2 kilometres / 30 minutes to 1 hour. Accessibility – All this route is on pavements and avoids steps. A lunchtime stroll in Leeds City Centre There are numerous bridges and river crossings in Leeds. However, there is only one referred to affectionately as “Leeds Bridge”. This is where our walk starts. There has been some form of crossing here since the middle ages. The bridge you see today was built out of cast iron in the early 1870's. In 1888 the bridge was witness to a world first. The “Father of Cinematography”, Louis Le Prince, shot what is considered to be the world’s earliest moving pictures from the bridge. © It's No Game (cc-by-sa/2.0) Walk across Leeds Bridge and take a right along Dock Street. Dock Street began its life as a commercial entity in the 1800's. Then, during the Industrial Revolution, the canal network provided the catalyst for the city's growth. As its name suggests, boats used to dock along Dock Street. A deep dock allowed the loading and unloading of barges into warehouses. Today Dock Street still looks familiar, but the warehouses have become housing and business spaces. Converted and conserved in the 1980's. Continuing along Dock Street you will pass Centenary Bridge. This bridge was built in 1993 to celebrate 100 years since Leeds was granted city status. It also created better pedestrian access across the Aire. Dock Street c. 1930 By kind permission of Leeds Libraries, www.leodis.net Continue along Dock Street and you will come to Brewery Wharf. Once owned by Tetley’s Brewery this was once a Brewery museum. Here it offered snapshots of pubs through history, from the monastic hostelries of the 1300's to the austerity of the Second World War. Like a lot of the riverside properties, these former industrial buildings are now restaurants and bars. Walk through the red tunnel and you will emerge with a view of the river. Follow the Royal Armouries Riverside Walk. Riverside photographs and walk kindly produced by Abby Carroll from the University of Leeds Carry on walking alongside the Aire towards The Royal Armouries and you will pass Crown Point Bridge. Crown Point Bridge was the main passing point in and out of Leeds towards Hunslet. Built in 1842 it is a grade 2 listed building. It was designed by George Leather, but attributed to George's son, John Wignall Leather. The pair played a key part in development in the Leeds area at the time, developing the Aire and Calder Navigation, and a series of bridges, including Monk Bridge (1827) and Victoria Bridge (1839). A great deal more wildlife calls the river in Leeds city centre their home than you may realise. Herons are frequent visitors and otters have been caught on CCTV in the city centre. Once at Crown Point Bridge either duck under the bridge on the river side footpath or take a slight right and pass through the painted tunnel. Passing through the mural, on the other side you will see artwork by the Canal and Rivers Trust. This highlights influential people in the health, sport, arts and innovation industries who have spent part of their life in Leeds. Keep walking and we are now at Leeds Dock. The dock was constructed for boats using the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the Aire and Calder Navigation in 1843. It was primarily used to bring coal from collieries around Rothwell and Wakefield to supply heavy industries in Hunslet and for businesses in Leeds city centre. On the dock you can see this map listing the industries present at Leeds Dock from 1843 – 1990. From here you will also be able to see the Royal Armouries, a national museum that opened in 1996. This contains collections that were previously stored in the Tower of London. Displays include topics such as war, peace and hunting. It was the building of the Royal Armouries in 1996 that kick started the regeneration of Leeds Dock into the contemporary tech, media, and creative industries hub that it is today. Walk and cross the Knights Way Bridge. Whilst crossing the bridge its worth standing and taking in the view. The weir before you can be lowered by deflating the huge air bags that hold it up to reduce the risk of flooding to Leeds. To the left you can see a fish pass allowing fish to cross the weir. Atlantic salmon caught and returned by the Environment Agency in the River Aire below You might be surprised by what Leeds in 2010 wildlife you can find in the Aire This walk is part of the Developing the Natural Aire programme. This partnership programme between the Environment Agency and The Aire Rivers Trust is reconnecting sixty kilometres of your river with fish passes to enable wildlife to thrive and Atlantic salmon to return. Some day soon Atlantic salmon will be swimming past you on their way to breed in shallow, gravelly river and stream beds around Skipton. Walk across Knights Bridge and turn left walking back alongside the river towards Crown Point Bridge. Once there go up the steps and cross the main road, turn right and then turn left along The Calls. Walking along The Calls you may spot the blue plaque honoured to William Turton. William Turton was a corn and hay merchant who pioneered horse drawn tramways across Northern England. You may also spot Leeds Minster, a Grade 1 listed building. It has existed in some form since the 600's although the current structure comes from the Gothic Revival era in the mid 1800's. If you have longer to explore on this walk, it is worth going over to look at the architecture and interior design. This imitates the English Gothic Style of the late 1300's. The dramatic gothic style interior of Leeds Minster © Michael Beckwith (cc-by-sa/2.0) Whilst walking along The Calls keep looking to your left to see if you can spot the river. For parts you can divert down to look at the river and come back to The Calls. Unfortunatley there is not a direct path that continues alongside the river all the way along. Keep walking along The Calls until you reach Bridge End, turn Left and you will be able to see Leeds Bridge once again. This is the end of our walk. Transport links: The starting point of this walk is easily accessible by train and bus, with Leeds station a 7-minute walk away. Car parking is available in Brewery Wharf Car Park or Trinity Leeds Car Park. A yellow water taxi runs between Leeds Armouries and the train station. We have produced a number of family activity postcards to accompany our walks. There are ten walks along the river. Find them and more at www.dnaire.org.uk With support from 5 kilometres / 1 - 2 hours Accessibility – Unsuitable for wheelchairs, pushcairs, etc unless sections are missed. See notes at the end of the walk Water and Industry in Kirkstall Valley We start this walk on the banks of the River Aire in the grounds of Kirkstall Abbey (LS5 3EH). You will find a weir at the southern end of the park. The river is likely to be one of the reasons the monks chose to settle in this location. A weir built here in the 1100s was one of the earliest built on the river and allowed stone to be floated downstream for building. This walk takes you between two new fish passes. Before summer 2020 fish hoping to reach the gravel beds in shallower parts of the upland river to lay their eggs were stopped by the weirs at Kirkstall Abbey and Armley Mills. Many fish need to move within the river to feed, breed and shelter. One of the fish that will have travelled teh furthest is the Atlantic salmon. Salmon will have traveled from the Atlantic Ocean around Greenland to lay their eggs in the shallow upland streams they are born in. These fish pass help connect 60km of river habitat. Their construction will allow salmon to return after an absence of over 150 years. Atlantic salmon caught and returned by the Environment Agency in the River Aire below Leeds in 2010 A view down into Kirkstall Abbey fish pass on the far side of the river. The metal baffles slow the flow of water allowing fish to swim up the weir. Now long gone, two fishponds built to the south of the Abbey towards the river would enabled them to have kept fish. The monks served food from the river to guests alongside their normal humble diet of bread and vegetables. Bones found in refuse pits in the Abbey grounds even included ravens, jackdaws, and herons. These monks lived there until Henry VIII forced its closure in 1539. The Abbey was left to slowly fall apart until it was given to Leeds City Council in 1890. Kirkstall Valley played a key role in industrial development in Leeds. An ingenious system of mill races or “goits” were constructed downstream of Kirkstall Abbey between 1760 and 1860 to provide mills with water and power. Many of which survive today. Our walk will follow these. A keeper would have lived on it on the weir before you in the unusual gothic style cottage. They would have controlled the water flow to the mills using the set of eight sluice gates. Take the path that leads through the park away from the Abbey and towards the city centre. Photo © Rich Tea (cc-by-sa/2.0) You will pass Abbey Mills on the far side of the goit.