As the man behind Leeds Beer Tours, Mike Hampshire knows a thing or two about Leeds and its history. In addition to having been voted Specialist Tour Company of the Year for the last two years running at the Yorkshire Prestige Awards, Leeds Beer Tours was also voted the 2020 winner of the Specialist Tour Company of the Year in the Leeds and West Yorkshire Prestige Awards. His latest offering is the Leeds Waterfront Walk – a new self-guided tour that delivers immersive insights into the sights and sounds of the area’s past and present.
Leeds’ waterfront has been enjoying something of a renaissance over the last decade or so and is now a blend of sympathetically conserved throwbacks to the city’s industrial heritage and stylish 21st century city living.
The self-guided tour is accessed via the Navicup app, which is available in both iOS and Android versions depending on your device and is very straightforward to use. Once you have made payment you will receive a code that gives you access to the tour for 48 hours. The route is extremely easy to follow using the map on the app and it’s important to note that there is a dedicated alternative route to each stop should you require an accessibility friendly option.
The basic tour, with no diversions, will take you approximately 90 minutes. However, you will find that, not only are there some of the finest pubs in Leeds along the route (and just off it), but there are also plenty of places to grab something to eat should you prefer to take a little longer over it (the Sunday roast at The Adelphi is excellent, for example). That hospitality plays a central role in the tour is unsurprising when one considers Mike’s background as Secretary for the British Guild of Beer Writers and former Chair of the Leeds branch of CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale).
Starting near the Cross Keys pub on Water Lane, you’ll pass through 17 stops until you reach your destination at the Lamb and Flag pub on Church Row. At each stop you can choose between reading the written description or listening to Mike narrating an audio version (or enjoy both!). You’ll learn about the history, personalities, and architecture of the area (and maybe even the occasional ghost) in Mike’s unique way. Plenty of additional images support the written descriptions, which is a nice touch. To add to the interactivity of the tour some of the stops feature quiz questions, with the option to register for the leaderboard should you be competitive in nature!
We’d thoroughly recommend the tour (we’re not getting paid to say that, by the way!) as a great value way of not only learning more about this part of Leeds but seeing it from a different perspective from that which you may be used to. Also, there are multiple opportunities to involve delicious beer in beautiful heritage pubs, so what’s not to love!
If you’d like to find out more about Leeds Beer Tours, here’s the link to their site.
Download the Navicup app from the appropriate app store for your device:
