Armley Park

Bordering Gotts Park, Armley park is two miles west of Leeds city centre and is around 34 acres of grass and woodland. It is located alongside Stanningley Road in Armley, just outside of Leeds city centre. It’s the perfect place for a relaxing day out. The park gives local residents and visitors amazing views over Kirkstall Valley.

Sports

Armley park has football pitches, a bowls pavilion, a cricket pitch, summer and winter bowling greens and a skate park if you are wanting to keep fit whilst enjoying some outdoor activities. There is also a small playground for the little ones to play on.

Tennis

Armley Park has four public tennis courts that you can use for free. Bring your own rackets and balls.

Do I need to book a tennis court?

It’s free to use the tennis court but you will need to book a court space on the LTA clubspark website.

Have a Picnic

So its a gloriously sunny day, and you are looking to make the most of it. Armley Park is a great place to lay down the blanket and enjoy a picnic on the open grass. There is a car park at the top of the hill by the Golf Club, which means the walk when carrying the food is all down hill! Sit and enjoy the view.

Fancy a Run?

Armley Park has an attraction affectionally known as ‘The Killer Steps‘. 161 Victorian steps tucked away at the back of Armley Park. The perfect place for a work out if you are looking for a place to run near you.

Although only a distance of 0.08km, these steps can provide a real sweat! This 161 step challenge pushes you to feel the burn. Usually a place where run groups visited on a Saturday, but during the week – a peaceful escape from the world.

The steps rise up to the back of Armley park. The bottom of the steps lead down to the Leeds Liverpool canal, and a gentle walk through a dense wooded area. Quiet woodland walks in the inner city.

The best postcode to get to Armley Steps is LS12 2QX, this will take you to the Gotts Park car park. Then is is only a short walk to the steps.

Why Stairs?

There are a number of health benefits to training on stairs as opposed to walking or running.

• Especially good for toning your bum, thighs and core
• An intense session will give more aerobic benefits. 30 minutes of stair running will burn around 500 calories.
• Burns twice the amount of fat than a normal run, and three times that walking.
• It is low impact and safe for the knees.
• Helps improve bone strength

Due to the nature of the exercise, you do not need to travel far. If you need to call it a day, you are still at the stairs, where you started!

For more details, Leeds Run Routes has directions, as well as a number of other running routes!

Looking for a Run Group

There are also plenty of running groups to choose from. The Leeds Girls Can a women’s only running group held on Thursdays hosts couch to 5K sessions. There is also a 5K Parkrun that occurs every Saturday.

Nearby Activities

Within a couple of minutes drive you will also find the Leeds Industrial Museum, The Climbing Lab and Armley Leisure Centre. Cardigan Fields is also a short drive away and has a cinema, bowling, Lazer Zone, and a wide range of food outlets.

Armley park is a charming mix of green trees, open space and beautiful architectural gems. However, it has quite a bit of history!

The area was originally owned by a merchant, Thomas Woolrich, and the grounds were sold to him by Thomas White in the late C18. Benjamin Gott, which is where Gotts park gets its name, was a prosperous cloth manufacturer. He bought the land in 1803 and lived there until his death in 1840.

During Benjamin Gotts life, Humphry Repton was consulted in 1810 and produced a Red Book, ‘Armley House near Leeds in Yorkshire’. Some of the proposals made in this book were carried out. The land stayed in private ownership until 1928 when it was acquired by Leeds City Council. It is now a golf course and public park, with the house now used as the Golf Clubhouse.

For a more detailed history, historicengland.org.uk is a great place to go.

Gotts Park Mansion situated on Gotts park which borders Armley Park has toilet facilities available.

Within around 10 minutes walk from the park you will find a Tesco Express and a Wilko’s along Stanningley Roadd or just a bit further up you have shops such as Savers and Poundland on Town St.

Along Kirkstall Road, just a short drive away from the park there is also a large Morrisons store, an Asda supermarket and Cardigan Fields. There is also Kirkstall Bridge Shopping Centre located on Bridge Road if you are looking to further indulge in some retail therapy.

This is a very dog friendly park. Dogs are welcome off and on the lead and there are plenty of dog bins dotted around to help dispose of any waste.

Some of the highest rated pubs nearby include the Kirkstall Bridge Inn and The West End House, both being dog friendly and have an outdoor beer garden. The Cardigan Arms is also very popular offering a relaxing atmosphere in a historic Victorian pub. The Travellers Rest is also close to the park and has many great reviews.

There are some great finds if you are looking for restaurants within the area. Around Stanningley Road you have Sambuca Armley serving a selection of Italian dishes. Closer to Kirkstall Road you have Smak specialising in Polish cuisine, Manjit’s Kitchen serving vegetarian Indian food and Viva Cuba with a selection of authentic Cuban tapas dishes.

Zeppelin Street Food Leeds and POCO are also two popular takeaways if you fancy picking up some tasty treats to take home after your visit.

There are a couple several options for parking at Armley Park. All are free.

The closest one is The Gotts Park car park just off Armley Ridge Road. If you want to start your visit from the top of the hill, this is the car park to pick. The postcode is LS12 2QX (Google Map link).

The next option is roadside parking along Redcote Lane and means you will have a short walk before you arrive at Armley Park. The postcode is LS42AW (Google Map link).

If both of these options are not for you, there is a large amount of on street parking on side roads off from Stanningley Road. This option gets you closer to the park than the other options, but mean you will need to find a space outside someone’s house. Google Map link for Stanningley Road.

Train

Burley Train Station – (1.7 miles) 7 min drive and around a 34 min walk from here.

Bus

The closest bus stops to Armley Park are Stanningley Rd Gotts Park and Stanningley Road Eyres Millside both with bus routes 14 and 72 stopping here. Just a bit further along you have the bus stop Armley Ridge Road with bus routes 14, 72, X11 and X14. All stops are just a few minutes walk to the park.