The Queen’s Hotel is a beautiful introduction to the City of Leeds. With its impressively wide Art Deco façade and Grade II listed status it looks not unlike a northern Buckingham Palace. As we walked up the red-carpeted stairs I wondered whether Queen Elizabeth has got revolving doors to play in too? Our room overlooked City Square with its imposing statue of the Black Prince of Horseback. Gazing out across the city skyline it took us a while to realise that the Prince himself was not a funny shape, he was just covered in pigeons.

Leeds is a superb place to shop. With streets filled with a mixture of familiar chain stores and more eclectic options we wandered around getting a feel for the city while keeping a tight grip on our credit cards. The grip did not last for long. A pair of butter-soft leather boots, snapped up by my friend at a third of the original price in Harvey Nichols, felt like even more of a bargain when the sales assistant told us the customer before us had bought two pairs of Jimmy Choo stilettos for the bargain price of £800.

Tucked away behind Briggate is POP Boutique which houses two floors of rails groaning with bright prints and fabrics from the 1960s and 70s. A row of long-haired Troll toys from the 80s decorated the shelves behind the cash till and we spent a good hour flicking through Japanese film postcards – Jane Fonda as Barbarella anyone? – and trying on vintage cashmere cardigans, wondering just how much we could carry home on the train.

At the top of the town centre, along The Headrow, stands Leeds City Art Gallery. You can’t miss it, there’s an enormous naked woman lounging outside who has shuffled along from her creator’s home next door at The Henry Moore Institute. With works by Anthony Gormley, Jacob Kramer, Bridget Riley and a beautiful new exhibition by Fiona Rae that is filled with colours and light, Leeds City Art Gallery houses a wealth of national and international art treasures and admission is free.

Leeds is home to many famous eateries, from Nash’s Fish and Chip shop, which has been ‘serving Leeds since 1924’ (and was the venue for my big sister’s 21st birthday party) to Raymond Blanc’s Brasserie Blanc on the banks of the canal, so when it came to places to eat we were spoilt for choice. A quick question asked on Twitter threw up many, many more options, all of which sounded amazing but after a sushi filled lunch at Harvey Nichols we decided to plump for good old steak and chips at the Blackhouse Restaurant and Bar. A T-bone steak, cooked to perfection and served with chips that came in their own little deep fat frying cage, made no apologies for being as far away from a low- fat meal option as possible. And it was all the more delicious for that.

Leeds is a mere hour and a half from Newcastle on the train and is a real delight to explore with culture, shopping, food and nightlife all within easy reach of the station. Just don’t blame me if you bring back more than you can carry!

by Katherine Wildman © 2012

Katherine Wildman is the Creative Director of Haydn Grey Ltd, a copywriting agency based in Cullercoats.

Discover how Haydn Grey can help you find the right words to promote your business at www.haydngrey.co.uk or call the office on 0191 289 3170.

There was a buzz in the air as I stepped off the train at York Station. The glorious arched ceiling was filled with barely contained excitement and something else – smoke! Walking over the footbridge I saw the source of all the shrieks and pointing fingers. A shining Stanier Class Black Five loco (No. 45305) stood in a cloud of smoke at platform six surrounded by smiling men holding large cameras.

York is a city that is full of unexpected surprises. The glorious spires and gargoyles of the Minster that tower over the skyline from the city’s ancient walls are shocking in their enormity as you emerge from the shadows of the Shambles. The Minster looks like it would be perfectly at home in Paris or Belgium instead of at the end of a narrow street in Yorkshire. Inside the enormous church, gorgeous stained glass windows glisten in the sunshine, showering the faces of the hundreds of people who wander up and down the aisles with a kaleidoscope of  colours.

Tourists roamed the streets of York with cameras and wide eyes, taking in the beautiful architecture and the window displays of the decidedly independent shops. Delicious smells wound down the streets from the York Sausage Shop, lengths of ribbons like rainbows lined the walls in the artfully named ‘Dutton’s for Buttons’ and it was only the sheer length of the queues inside The Fudge Kitchen that saved me from gluttony.

Tucked away behind the Shambles is a marketplace buzzing with stalls selling Fedora hats, Indian incense and piles of ruby red cherries. Medieval wattle and daub houses decorated with bright hanging baskets make the scene look like something from many years gone by.

Deciding to join in with the tourist vibe, we joined the queues outside Bettys Café and Tea Rooms. The tearooms are beautiful inside with polished wood panels and mirrors lining the walls, a design inspired by the magnificent Queen Mary Cruise liner. The café displays are like works of art with delicate pastel coloured macaroons sandwiched between jewelled strawberry Pavlovas and glossy chocolate mousse cakes. Attentive waitresses in white lace trimmed blouses and aprons served our lunch and guided us expertly through the offerings of the dessert trolley.

There is almost too much to do in one weekend in York. We didn’t have time to visit the art gallery or the museum or even to take a boat trip along the Ouse that seem to me to be the perfect excuse for a return trip!

by Katherine Wildman © 2011

Katherine Wildman is a freelance copywriter and photographer based in Cullercoats who is currently studying for an MA in creative writing at Northumbria University.

She can supply quality written copy and photography for websites, sales letters, press adverts, email campaigns, press releases, brochures and articles.

Contact her by email at kewildman@me.com or on Twitter @skinnycap.