The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery is not very well known in Leeds. I have never before heard my…read morearty friends talk about it, or seen any promotion for it, and I am often taking short cuts through the University Campus. I heard about the gallery whilst doing data entry for an arts company, I was inputting data from a survey to decide why it wasn't very well attended. Since then I vowed that I would go and have a look, as everyone in the survey spoke very highly of it in their comments. You can find the gallery in The Parkinson Building of the University, just to the left of reception through some glass sliding doors. The exhibits I saw today were beautiful. The gallery used to consist of three rooms which have now been converted into one large space displaying the Universities permanent collection. It includes various bronze works, a display of Yorkshire pottery, a suite of glass cases displaying drawn works, and some really beautiful paintings. There is also another room which is used for temporary exhibitions. Today I saw 'Obsession: Contemporary Art from the Lodeveans Collection' which is running until the 28th November (2009). My favorite in this collection were some porcelain models of crushed cans (like coke cans) hand painted with blue flowers, as if they were an old china set. They have a variety of different pieces, from abstract to portrait paintings, sculptures, video, audio, and drawings, so if you are an art lover there will most likely be something for you. It is quite small, but it's free and also not far from the gallery in the city centre if you feel the need for more.

A very modern gallery, compared to other museums/galleries that I have visited this isn't the…read morebiggest but it is so modern and chic. There is a room which shows art and often switches it up

What with being let down once again by Virgin Media, I had to seek solace on such a rainy day as…read moreyesterday, with coffee and wifi. There's a number of spots about town in which to laze the day away with a supply of reasonable coffee, but since The Bowery is so close and it's been so long, I decided to set up here for lunch and respite from the rains. As far as I can tell, the place has gone from strength to strength, providing in-numerous excellent artistic courses for folks to partake of, alongside their range of fresh lunchables and gift-shop-cum-gallery. The programme of lessons looks fantastic, offering up everything from jewellery making to knitting, and browsing the hand crafted gifts about the cafe reveals a wealth of local talent and passion. I hadn't intended to purchase anything (one never does) but couldn't help be drawn in by some of the kitsch and quirky little items. The staff, as ever, are mega friendly, which makes a visit all the nicer. I decided to try the spinach and ricotta quiche, which comes with a sizeable plate of salad on the side. I have to say, whilst the quiche didn't make my mouth sing, the accompanying salad more than made up for this in flavour - the dressing was mouth watering, and the mix of sultanas, sesame seeds and such made this a healthy taste sensation. You can grab a decent sized latte for about £2, a pot of tea which yielded a few cups for the same, and of course the wifi is free. It's not coffee comparable to the likes of Bottega or Laynes, but the space more than makes up for this -and I'm not complaining, it was a good cup of Joe. The atmosphere defines relaxed, and with the array of art and crafts on the walls and in the cabinets, you're not short on excellent things to look at and ponder. The gallery and classroom space is upstairs, and whilst I didn't have an opportunity to wander around, I'll have to come back soon for a peek. I read also that the classroom space is available for hire for most art-related activities, for as little as £5 an hour I believe, which is fantastic for the local community. It's also worth noting that the toilet even has a mini seat that you can pull down, should you have kidlets in your company, which is a lovely touch. Overall, I'm a big fan of this place, and hope that Headingley continues to support independents like this. More of this, please Headingley. Get your senses open and your art head on.

The Bowery is more than just a cafe. Here you can also find art exhibition space, a classroom for…read moreworkshops and an impressive selection of cards and gifts. It's split across two floors and, while the upper floor is light and airy the lower floor feels a little cramped. Possibly because the lower floor contains the cafe and the gift shop but it does seem to work. Naturally, the gallery space is a little quieter but it's a lovely space and I really enjoyed wandering around and looking at the exhibits. It looks like the workshops room is really well used. A group was finishing a crafting workshop as we arrived and the website advertises further workshops as well as a series of short courses that starts in September and a variety of other events. We didn't stay for food but they're certainly popular, which has to be a good sign, and the cakes look great. I'd be tempted to return for a coffee and some treats but even if these turn out to be less than the best in the area The Bowery is doing a great job of pulling together a creative community in Headingley. They describe themselves as The Home of Creativity and I think that that suits them very well.

