The Alea Casino in Leeds is situated in the City’s Clarence Dock redevelopment. Clarence Dock is a great place for a night out if you’re looking for things to do in Leeds. Loyal2leeds, as one of the most popular, local, Leeds Guides, highly recommends visiting the Alea Casino. It’s modern, minimalist, surroundings are warm and inviting. When first entering this fantastic Leeds Casino, your immediately struck by the opulent, high quality, decor.
If you’re looking for some Texas hold em action, then the Alea casino has it in abundance! The ground floor is pretty much devoted to this particular form of poker and has Three tables to sit at. Tournaments are held daily, you can also play cash games. The blinds are 50p/£1.00 and you have to change a minimum of £20.00.
Staying on the ground floor, you’ve also got access to the fig restaurant, in case you fancy something to eat. If you stay to the left of the gaming tables, walking along the marble floor of the casino, you’ll reach the escalators, which will whisk you to the first floor. The floor space is impressive, with an incredibly high ceiling. At eye level, the first thing you’ll see are the banks of slot machines on your left, a band may be playing on your right (there’s often a laid back jazz band playing) and one of the five bars! One thing i can say, is that they do mix a mean cocktail, so if you don’t want to try your luck at the tables, you can happily sit at the bar, with one of the many cocktails they have to offer. Venturing around the corner, you’ll find Blackjack, Three-card-poker and roulette.
I visited the Casino on Saturday annot only did i enjoy there Long Island Ice Tea’s but also enjoyed a great deal of success playing Texas Hold Em’.
If you’re a fan of Indian Food, this Leeds Casino has another restaurant to offer, called the Bird. It’s ran by an award winning chef, the cuisine is also very good, but with Mumtaz and Aagrah Restaurants also based at Clarence Dock, I’d reccommend visiting one of these as opposed to actually dining in the Casino.
Venturing to the 2nd floor, you’ll find several private rooms, which can be booked for private parties. There is also a rather expansive bar and a good outdoor smoking terrace, to save smokers having to go all the way to the ground floor and out of the main entrance.
All-in-all, the Alea Casino, Clarence Dock, Leeds is well worth a visit, if not only due to the fact that it offers so much variety. Add to that that you can become a loyalty card member free of charge and receive free food and other incentives through the week, why wouldn’t you?
What’s the answer? there are lots of things to do in Leeds West Yorkshire is the answer!
If you’re looking for something to do, why not go for a walk along the Leeds Liverpool Canal? from Leeds City Centre you can get on to the Canal from either the bridge outside KPMG (across from the Leeds Hilton and right) or, you can walk all the way down Wellington Street, past the Evening Post Building and turn left. Walk over the bridge (which takes you over the River Aire and past City Island where for some reason the wind always blows) or the other alternatives to get on the Leeds Liverpool Canal from the City Centre are by taking either the road that goes down the back of Leeds Train Station, which if you follow it away from the Centre, past Whitehall Apartments and the new development on the right of the road which has ground to a Holt, you can get to it from the right hand side of the road. It feels like you’re a million miles away from Leeds City Centre once you’re on the Leeds Liverpool Canal and with plenty of things to do, lots of trees, birds, fishermen, barges and green spaces wherever you look! It’s the last thing you expect in the middle of Leeds!
The tow path takes you all of the way out of Leeds City Centre, passing Kirkstall Abbey, Armley Ridge and on to Horsforth. You also pass a series of locks, further on you could leave the canal and go to Horsforth Hall Park or if you fancy a well earnerd drink in one of the best pubs in Leeds, there’s a fantastic pub called the Abbey Inn. They’ve won numerous CAMRA awards and to say it’s literally a two minute walk from Horsforth’s New Road Side.
Very old Photo - It has a decked area now....
Once you’re there though, it feels like you could be in the middle of the Dales as opposed to being on the edge of Leeds City Centre. If you’re looking for something to do in Leeds, the Abbey Inn in Newlay often plays host to live music and beer festivals, so it’s worth looking on their site (granted, it’s not the best!) the pub itself is full of charm and has bags of character.
If you don’t want to stop for a drink on your walk of the Leeds Liverpool Canal, you can push on up stream towards Liverpool (Which will take you some times as it’s over 170 miles…) and the next place you’ll find is Rodley. A While ago, I was looking for something to do in Leeds once, and ended up on this particular stretch of the Canal. Unfortunately, a swan decided to try and attack me and there was a stand off for quite some time. So be warned, watch out for the Swans. I got away unscathed. Anyhow, by this point I’m sure you’ll be quite tired and the journey has probably taken you four hours or so. The next thing that i’d expect you to do in Leeds at this point is going to the next pub, and calling a taxi. There are plenty of taxi firms in Leeds and you deserve it!
TOP FIVE THINGS TO DO IN LEEDS
With lots to do in Leeds West Yorkshire, i thought i’d give you an up-to-date list of the best things Leeds has to offer when you’re looking for something good to do! There’s things to do in Leeds for families, couples or if you just want to do something on your own!
Royal Armouries
1. Visit the Royal Armouries in Leeds
As things to do in Leeds go, i’ve put the armouries first as it has lots going on, and much of it’s for free! The Royal Armouries is a great place to spend a few hours exploring or to take the kids out for the day in Leeds.
If you’re looking for something to do in Leeds, whether on a budget or not, it’s educational and there’s lots to do and plenty to investigate.
They’re holding a St George’s Day Joust on Saturday and Sunday and if you want tickets, you better be quick! Under 3′s go free.
The Armouries is an eight minute walk from Leeds City Centre which makes it an ideal destination if you want to spend a morning going around the vast collection (the Leeds Royal Armouries collection consists of just under 80000 pieces!) One of my favourite pieces on show at the Royal Armouries and something to do when you’re in there, is go and see the Japanese armour. It’s amazing and was a gift to King James I in 1610.
The Elbow Room Leeds
2. Play pool all afternoon in Elbow Rooms
The Elbow Room on Call Lane in Leeds is a great place to spend a few hours, if you’re looking for something to do. Leeds doesn’t have loads of pool halls (there’s only Elbow Room’s and the Northern Snooker Centre) so it’s good to have one of such a good standard in the City Centre. It holds fourteen American pool tables, a table tennis table and a Wii that’s occassionally on. If this isn’t wetting your whistle, wait for this, if you toddle on down to the Leeds Elbow Room on a monday, between the hours of twelve midday and midnight, POOL IS FREE!!! That’s right, FREE!!!
Mojo in Leeds
3. Cocktail Master Classes at Mojo!
That’s right, one of the best bars that Leeds has to offer runs a cocktail master-class, so that you and your freinds can try your hand at ‘mixing that Margherita’ or launching that ‘long island.’ Once you’ve done and no doubt got yourself a little wet, you get the opportunity to drink them (well it wouldn’t be worth it if you didn’t get to try them would it?) What moew could you want if you’re looking for something to do in Leeds??
The Hyde Park Picture House
4. Go and watch a film at the Hyde Park Picture House
The Hyde Park Picture House has a siple charm about it. It’s like going to the cinema when you were a child, in intimate surroundings, lit by a low orange hue, eminating from the corners and exits, which simply adds to the atmosphere.
It’s in the middle of hyde park, Leeds and shows art house, cult and popular films. They also have themed nights (they may show all of the ‘back to the future’ series in one go) and it’s nice to visit a local independent cinema. There aren’t that many independent cinemas any more in Leeds and so it’s good to support it.
If you’re looking for something to do and you have a baby, then you’re in luck. At the Hyde Park Picture House they run showings where you can take your child for free during the week.
Dough Bistro, Leeds
5. Go for a meal at Dough Bistro
Dough Bistro in West Park is a hidden Jem. It’s unasuming exteria hides a fantastic little restaurant. It’s Anglo-French Cuisine at it’s best!
If you’re wondering why it’s called ‘Dough’ it’s because it used to be a bakers, so you can see what they’ve done there.
It’s a four course set meal and there’s a reasonable selection to choose from. Most unusally, it’s a ‘BYO’ so you can take your own booze and they don’t charge you corkage! great news.
Now i’ve given you five things to do in Leeds City centre, i feel like writing more. except that wouldn’t be a list of five.
I was due to fly out of Leeds Bradford Airport on Thursday, to attend a conference in Amsterdam.I was travelling with a colleague who stopped at place in Roundhay on Wednesday night, Due to him living near wakefield.
