Hi readers,
I decided to write about my trip to Leeds after all, only because I want to share these three places I found whilst I was there for two days. I'd planned everything out like I did for London and then I found out when I got to Kirkstall Abbey that everywhere was closed on Monday for cleaning ect. It's traditional for museums to be closed, but I don't think I knew that and also I never noticed that about places in Manchester.
Leeds is less then an hour away from me and I'm surprised that we've not been to these places before. They tick all the boxes for a family day out and fit in with what my parents liked taking us to during the summer holidays. Anyway, now I know where these places are I'll plan to visit them again and there's a steampunk fair at the Mill in October too!
I do actually like Leeds and there are lot are interesting places to go and visit. Last time I was there we visited The Thackeray Medical History Museum, where there was a steampunk fair and we also walked around a Christmas market, here's the post on that;
http://hailscrazyblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/leeds-steampunk-market-and.html
I've also been to the Leeds Armouries Museum, which is a great place to check out. I also like the city center because there's a good choice of shops and there's the massive indoor market which dates back to the 1800's.
I actually went into the center and the market on Monday afternoon and I had a good walk around. I brought some stuff from the market too. Mostly sweets and some craft stuff, but also these knitting patterns. I saw this fluffy purple hedgehog and I really wanted it, but then I saw this rainbow one and the dragons and I brought both. Mum was fine with me adding them to the knitting list and we even brought all the wool! I'll post up some photos when they've been made.
So, the first place I want to was Kirkstall Abbey. It was twenty minutes on the bus from the hotel we were staying in and there were bus stops close by, so it was super easy to get too. The bus goes to the city center too, so I got a day saver ticket to travel back and forth. The Abbey set in a large park area, so even though it wasn't open, you can still walk around the outside and you can see just about everything from that. It was smaller then some of the other Abbeys I've been too, but I still felt inspired by the place. I got to walk around inside the ruins the next day and that was cool too. It's free as well and the visiting center and shop are okay. The park area is really nice to walk in too and it seemed popular with local young families. Here are some more photos;
Stuck for lunch, I got back on the bus and went to the retail park I had past on the way. I got some stuff then went back to the Abbey and had a small picnic. It was really nice and I sat under some trees and also read my book. Then I decided to go into Leeds city center and try to come back the next day to see if I could have a walk around inside.
It me it was worth coming back for, but I didn't really see much more then I'd seen the day before. I did find out this Abbey was built in like 1152 and then it was abandoned around 1539 due to the dissolution of monasteries. Most of the stone was then re-used to make other stuff over the years then in 1895, Leeds council did some restoration and opened it to the public. The Wikipedia page also makes for an interesting read about it; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirkstall_Abbey
I did get a few story ideas from this place and I do wish I'd had spent more time sitting and writing because that would have been fun. Actually the Abbey seems to have always attracted creative people as some artists are famous for drawing and painting the Abbey. Maybe I'll go back one afternoon and spend some time writing. Here are a few photos from inside the Abbey;
The next place I went to is Armley Mills. I found out about this place via Most Haunted. I'm not that big a fan of it now a days, but my chance it came on after another ghost thing I'd been watching and when they said they were in Leeds I got interested and then once I had the name of the place, I found it was it like a 20 minute walk from the hotel! I just had to go. I do love old mills because they normally have lots of interesting stuff in them. Also, they smell really good too!
So this Mill has a few working weaving machines but they weren't working when I was there due to being under repair. I learnt some stuff about the spreed of diseases though and about the working conditions. There were some other displays about making things and fashion. But I liked learning the history of the Mill more. Turned out the first Mill on the site actually brought down and they had to rebuild it. There was also stories of children and adults getting trapped in the machines. Always makes me freak out though!
They had farm machines and other stuff too, but I really wanted to see the steam trains as they are my favorite things at museums. But the Mill got flooded last year and since the engines were in the buildings near the canal, they were closed. There's a nice picnic area though and I spent sometime outside, having a snack. I really wish I'd spent some more time here because I ended up rushing through some stuff due to knowing I didn't have that much time- though really I did! Anyway, I'll go back for the steampunk fair.
The last place I went to was the Abbey House Museum. This was across the road from the Abbey and I'm so glad I went as the children's' toys and games section was amazing. They always have a Victorian style high street where you can walk into the different shops and the pub and look at the layout of things and the items for sale. Behind is also a side street of houses and it was just lots of fun to be transported back!
The floor above had crime and punishment and I found some of that interesting too. Then it was all the childhood stuff and the history of the house. There were lots of super old toys and games, some of which I did know! They also had lots of doll house furniture and two huge doll houses, don't think I've seen doll houses that big before! They had some creepy china/pot dolls too and I sort of avoided those, I blame all the horror movies/ghost documentary things for my feelings about dolls and clowns!
Surprisingly and like the Mill the museum was pretty much empty, so I got around fast. And once again I wish I'd spent more time, but I was hungry and tired and had been rushing around all day. Maybe I'll go back one day. They had a really nice garden area and a cafe, so I chilled out there for a bit then had to head back because my mum wanted to leave before rush hour traffic started.
Here are the photos and I'm sorry they didn't turn out that well but I wasn't allow to use my flash. I might have gotten away with it at some points, but I always try to respect the photography rules.
So that's it though I'm sure I'll be back to Leeds soon. Thanks for reading and remember to check out my other to blogs and come back here on Monday for a book review.
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