©Lorna Parkes/Lonely Planet
Leeds
Leeds' most impressive medieval structure is beautiful Kirkstall Abbey, founded in 1152 by Cistercian monks from Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire. These days the city makes good use of it as an atmospheric backdrop for pop-up events and a monthly weekend food market (April to November; check online for dates). It's 3 miles northwest of the centre; take bus 33, 33A or 757.
Across the road is the Abbey House Museum.
23.56 MILES
York Minster is the largest medieval cathedral in northern Europe, and one of the world's most beautiful Gothic buildings. Seat of the archbishop of York,…
14.43 MILES
One of England's most impressive collections of sculpture is scattered across the formidable 18th-century estate of Bretton Park, 200-odd hectares of…
Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal
20.26 MILES
The alluring and strangely obsessive water gardens of the Studley Royal estate were built in the 18th century to enhance the picturesque ruins of 12th…
22.97 MILES
York's National Railway Museum – the biggest in the world, with more than 100 locomotives – is well presented and crammed with fascinating stuff. It is…
23.49 MILES
Interactive multimedia exhibits aimed at bringing history to life often achieve exactly the opposite, but the much-hyped Jorvik manages to pull it off…
3.64 MILES
Leeds' most interesting museum was originally built in 1996 to house armour and weapons from the Tower of London, but subsequently expanded to cover 3000…
19.39 MILES
What makes Skipton Castle so fascinating is its splendid state of preservation, providing a striking contrast to the ruins you'll see elsewhere. Although…
28.46 MILES
North of Malham village, a 0.75-mile field walk beside a lovely babbling stream leads to Malham Cove, a huge rock amphitheatre lined with 80m-high…
0.1 MILES
The Abbey House Museum, once the Great Gate House to Kirkstall Abbey, contains meticulously reconstructed shops and houses that evoke Victorian Leeds,…
1.72 MILES
One of the world's largest textile mills has been transformed into a museum telling the story of Leeds' industrial past, both glorious and ignominious…
2.8 MILES
This major gallery is packed with 19th- and 20th-century British heavyweights – Turner, Constable, Stanley Spencer, Wyndham Lewis et al – along with…
2.83 MILES
Housed in a converted Victorian warehouse in the city centre, this gallery showcases the work of 20th-century sculptors, but not, despite the name,…
3.05 MILES
Though not the grandest, Thornton’s Arcade was the first Victorian shopping arcade to be built in Leeds and remains one of the most interesting. Its sky…
3.39 MILES
Tetley Brewery's defunct 1930s offices have been converted into a contemporary-arts venue with a restaurant and pub on the ground floor, spilling out onto…
3.64 MILES
Leeds' most interesting museum was originally built in 1996 to house armour and weapons from the Tower of London, but subsequently expanded to cover 3000…
8. National Science & Media Museum
6.47 MILES
Bradford's top attraction is housed in an impressive glass-fronted building and chronicles the story of photography, film, TV, radio and the web from 19th…