Another friend joined us and we went to the Deer park for some food and a few drinks. I had the topped sirloin which was fantastic. I always find it difficult to order anything else! It’s generally a peice of steak, cooked to perfection, with stilton, peppers and breadcrumbs on top. It comes served with Baby carrots, beans and rosemary and garilic, roast new potatoes. It’s only about £9.00 which is fantastic value for money. The next time your looking for things to do in Leeds and if you’re in Roundhay, why not visit the deer park?
We stayed until around half ten and my two friends spent some time trying to chat up two spanish girls. It was a good night and i had to get up at half four to get the taxi to Leeds Bradford Airport. After around four hours sleep, you’re in quite a lucid state. We got the taxi from Roundhay and arrived at Leeds Bradford Airport at five o’clock. When we approached the check-in entrance, we were confronted by a sea of red coats. It appeared that the entire Leeds Bradford Jet2 brigade were out in force – i sensed a problem. As i walked closer and crossed eyes with one of the staff, he began to speak. Now, after four hours sleep, you’re not exactly on top of your game. You have this cotton wool like fuzzy feeling and everything’s not quite as it seams. So, when someone starts telling you about a volcano and that you can’t catch a plane due to a plume of ash, you don’t entirely believe it. This is however, what happened. I told the member of staff that as far as i was aware, i hadn’t taken drugs on that particular morning and that he’d not passed me a drink, so there was no way that he’d spiked me. My colleague found this incredibly amusing and was laughing hysterically. At this point i was still staring, not quite believing what i was being told.
Leeds Bradford Airport isn’t a great airport but it’s local and it does what it says on the tin. Unfortunately not however, when hundreds of people are trying to que for one small desk at check-in, attempting to transfer flights – it fails miserably as an airport in that situation. My colleague and i, started to que and after a while i went to find a manager. When i found one, he said that he’d do me a favour and was actually, a really decent bloke. Having explained that i was trying to fly to Amsterdam fro a conference that was starting at 9 that morning, he checked what number of passengers had already transferred, and what the feasibility would be of transferring our flights to the following day.
It became apparent that trying flying out of Leeds Bradford, was a futile quest – after standing in a queue for over two hours.
We got a taxi back to Roundhay and went to Napa for breakfast. Napa offer quite a good selection of breakfast fodder and throughout the week, breakfast dishes are 2-4-1 until 11 am. I went for the Full English.
The next time i plan to fly out of Leeds Bradford Airport, or for that matter, any airport – I’ll check what volcanic activity has taken place around the globe. From news reports that i’ve seen today it may take up to 7 days for it to stop! How i envy people who are stranded outside of the UK….lol
There’s always plenty to do in Leeds City Centre, especially when the suns out!
I met with freinds last night and went for a few drinks in the sun. Millenium Square offers plenty of options and gives you the opportunity of relaxing in the sunshine – It’s one of the only places that you can in the City Centre.
Vodka Revolution is a popular destination for all, with a quite a wide age range of people drinking in this popular Leeds City Centre watering hole. I had a couple of pints of stella and then we moved on to Cuthberts, which overlooks the main square. This is when i was stopped in my tracks, by the site of one of the most beautiful girls i’ve seen for some time, handing out flyers for Tiger Tiger. After chatting with her for a while, we moved on and got some drinks. Upon leaving, i had to make an excuse to go over and talk to her again. One thing that i can also say about Leeds is the fact that it has some of the most beautiful women in the country. “Honey” was testitment to this and as it turned out, she’s also a lap dancer at Silks. I intend to visit Silks over the next week or so and carry out a review for you all. it’s purely for professional reasons…
We then went to O’Neils who, as it turned out, had a soul band on. They were fantastic! Leeds has quite a vibrant music scene and if your looking for things to do in Leeds then you could do worse than see one of the plethora of live acts that are playing nightly!I don’t usually go to O’Neils in Leeds but i have to say it was a pleasant surprise and really enjoyed the music. They played Wilson Picket, James Brown and many other classic numbers. This included the Blues Brothers which was great!
Do yourself a favour and the next time your looking for things to do in Leeds go and see a live soul band. They play once a month in O’Neils and Hi-Fi and Smokestack play some great Jazz, soul and blues.