This area is beautiful. We walked around the area and there's just so much to see. Even the free…read morearea is iconic. The little river that runs behind the temple is so pretty. It's worth going in the actual grounds- such an experience me and my family will never forget. I got postcards and read about each room on the grounds. Very nice staff work there in the gift shop a well.

Had a nice family day out and we decided we would go here…read more We went up to Leeds and then had to catch the Bus 19 which took us up between Temple Newsam house and the golf grounds, we then had to walk about 10 minutes to get to the actual place. Walking up to it you're surrounded by green and then there are a load of tree's that seperate so you can walk through them towards the house and grounds, it was like something out of a postcard. When we actually got to the grounds we were stumped on where to go first! Do we go into Temple Newsam House OR do we head towards their little farm OR do we wonder around their 1500 acres of woodlands, fields etc!? Spoilt for choice We started off with the house itself. Prices for a family tickets (2 adults & up to 3 children) are: Temple Newsam House: £9.50 Home Farm: £8.70 Joint Ticket: £15.50 The house is magnificent! You are asked not to take photo's. This is because of the flash as the light and heat can damage pictures etc, it can cause a chemical reaction. I did take a few pictures, but made sure my flash was OFF as not to damage anything. You have a choice of walking around the house reading bits and bobs, or you can use these handheld blocks where you punch in the number per room and a recording will guide you through the room and explain. There are also children's versions of this. We all got confused by it so we opted out lol. Had a little laugh as there is a picture of a man near the picture gallery and he was a spitting image of my father - didn't take a photo of this. Despite it being so big and perhaps a bit dull for children, our children loved it and were full of questions that we tried to answer. They were excited about going into different rooms and their favourite room was the 'nannys room' where they had modern toys for children to play with. We then headed towards the farm. I will be honest with you, I didn't like the farm as much as I would have normally - perhaps it was because of the weather? I would have liked it to have been a farm where we could feed the animals too because places such as the barns with cows, they only had 1 large bucket of this protien stuff which meant that only the biggest cows had managed to get to it (would YOU try and squeeze inbetween 2 fully grown cows!?) and so the younger smaller ones had no chance - perhaps later in the day they would?? :( . One was even eating the straw on the ground which was covered in 'you know what', so I didn't like that bit. The highlight of the farm was that we saw piglets being born! That was amazing! The grounds are huge! As I've already said, all of this is within 1500 acres of land and they have woodlands you can explore which we didn't have time to get to, so it's deffinately an all day trip or perhaps even 2 days. I would go again, although I wouldn't pay for the farm again.

Holy cow, I'll be getting a reputation soon. No not that kind of reputation, I've long since…read morestopped dancing on tables. I'm talking a budding David Attenborough here. So my back pack goes a wandering across to Middleton Woods. What a pleasant and tranquil area this is. Yes, Melissa has gone and found another chill out haven of the highest order. Its woodland is really quite beautiful. Serene and peaceful is the order of the day and that is actually what you'll get. You are surrounded by oak, birch, beech and sweet chestnut trees. Not to mention the array of ferns and forest flowers. As the sun decides to creep away you may even see one of the many bats and through the days plenty of birds and insects frequent the reserve. There are also former tram routes and bell pits to explore. Another environmental gem in God's own county.

Park Square is situated just a stone's throw south of Leeds Town Hall. It is surrounded on four…read moresides by grand Georgian terraces (mostly housing offices), and this, coupled with its immaculate lawns, makes the park resemble something out of Mary Poppins! It is ringed by black metal railings, making it quite a formal park, with very clear paths and benches placed at regular intervals. The grass is trimmed short, almost imploring you to stick to the path...but oh so inviting for bare feet in the sun! It is a lovely place to lie on the grass in the warmer half of the year, and this is the time that the flower beds come to life. Their simple patterns are designed by local school children, which is a pretty sweet idea! Recently, however, I found that one of the flowerbeds had been used as advertising space for a Leeds -based barristers...what!? Flowerbeds as advertising space!? That's just not on...and wrong on so many levels. People lounging in the park want picnics and peace and quiet - not barristers...go away! Leeds in Bloom...what are you thinking? We do not want every single flower we see to be inadvertently advertising something thank you very much!

