Leeds has more bars and pubs then anywhere else in the north. If you’re planning on going to university there, then you may want a little help in discovering where to go.
Leeds has something for everybody. When you first arrive you’re sure to go to the student unions to begin with and make friends but soon afterwards you’ll be taking the adventure of the city and choosing your favourite pubs as your locals. A lot of students find the ‘Otley Run’ useful in this process. The concept being that you start in the afternoon and following the pub crawl along the A660 at Otley road and fit in as many pubs on the way into the City centre as possible. Certain rules apply – girls can drink half pints and if the time is running out then the ‘Shotley Run’ may be more appropriate: this is very similar to the original game but rather than a pint in each pub you have a quick shot in each pub. I’m not sure which is more destructive and to be honest I don’t think I have the stamina to find out.
Some of the pubs on the run are worth a quick mention. The crawl usually starts at Woodies Ale House in Headingley. This pub was regularly featured in ITV’s ‘Fat Friends’. Also the ‘Dry Dock’ is one of the most popular pubs in Leeds for students – it is a ‘Scream’ bar so has cheap drinks but it is also an old gravel barge that has been converted into a bar and sits opposite Leeds Met in town.
Ok, for those of you who like to get stupidly drunk and dance like idiots without the challenge of moving pubs every 10 minutes, I will give a brief introduction to night clubs in Leeds.
The Cockpit is probably one of my favourite gig venues, I have seen some legendary bands in there. It’s really big with great sound, good drinks and just a rocking atmosphere. ‘The Session’ is the club night every Friday night, 11pm – 3am. There are 3 rooms playing a range of genres; guitar and electro, 80’s pop and disco punk and then all kinds of other stuff in the third room. Drinks are cheap at £1.70 for a pint and a double spirit and mixer for £2! Amazing, good times to be had in the cockpit I think. Gigs coming up are also looking pretty hot: MGMT, Black Kids and We Are Scientists are all on the list.
The Faversham has a similar vibe to the cockpit but with a touch more pretence. The uber cool club night ‘Bad Sneakers’ is every Saturday night 9 – 3 with djs spinning indie, electro, new wave and Rock&Roll. Past gigs include The Long Blondes, Arctic Monkeys and Hot Chip. Coming up they have Slow Club, Johnny Foreigner and Animal Collective. It’s £4 entry with NUS or £5 otherwise. Don’t forget to take you ray bans and if your feet aren’t turning blue then you jeans are definitely not tight enough.
Lots of students live in the Hyde Park area and there a lots of tucked pubs and bars around. My favourite is the Brudenell Social Club. It’s a non profit members bar (but membership is free…..I’m guessing it’s a bit of a joke) and is famous for hosting secret gigs with bands like Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand. Its really chilled and relaxed and everyone goes there is just really into music. Go along – you never know which major band will take to the tiny stage.
I’ll just throw in a few other bars/clubs worth giving a bit of time to. HiFi is well known in Leeds and is fairly legendary – winning multiple awards for best bar and best venue. There is a mix between Dj’s, live music, soul, funk, jazz, indie, hip hop and every Saturday evening the very popular comedy club. Also, check out The Cardigan Arms and Trash to see up and coming bands from the buzzing Leeds music scene – you might spot the next chart toppers.
Leeds also has a plentiful selection of student club nights in some of the larger venues with great drink deals. Monday nights hosts Chic Beat at Discotheque, playing Funky House, Electro, R’n’B and Hip Hop. On Tuesdays go to Tiger Tiger for Vodka Island with vodka jellies at £1 each and lots more offers. Music is generally indie and chart music with a bit of Hip Hop and R’n’B. If you’re still not all partied out by Wednesday then get down to Gatecrasher Seven for a mix of House, Dance and Electro with drink offers all night, different themes each week and a capacity of 1300!!! Massive!
Majestyk and Creation are probably the most popular main stream clubs in the City. Both are very big and have been prominent in the Leeds scene for many years. It would be worth checking them out but they are far from my favourite places to go. It’s all very hectic in these clubs.
Well I hope that this is helpful to students of Leeds, but try not to go over board – it’s hard to get your essays done if you’re hung over everyday, it can be done though! I guess that’s one of the biggest challenges you face at university. If it was marked by how hard you partied I think I would have gotten a first. Oh well.
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