Headingley, Leeds: A Local's Guide
Test cricket, the Rhinos, the Otley Run and a cinema that has been showing films since 1912: Headingley is more than a student pub crawl, and here is how to do it properly.
By Only Leeds Editorial
Headingley is the Leeds suburb of cricket, rugby, students and the Otley Run, about two miles north-west of the city centre along the A660, and there is a good deal more to it than that list suggests. Come for a Test match or a Saturday on Otley Road, and stay for a cinema that has been showing films since 1912, an Italian restaurant with more than 40 years behind it and some of the best cheap eats in the city.
Getting your bearings
Otley Road is the spine. Pubs, cafes, charity shops and takeaways run from the Original Oak at number 2 up towards Far Headingley, with North Lane and Bennett Road branching off for more. The name turns up in the Domesday Book, the area has more than 100 listed buildings, and both Tolkien and Arthur Ransome have Headingley connections, so it is not all jägerbombs. Leeds Beckett's Beckett Park campus sits to the west.
Headingley Stadium
The stadium on St Michael's Lane is really two grounds sharing a stand: cricket, home of Yorkshire and a regular England venue, and rugby league, home of Leeds Rhinos. According to Yorkshire CCC, a group chaired by Lord Hawke bought a plot of the Cardigan estate for £25,000, and the ground officially opened on 27 May 1890. On match days the whole suburb fills up, so book anywhere you want to eat.
The Otley Run
Leeds' most famous pub crawl starts at Woodies Craft Ale House at 104 Otley Road and works its way towards town, finishing at The Dry Dock. The current Leeds-List route has 17 stops over about 2.3 miles, and most groups take six to eight hours. Fancy dress is traditional, so expect entire teams of Minions and Marios on a Saturday afternoon. It never actually reaches Otley, which tells you how these things go. You do not have to do all 17, and the people who live along Otley Road would like you to remember they live there.
Pubs
The Skyrack is a Greene King pub and long-time student favourite with a big beer garden. The Original Oak is the long-running local for rugby and cricket fans, with a large garden and a double-sided bar; a Gamma Ray and a stone-baked pizza is the move. For something calmer, Arcadia in the Arndale Centre on Otley Road is a Market Town Taverns bar over two rooms and a mezzanine, and has long been one of the city's serious beer destinations, with a good wine list for anyone who has had enough hops. Bottle Chop, on Weetwood Lane, does natural and orange wine with a deli board.
Where to eat
Salvo's, at 111-115 Otley Road, is a family-run Italian that has been going for more than 40 years; pasta, pizza or the regional specials are all the right answer. The Swine Bistro at 77A Otley Road changes its menu often and opens Wednesday to Saturday, plus Sunday lunch. Ecco Pizzeria at 93 Otley Road does Neapolitan pizza, and the fig and goat's cheese is the one to order. De Baga at 9 Otley Road has a different menu from its Chapel Allerton sibling: start with the fried squid and follow with Lamb Xacuti. The Cat's Pyjamas at 53 Otley Road is Indian street food and craft beer; get the Railway Potato Curry.
For cheap and very good, Kuala Lumpur Cafe at 2-4 Bennett Road serves Malaysian food and lets you bring your own drinks, so order the nasi lemak and a curry. Jino's Thai Cafe at 38 North Lane is bring your own too. I Am Doner at 23 Otley Road does Berlin-style kebabs, with a vegan version.
Coffee and brunch
Heaney and Mill at 48 Otley Road does eggs Benedict and loaded pancakes in the morning and steaks at night. The Bowery at 54 Otley Road is a coffee shop and gallery pouring Allpress coffee. Further up, Fika North at 94 Otley Road is Scandi style with bagels, and Loaf at 90-92 serves Dark Woods coffee and French toast with spiced rum caramel.
Film, records and culture
Cottage Road Cinema opened as the Headingley Picture House on 29 July 1912, in a building that started life as a motor garage, and it is the oldest cinema in Leeds still in use. It nearly closed in 2005 and was saved. The Vinyl Whistle at 12 Otley Road sells new and second-hand records, with beer, coffee and cake while you dig. HEART, the Headingley Enterprise and Arts Centre on Bennett Road, is a community hub with a cafe, classes and exhibitions. Down the hill in Hyde Park, Brudenell Social Club on Queen's Road has been going since 1913 and is where you go for a gig.
Green space
Beckett Park, on the Leeds Beckett campus off Churchwood Avenue, is free and has views across the Kirkstall Valley; look for Victoria Arch in Queen's Wood. Headingley Community Orchard looks after volunteer-run orchards at St Chad's, Woodhouse Ridge and Shire Oak Primary School, and holds an Apple Day.
A good Headingley day
Coffee at The Bowery, a dig through The Vinyl Whistle, a walk in Beckett Park, then a matinee at Cottage Road. A pint at Arcadia, dinner at Salvo's, and if there is a band on, the Brudenell. Do the Otley Run another day, in costume, with friends you trust. The Leeds-List Headingley roundup has the rest.
