West Park

Beckett Park is a sprawling landscape filled fields and grassy meadows that provide the perfect backdrop for family picnics, play dates and walks. Woodhouse Moor is another fun park clad with tennis courts, a BMX park and walkways. The esteemed West Park Leeds RUFC rugby club was founded in West Park in 1959. The club hosts a lively Beer Festival and Rugby Extravaganza every year. Many adventures can be found just outside of West Park in the neighbouring villages and city centre. The Cottage Road Cinema in Headingly is the oldest cinema in Leeds and regularly shows films.

While West Park has a little more of a relaxed atmosphere than the neighbouring Hyde Park, the suburb does offers plenty of diverse and delicious dining opportunities. A favourite among locals is the Mediterranean restaurant West Park Lounge. The Dough Bistro’s French food is not to be missed! The West Park Café serves traditional comfort food like burgers, steaks and pasta, while Spice4U cooks up tantalising Indian fare. There are also takeaway restaurants like McDonalds. As far as pubs go, the Dalesman public house is a neighbourhood staple. Woodies Craft Ale House is another hotspot.

Most of West Park’s amenities and shops are grouped into two main shopping centres. The primary collection of shops and services sit on the Moore Grange Estate. Here, amenities include a post office, a doctor’s office, a launderette, a florist, hair salons, newsagents, a pet shop and a co-op supermarket as well as a few cafes and pubs. Meanwhile, the shops along Otley Road include a post office, a laundrette, a running store and a couple of restaurants.

There are a number of great schools in West Park that include:

• St. Chad's Church of England Primary School
• Abbey Grange Church of England High School
• Lawnswood School
• Richmond House School

West Park is ideally situated with great public transportation and access to nearby villages and suburbs, while the Leeds Outer Ring Road passes through the area. There are several bus routes that service West Park and provide regular service to the city centre. A bicycle route to the centre has also been established and takes approximately 45 minutes from Lawnswood School. The closest train stations are Headingley and Horsforth, and Leeds Bradford International Airport is nearby.

West Park began to grow in the Edwardian era and had an increase in population before the First World War where Victorian architecture dominated the homes. The Otely Road shops – which are still intact today and showcase the distinct Dutch gables – were opened in 1913. This historic core has been the heart and soul of the neighbourhood ever since and today it continues to be the pulse of the suburb.

The 1980s television series “The Beiderbecke Affair” was filmed in the Moor Grange area on the Butcher Hill playing fields and the Clayton Grange flats.