The gallery is located at Bradford University, and it's a bit hard to find. I went as part of a…read moregroup visit with my course and so the tutor already knew the way. I think if you've never been to the University you may struggle to find it. When you do find it though it's actually a good gallery space, the member of staff who was supervising the exhibition was very friendly and knowledgeable and gave us loads of information about the work. I keep up to date with exhibitions and art events in Bradford and this gallery tends to show a good variety of work in all disciplines. My only problem is it's location. It's worth a visit here, but check the exhibition program and opening times as being part of a university, it may not be consistent.

I was so very impressed with this museum! It's not just a history of the castle and prison within…read morebut also a history of Britain through the times. Enjoy each "decade" of British history between window exhibits , a Victorian street you can walk through (and in and out of shops , sit in a school classroom and sit in a prison cell) and enjoy tons of interactive exhibits such as a room full of vintage arcades and a WWI trench. The prison is really neat - from getting a sense of how it was Luis to be locked in one of the cells to the ability to watch/listen holograms of famous prisoners - very interesting and a highlight in York!!

This place was full history and it is set to tell a different story in every room. It was a nice…read moreinteractive museum with plenty of staff giving speeches to inform the audience of different perspectives of history. It was a nice experience but it did smell a bit funky in there. Pro Tip, use your London Pass for "free" entrance and you will ultimately save yourself a few bucks.

TL;DR - A truly unique venue combining art, food and shopping…read more One of Sparky's colleagues tipped us off about this place, and I'm amazed we'd never heard of it before. In case you don't know (I didn't!), Saltaire was built by industrialist Titus Salt (amazing name!) alongside the river Aire to bring all aspects of his textiles business onto one enormous site. He also built a town for the workers, and the whole area is now a world heritage site. The mill has now been converted into an amazing and huge venue spanning several floors. There's so much here it's hard to take in, but I'll try and summarise. The ground floor is a mixture of books on art, stationery and arts supplies, postcards and the like but interspersed with huge art displays. At first I wasn't sure if I was in an art gallery or a shop, but the answer is both. As with the rest of the mill, David Hockney features strongly throughout. There's a basement level which we didn't explore in detail, but it sells rugs and wallpapers and is just as big as the ground floor. The first floor houses the most. One end is a gorgeous bookshop, where the focus seems to be on unusual titles rather than breadth - I saw many, many books in the recipe section which I'd never seen or heard of anywhere else. The other end of the building is devoted to homewares - kitchen supplies, furniture, clocks and more. A lot of it is very expensive, but it's a beautifully curated selection of objects for sale. Between these two wings is Salt's Diner. It's a separate venue on Yelp but suffice it to say we had lunch here and it was great.Through the restaurant you can access a further wing of the building which is split into an outdoor clothing shop, a jewellers, an art exhibit, a treasure trove of an antique store and a small coffee shop. Finally, the top floor is split into three: an exhibit on the history of the mill, a major exhibition of work by David Hockney, and a further cafe/restaurant. On top of all these, parking is free on site and it's right next to the Saltaire train station, so there's really no excuse for not visiting.

