Reasons to live in Headingley, Leeds

After Hyde Park and Woodhouse, Headingley is the eponymous home for many students and professionals. It’s easy to see why too. Just a few miles from Leeds city centre, the universities and Horsforth for Trinity University, it’s a popular choice. You have easy road access via car or bike and there’s a railway station and bus stops dotted throughout Headingley.

It is a large area and was once the domain of Lord Cardigan, a famed teetotaller who would not, we’re led to believe, allow alcohol licences on his patch. It perhaps explains why, up to the 1980s, the Skyrack and Original Oak were far away from The Three Horseshoes in “Far Headingley”.

Times have definitely changed now though in the past 30 years and Headingley remains a desirable place for students and professionals, with scores of pubs and restaurants. By the way, if you have a house for sale, do not hesitate to contact our estate agents in Leeds.

More reasons to live in Headingley

Headingley is just under two miles away from Hyde Park, which rubs shoulders with the various campuses. If you’re studying at Leeds Beckett, you may have your own learning centre closer by. The Headingley Campus. Beckett Park, sits to the west of Otley Road on Church Wood Avenue in 100 acres of parkland, a contrast to the city centre. Beautiful building too for Instagram selfies.

If your place of study is Trinity in Horsforth, you have a direct train line to there – but do bear in mind that the walk up Brownberrie Lane on arrival is not short. Rail travel is fast though and affordable and there are direct buses from Headingley to Horsforth. Driving takes under 20 minutes too, traffic permitting.

What to do in Headingley

Away from study, Headingley is home to the famous cricket ground, a place that entered folklore for Ian Botham’s performance there in the 1981 Ashes. If cricket or rugby league is not your cup of tea, you have the oldest cinema in Leeds on your doorstep – at Cottage Road. This was opened in 1912 and retains so much of its Edwardian charm.

The obvious pubs, we’ve mentioned before, opposite St Michael’s Church are the Skyrack and the Original Oak, which are often packed, but venture up and off Otley Road and there’s even more enticing prospects for food and drink.

If you’re celebrating a special occasion, get a pay rise, a tax return or fancy splashing the cash, Heaney and Mill is recommended at 50 Otley Road. There’s every cuisine to choose from in the whole area: try Sukhothai on St Anne’s Road, or a curry from Voujon or take your pick from a fine range of Italian outlets, like Ecco Pizzeria, or head for Nando’s or Pizza Express.

You can also attempt the Otley Run, when you get your bearings – a sixteen stop pub crawl starting at Woodies in Far Headingley to The Dry Dock in the city, taking in delights like the Taps and Manahatta.

If you have any more questions about living in Headingley, Leeds, contact our expert team at Rooftop Living today.

Do you want to invest in Leeds? We cover Burley, Chapel Allerton, Weetwood, Meanwood, Headingley, Hyde Park, Woodhouse, Leeds City Centre, Armley, and more. Do not hesitate to contact us, our company is always at your disposal.