It’s early evening in the Calls district of Leeds. Those who minutes earlier had been toiling at their desks are now moving purposefully from cafe to bar, mobile phones pressed to their ears, to do what the people of Leeds do rather well – enjoy a little rest and relaxation at the day’s end. Tim Ware joined them.


Flower baskets adorn Leeds Town Hall

Hard though it may be for some living south of Watford ( the fictional dividing line between north and south in England) to accept, Leeds has moved on since the days of men in flat caps swilling copious quantities of bitter beer. There is still a brewing connection – the Tetley Brewery on the restored post-industrial Waterfront is now a tourist attraction. But, as if to underline the city’s new credentials, locals are quick to point out that the first Harvey Nichols store opened outside London was in Leeds. So for Burton, read Gucci.


Harvey Nichols store in Leeds

Here there are no cafes selling tea like mum makes, but tea as fashion dictates. Is it to be English breakfast, Darjeeling or mint? Decisions, decisions. So while the accents you hear are predominantly those associated with the Broad Acres, you could be in Chelsea or maybe Cheltenham.

In the 19th century Leeds and its satellite towns – Bradford, Halifax and Huddersfield – were very much at the centre of the world’s woollen industry. It was in Leeds that Michael Marks, a Russian émigré, set up his first ‘penny’ market stall – thus laying the foundation for the great Marks and Spencer retailing empire.


Woolen Mills at Saltaire

And although, of course, M & S still sells its wares in the city, the mills have long since closed and new industries – notably banking, insurance and tourism – have taken over. Increasingly Leeds is now a white collar city.

It’s a confident city, too. The canny mill owners may have moved on, but every day shrewd business deals are done, often in the canal side bars and cafés which now occupy the spot where, 150 years or more ago, woollen products and other goods were loaded on to barges to begin their journey to the far corners of the empire.

And this is a surprisingly easy place to get to know. Many of the key sites can be found within walking distance of the railway station, which can be reached in less than two and a half hours from London.


City Square, Leeds

City Square, outside the station, is the hub of several busy streets and it was from here that I set out to explore the city, making my way up Park Row to The Headrow to the Victorian Town Hall, one of the finest in the north.

I popped into the City Art Gallery for a glimpse of some excellent 18th and 19th century paintings and sculptures by Rodin, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, the last two being students under Jacob Kramer at the Leeds College of Art.


A Henry Moore statue outside the Leeds City Art Gallery

You will find masterpieces of a different kind at the Tetley Brewery on the restored, post-industrial Waterfront. Naturally enough the masterpieces in question are more macho-based – kegs of ale brewed to perfection. Visitors are taken through the various brew-making processes, at the end of which there are, of course, opportunities to taste – and to buy if you wish.

Next door to the Tetley Brewery is an even more macho attraction - the Leeds Armouries. Here the testosterone-fuelled can take in a collection of 70,000 arms, armoury and artillery from antiquity to the present day, as well as early photographs and rare military books. Want to know how to drive a tank? You’ll find out here and if you consult the Armouries’ website (www.royalarmouries.org) you can arrange your visit to coincide with one of the many special events, such as pageants and falconry displays.


Leeds Armoury

On my way back into the city centre I stopped off at Anthony’s Patisserie, a splendid little place in the ornate Victorian Quarter – a great place for people watching as well as tea and cake.

And, as perhaps you’d expect of a place very much on the up, Leeds features increasingly on foodie itineraries. Restaurants such as Brasserie 44, in the same building as the warehouse-turned boutique hotel 42 The Calls, offers fine food in elegant surroundings and if your order before 7pm you can enjoy a three-course meal for about £23.

In fact with so many bars and restaurants to choose from, Leeds is not expensive for eating out. Places such as Bryan’s in Headingley, where Monica Lewinsky is supposed to have dropped into for haddock and chips in between signings at a local book shop, has become a legend since it opened its doors almost 80 years ago.

Altogether more trendy is Teppanyaki (www.teppanyakijapaneserestaurant.co.uk), where you can slip into a ‘happi’ coat and enjoy your sushi and California maki in authentic Japanese surroundings.

A good place to stay, I discovered, is the Milford Hotel, on the eastern outskirts of the city, on what used to be the Great North Road. The city is close by, but at the same time you’re on the edge of the countryside. The privately-owned Milford, part of the Best Western group, is the sort of cosy, comfortable hotel you always hope to find but seldom do.

The rooms, many of which have been refurbished to a high standard, come with all the accoutrements of a classy country house hotel…hair drier, irons and the like and, in the bathrooms, generous towels and lashing of fragrances. Superior rooms come complete with DVD player as well as flat-screen TV and a comfortable sitting area.

What I liked most about the Milford is the personal touch – something you don’t find in chain hotels. When I arrived the owner, Shaun Sleath, was helping out at reception and the following morning he was taking orders at breakfast.

Good no nonsense Yorkshire fare, such as steaks, bangers and mash and grilled fish, feature prominently on the dinner menu in the hotel’s Watermill restaurant. Much of the food is Yorkshire sourced - at breakfast you might find local honeycomb.


East Riddlesden Hall

On my way home I stopped off at East Riddlesden Hall, a National Trust property just outside Keighley, www.nationaltrust.org.uk, whose garden of cherry trees, clematis, daffodils and lavender is the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of modern Leeds.

Factfile:
Leeds is well served by both rail and air. In addition the M1 and M62 motorways offer quick access from many of the key centres in the UK.
The Milford Hotel: visit www.mlh.co.uk
Leeds: visit www.visitleeds.co.uk