Awesome Day Trips You Can Do from Leeds, England

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This is a super overdue post because I was in England back in 2012 when I did my exchange at the University of Leeds. I did wish I started travel writing back then but it’s never too late. I also don’t want to forget the feeling of traveling so I decided to write this to make myself remember specially when I’m freaking out thinking when can I even go outside the country. Come travel with me as I revisit my life back when I was in Leeds and compiled this list of top destinations of where to go for some awesome day trips from Leeds, England.

It was an absolute amazing experience to be able to study abroad and travel at the same time. Experiencing the English education and culture made me open minded and be a better person. I feel fortunate to have this experience because students this time are probably being hit with the COVID situation. Those who are meant to go study abroad cannot go or delayed because of border restrictions and quarantine procedures.

When I was in Leeds, I had the opportunity to go to day trips around the area. Leeds is located in the West Yorkshire country up in Northern England. It’s nicely situated in the middle which makes it a great hub to go around the north side. I was a budget traveller back then and there were quite good amazing great deals for students taking the coaches like MegaBus and National Express (more comfier). There are awesome deals you can find at Wanderu and Rome2Rio.

These are the amazing day trip destinations you can visit while around the West Yorkshire County in Northern England. It’s enough to explore them in a day.

Manchester

When I hear Manchester, the first thing that comes to mind is Manchester United but there’s more to this city than the football club. The first big city in the West of Leeds, it’s the second biggest metropolitan city behind London Greater Area so there’s definitely lots to see and do. Obviously if you’re a football fan you should catch a game!

Buildings here are pretty and everywhere like the Manchester Cathedral and Manchester Town Hall. The most I remember about Manchester is the airport. It was bigger than the Leeds-Brantford one so it had more flights. If you drive it only takes about an hour to get there.

Liverpool

If you go further west, you will end up at the seaside and be Liverpool is where the Beatles comes from and if you’re a music fan, you should definitely checkout the museum The Beatles Story right at Royal Albert Dock. Definitely go to Royal Albert Dock by the waterfront and experience the seaside. This city also has a really big shopping hub close to the station Liverpool Central if you’re looking to shop called Liverpool One. There’s even a Chinatown here which surprised me.

Museums are free mostly in England so I ended up checking out the Merseyside Maritime Museum, also at the dock, where they had a model of Titanic and the World Museum for physical and natural sciences exhibit. Since you’re at the port, don’t miss out on awesome Fish & Chips that England is known for.

York

One of my memorable cute little city town exploration. Known for its rich history, it was actually the capital of the Roman Empire here back during the Britannia Empire. They have the famous York Cathedral and has its own eye York Eye, like the London Eye.

Explore the York grounds and travel back in the Medieval Times walking around St. Mary’s Abbey and the York city walls that guarded the Romans. They’re still standing strong and has a really great view of the city!

This cute city mesmerized me. As an avid Harry Potter fan, it felt like Diagon Alley in real life. Skinny dry stone streets with no cars allowed and the Medieval feel walking around Little Shambles. There were so many tiny streets like the famous this Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate.

Yorkshire Dales

Yorkshire Dales comprising mostly of The Yorkshire Dales National Park is an absolute must when exploring the Yorkshire County. You can easily can spend a good day here admiring nature, the herds of sheep and dry stone walls England is known for.

It is a big area to explore there are three peaks, waterfalls and Malham Cove to see awesome rock formation.

Lake District

Lake District National Park is another great national park located in the Lake District itself. The area is a World UNESCO Heritage Site. The best way to get here is by car. I got the opportunity to explore this amazing district with a tour group organized by the Leeds Student Union for the Exchange students.

You can hangout in the biggest lake Windermere see swans and feat your eyes on the amazing English country side. It is the most visited national park in the United Kingdom so be sure to take the change to go here.

London

You could do a good weekend trip here but I was cheap and didn’t want to spend money on accommodation so I actually went on a day trip here. Twice. I did go for a weekend and I will write about that later.