Thinking of moving to Leeds and not sure which place to set up camp?
There’s Roundhay, with it’s park and fancy houses, if you happen to earn a six-figure income. Or Hyde Park, if you don’t mind living next door to nocturnal students from the Home Counties.
But if you’re looking for the perfect mixture of chill and vibrant, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better spot than Chapel Allerton.
Don’t believe me? The Sunday Times recently heralded CA as one the best places to live.
The guide, released in March, selected villages, towns and cities based on schools, transport, air quality and broadband speeds on top of green spaces and high streets. Judges also picked improving areas with strong, self-supporting communities.
And it turns out little old Chapel Allerton fit the criteria.
The guide said: “A well supported independent high street — with a fishmonger, bookshop, cheese shop and much more — and an inspiring and imaginative community group, CA Spaces, make this urban village our favourite corner of Leeds.”
The judges added they were, “particularly impressed with the efforts of CA Spaces — mostly run by young mums juggling work and homeschooling — to beautify the area, including street art, tree planting and creating pick-your-own veg beds and a ‘mud kitchen’ for children in a patch of neglected woodland.”
Three miles north of Leeds city centre, Chapel Allerton is an ideal place to live independently or raise a family.
That is, if you can afford it. Figures by Rightmove showed that in 2020, the average house price in Chapel Allerton was £262,839. For scale, the Leeds average is £216,392.
Why the hike? Real estate experts put it down to the demand brought on by a class reputation for community.
Chapel Allerton
Mark Whincup, Territory Operator for Leeds at Purplebricks, said: “Chapel Allerton has a long list of desirable features.
“Its bustling centre boasts several boutique bars and restaurants, it is within commuting distance of Leeds and has good transport links too.
“It is family-friendly with excellent schools and is close to great local parks.
“But I think what truly sets Chapel Allerton apart is that it has a real community feel.”
Chapel Allerton is a bit of an anomaly in that it caters to both “big” shops like Aldi and independent ones and neither turfs out the other, unlike almost every town in the UK. The residents seem to distribute their custom to both sides and stop CA from becoming a vacant passing-visit supermarket spot.
“Alongside this,” Mark added, “you’ve got great sports facilities like the Tennis and Squash Club, which sits at the back of a fantastic pub called The Mustard Pot, one of many great bars and restaurants in the area.
“If you go to the other side you have the lovely walks of Gledhow Woods and it isn’t too far to get to Roundhay Park.
Chapel Allerton is, of course, also home to the annual Leeds West Indian Carnival. The longest-running of its sort in Europe. Even longer than London’s Notting Hill Carnival. I’m serious.
The pubs and restaurants are second to none, as are the schools. These are clichés you hear about every town under the sun but with Chapel Allerton, they really are true. If you somehow find yourself getting tired of the wholesomeness and banging amenities, the city centre is only a short journey away.
It’s this novel experience that keeps attracting people from all walks of life. Once everything fully fully opens, do yourself a favour and have a gander.
News
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Leeds Tattoo Expo to return to the First Direct Arena for 10th anniversary
Clementine Hall
The tenth annual Leeds Tattoo Expo will showcase some of the best in tattooing both local and internationally.
If you fancy getting yourself a fancy new bit of ink, then look no further than the iconic Leeds Tattoo Expo that will be returning to the First Direct Arena this June.
Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025, over 200 tattooists and 70 traders will be flocking to the city to show off their skills.
And not only that, but there’ll also be a whole host of market traders for you to browse as well as live music to have a boogie to.
The artists will be tattooing with options for both pre-booked appointments and walk ups available throughout the weekend.
Image: Leeds Tattoo Expo
There will also be a piercer, tooth gems and a henna artist ready to adorn your body.
Alongside getting tattooed, there’s plenty to do and to see over the whole weekend; there'll be an alternative drawing class, an illustrators market with kids’ workshops provided by Art Gecko, an art fusion event on the main stage, burlesque performances and competitions, a small vintage clothing pop-up, fire breathing and break dancing demonstrations in the square outside the arena.
The annual tattoo competitions will also be taking place each evening, where tattooists showcase their work to a panel of judges, sponsored by Killer Ink!
To celebrate Leeds Tattoo Expo's tenth anniversary, they'll be hosting a Pre-Party at Belgrave Music Hall on Thursday 5 June which is a completely free entry event complete with live music and free pizza.
You can find out more about the event and book your tickets here via the First Direct Arena's website.
Josh Teal -
26th May 2021 
