Leeds, Yorkshire (a city with one of Europe’s largest parks)
Leeds is one of England’s most busy and vibrant cities. If you like busy places, this may be a place to visit or live for you! It’s home to the world’s oldest working railway and Europe’s oldest Caribbean carnival. It also has a city clock that runs anti-clockwise!
Despite being an urban city, is home to Roundhay Park, which at over 700 acres is one of the largest in Europe. It features a replica Monet garden and two large manmade lakes.
A huge clean-up operation ensued after World War I, when weapons were dumped into the lake following an amnesty. Urban explorers also have found a series of underground tunnels. The park was formerly a hunting ground. But thankfully now the deer are safe, as are local swans and woodpeckers.
The park used to be privately owned. But in 1871, Leeds City Council bought the estate for public use. Now people are thankful, though back in the day the purchase was seen as a ‘waste of money’, due to being too far from the city centre. How times change!
Other cities of Yorkshire
- York is a walkable city with a Gothic past
- Sheffield is near the Peak District National Park.
- Bradford is ‘the curry capital of England!
- Kingston upon Hull sits on the Humber Estuary
- Wakefield is near the Pennines
- Doncaster has a lively market
- Ripon is Yorkshire’s smallest city