Steeped in history, Park Square was originally built in 1788 to create a high class residential…read moreestate on the site of the medieval park of the manor of Leeds. Its residents comprised of merchants, clergy, lawyers and surgeons. This has remained accurate to a certain extent, due to the vast amount of solicitors and legal establishments surrounding the square. I consider the square to be similar to the ones interspersed in London's urban sprawl. It provides a wonderful oasis of calm, a site for escapism from the highly accelerated speed of the city. The area positively reeks of affluence, but is not overly exclusive, I do not feel like an imposter whilst there. There is a constant stream of young professionals clutching armfuls of legal files, bustling around the square. It did remind me of watching ants at work. The people watching opportunities in general are fantastic! Accompanied with a snack, it is a most relaxing venue. Although Winter has rendered the park fairly barren at the moment, smatterings of purple crocuses are beginning to brave the cold climate, signalling the optimism of Spring is fast approaching.

I'm now a fully fledged animal explorer. It's not an illegal thing; I mean it in a purely innocent…read moreway. Luckily my animal needs are more than met thanks to some great projects and places in the Leeds hood. Letchmire Pastures is just one of them. It's primarily a wetland and grassland covering 13 hectares and was born out of the demise of the coal mining industry near by. The River Aire is close to it and its main pull is the variety of ponds that offer homes to a wealth of dragonflies and toads. The best time to explore these areas is the spring and summer months, where you'll be able to see different kinds of dragonflies going about their business. You'll also get plenty of birds in the area and the grasslands attract copious amounts of insects. This isn't a place to go walking a dog, more walking yourself and taking in the wildlife but it's an ideal place to get at one with your inner hippie or help the kids with their biology homework. A good area and a feast for animal lovers as long as you don't expect elephants on the plain or marauding wilder beasts.

Granary Wharf is a really cool, modern area of Leeds city centre, the waterside setting is…read moresurrounded by bars, and even includes a Doubletree by Hilton Hotel (my favourite hotel in Leeds), under the railway station, you can see passing trains from Leeds Station. The views of the railway station and Leeds and Liverpool Canal, with the cool, modern design of the buildings make this a cool, relaxing place to come in the city centre, to walk around, or grab a few drinks. More public toilets (other than in the establishments) as well as ensuring the safety of the bridge from Neville Street (Concrete slabs on the floor, as the area, isn't too well lit, this could cause an injury) would be the biggest improvements to the unsung hero of Leeds city centre. 4*

This is probably the nicest place to swim in the North - clean and well kept 50m pool which is…read morerarely busy, changing rooms are really well kept, cafe is cheap and chearful, and parking is free - much nicer than Manchester Aquatics, there is no kids pool here tho. Free entrance with a bodyline card which is a steal really as it's a fantastic and under used facility. Stadium next door has a well kept large gym and they will even let you have a run round the track if there's no-one using it. As it's on the edge of Middleton Park it's a great place to run and swim, outskirts of leeds so rarely busy.

Now it's my welcome pleasure to say that the parks in Leeds are pretty much spot on. They all have…read moresomething good to shout about and yet are all that little bit different. East End Park is a good example of that. It's a Victorian Park (although I didn't see any corset clad women to speak of) and pretty too. The main appeal though is it's encouragement to keep the kids off the streets and active. That's not to exclude other age ranges but the facilities include tennis courts, football pitches, basketball court, playground and even a teen shelter. You've also got a bowling green for those a tad older. They are also big on sports camps throughout the summer months and have a popular annual bonfire. The Friends of East End Park are also devoted to improving and maintaining the park itself, so it's pretty much well looked after. You could do far worse than a trip out here if you want something of an outdoors nature to do.