up a graveyard to run it into Leeds city. The shot above shows the only 45degree graveyard in the world which resulted after the vicar demanded the stones be re-laid over the grave sites after the embankment was built.

What I will do is just make some notes next to the shots Gal took so you can take an abbreviated ride of our days out. reflections in The Bourse windows

This bloke is the Black Prince, father of Richard II who was killed in Pontefract Castle in 1399. The black prince at age 16 defeated the French at Cresy in 1346 but there is no link to the city of Leeds other than the Mayor in 1902 at his own expense commissioned a foundry in Belgium to make the thing, shipped it to Hull then up the canals to Leeds. One interesting thing the Mayor did was insist that the statue travel all the way, from the moment it left it's molds in the Antwerp foundry to its plinth in Leeds City square, with the horse facing the direction of travel, to the point that it was mounted on the plinth from the end rather than from the side.

The Civic hall with it's gold clocks and Owls. Built during the Depression of 1920's-30's as a civic project to give local trades something to do. no expense spared, the best of materials. Magic inside and out.

The square in front of the civic hall

This old barge gives reference to Leeds/Liverpool canal history and is now DryDock, a popular University bar. Leeds Univesrity employs about a third of the Leeds workforce and covers over 100 acres of the city.

Broadcast House, known as the rusty building or the rusty nail. High grade steel exterior rusts only on the surface and self-forms a barrier to further corrosion.

Kids benefiting from the fountain in city square

Corn Exchange building and

Kirkstall Markets, the largest covered /open city markets on the planet, or Europe,,, anyway they are big and lots of fun.

As Part of our Saturday Bus fare , seven quid for the two of us (until June) we also got a trip on the Black Prince river barge which runs from Clarence Dock to Granary Wharf. We spent Sunday getting on and off it and walking Leeds before using the barge to get back. This is a shot of the Armouries from the Canal. We have been there, it is England's historical weapon museum and another mind-blowing day out. They do jousting and falconry exhibitions and have an elephant in full armour among other things.

Leeds is Yorkshire's biggest city and its canal warehouses and vacant lands are slowly being converted to offices and apartments.

Bridgewater Office tower, currently leeds tallest building.

The arches of the River Aire beneath Leeds Railway terminus.

Granary Wharf

Lunch at Zizi's outside the Corn Exhange

Brewery Wharf

A horse in the city.... not every day but this stable hand is taking it for a stroll through Clarence Dock after the jousting exhibition at the Armouries field.

Anyway that's it for the photo tour, we both got a lot of sun, had a go on a boat and are happy little Aussies again.