Its easy to spend the best part of a day wandering round the amazing Salts Mill with its extensive…read morecollection of David Hockney's work and its eclectic selection of "shops" which include an excellent book shop, the wonderful home section with its stunning array of furnishings and kitchen porn, and the antique/collectables area. At some point you are going to need to get some fuel on board and Salts Diner is not a bad option. Its situated on the 1st floor of this wonderful labyrinthine industrial building in a large area between the book shop and the home shop. It was very busy on our visit between Christmas and New Year but we managed to get a table for 6 without much difficulty. The young waiting girls were all very helpful and attentive and we soon settled down with a reasonably priced bottle of Merlot to have a look at the menu. There is fairly wide choice of available, and while there is no real theme to the menu, there is enough to satisfy all the generations of family visitors that Salts Mill attracts. There are lots of ankle biters about so be careful in your choice of seating if you want a peaceful lunch. I had the roast butternut squash and lentil soup from the daily specials board which was tasty and wholesome, obviously a popular selection as it was soon rubbed off the board. B and I both went down the pizza route for our main and shared a bowl of nicely cooked crispy fries; nothing to complain about but pretty bog standard. The most successful main seemed to be Danny's beef meatballs and pasta in a rich tomato sauce, again from daily specials board, although the other boys were quite complimentary about their beef and ale pies which came in a nice white dish topped with puff pastry. All in all while this was nothing to write home about it was a pretty decent lunch in a great building. Salts Diner itself its not somewhere I would go out of my way to visit but works well a part of a visit to the Mill (I would particularly recommended a visit at the moment to see the amazing "Flowers" show on the top floor of work created by Mr Hockney on his iPad - just stunning). 3 for Salts Diner and 5 for the Mill.

We stayed nearby on a work trip, and I brought the kids here. It was a nice, little museum with a…read moresizeable gift shop. The things on display were fun and interactive. The place smelled old, so that was cool. This place is a little gem, especially for tourists! The staff was nice and accomodating.

Keeping on with the iconic buildings of Leeds theme that I've got going on, I suddenly realised I'd…read morenot penned (or typed) my thoughts for this fabulous building. Certainly, it's not necessarily a cutting edge piece of architecture, but its structure is actually one of my favourites in Leeds. The huge steps out the front are a great spot to eat you sandwiches, and guaranteed much freer and more picturesque to pause at than the Parkinson steps, and with so many places near by to grab refreshment the location is certainly a handy one. Whilst I've only been around the inner workings a few times it's always been a fun browse. They have a few rotating/changing displays - one of which I remember featuring this 'crazy scientist' type character and all in all it offers a good deal of info-tainment for the kids, as it were. Their other staples, as mentioned in previous reviews, also offer a good afternoon's browsing and is certainly worthwhile whether you're a resident or a visitor. They're not adverse to other events being held in the space either, indeed an opening night to an Irish festival, celebrating the Irish cultural heritage in Leeds, was held in the main room which was fantastic too. If you've not been, you've overlooked another gem of the city!

Micklegate Bar is known as traitors gate and once displayed the heads of Richard Duke of York, and…read moreEdmund, Earl of Rutland on spikes. The Micklegate bar is where you will find the Henry VII museum and often used as the main gateway into York by the Queen as well as Henry VII in 1486. The Micklegate bar has great features including the the royal coat of arms as well as the city coat of arms, a carving of a knights helmet and a lions head. From Micklegate bar you will then lead onto Victoria bar one way or Lendal bridge the other way, also look out for the Tansy beetle mural and not far from here is the railway station.

Micklegate Bar is one of the best preserved of York's mediaeval gateways…read more The original 12th century gatehouse was replaced in the 14th century with a heavy portcullis and a fortified barbican, with upper floors containing living quarters, which today contain a museum describing the history of the gate and also the history of the City. It's mildly diverting, but to be honest I'd stick to a walk around the walls, and clamber down for a better look at the gate itself. By tradition, it was the gate through which monarchs and other worthies entered the city, which led to it being used to display the decapitated heads of executed traitors

Excellent little museum telling the story of this Plantagenet monarch…read moreand the troubled times existing in the country at that period in history. Well worth a visit.

The Richard III Museum, situated in York's Monk Gate on the old city walls, is a quirky gateway…read moreinto the history of this city and the Plantagenet monarch. Putting a modern twist in the tale of the Princes in the Tower, it's informative as much as its information is easy for young and old to understand. Manufacutred newspaper cuttings and various exhibits set the scene, and cause the visitor to question whether they think the accused King was innocent or not. It's small in size and stature, but with its winding staircases, cubby holes and colourful history, it's unmissable. Admission for adults and children is little over three pounds, so it should definitely be on your to do list if you're staying in York. Just getting a glimpse inside these old city guarding grounds is an experience in itself.