Roundhay Park ~ Easy Walk

Distance Covered:  3 miles Time to Complete Walk: 1.5 hours

Suitable for dog walking: Yes

One of Europes biggest city parks, Roundhay Park offers a great green space just outside Leeds city centre. Great for walking, exercising, walking the dog and many other activities, it has a large lake and another smaller one, geology trails and over the Christmas period has an amazing light display. Tickets sell fast - click here for further  information Roundhay Park Events.  Do the walk and then see the Xmas lights afterwards!.

General Safety Tips: Take care next to the lake. Wear boots as the woodland part of the walk can get muddy.

The Roundhay Park walk

Getting There

From Middlesbrough follow the A19 to the A1 southbound. Turn off at junction 45  and keep right at the roundabout onto the A659. Keep ahead at the next roundabout. At a junction turn left and drive through Collingham which is the A58. Follow this road until you come to a right turn onto Wetherby Road until you come to a junction and turn right onto Princes Avenue. Follow Princes Avenue until you come to a right turn onto Mansion Lane. Parking can be found on the street and is free of charge.

Maps of the Roundhay Park walk 

The Walk

From the street parking cross the road and enter Roundhay Park with the Mansion on your left. 

Follow the path to the left and ahead with a good view of the Mansion on your left.

Soon you will come to the entrance to the Christmas lights event which is handy for later if you have booked tickets. Take a right turn and head up the path.

Soon you come to the Barrans Fountain on your left which is worth a visit. 

Further up there is a bandstand to visit on your left. 

Keep on the path until you come to a car park and The Lakeside Cafe. Turn left and follow the path beside the lake.

Keep on the path for some time until you come to Roundhay Castle on your left. (This may be cordoned off as part of the Xmas lights event).

Cross over a bridge to the other side of the lake and then look for a junction of paths to your left. Take the right path which climbs into the woods.

Follow the woodland trail and over a stepped hump.

Keep on the path as it bends to the right and eventually runs alongside a golf course on the left. 

Keep on the path which follows the wall to your left for a while and then head down and out of the woods.

Keep on the path, passing a tree log.

With the lake in view to your right, head down on the path until you come back onto the lake path.

Follow the path beside the lake and turn right and then keep on the path as it curves right and back round to the Lakeside Cafe. 

From the Lakeside Cafe, follow the lower path near a childrens playground and head back in the direction of the Mansion.

Turn left at the Mansion and then right and follow the path out of the park back to your car.

Roundhay Park

Roundhay Park in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is one of the biggest city parks in Europe. It covers more than 700 acres (2.8 km2) of parkland, lakes, woodland and gardens which are owned by Leeds City Council. The park is one of the most popular attractions in Leeds; nearly a million people visit each year. It is situated on the north-east edge of the city, bordered by the suburb of Roundhay to the west, Oakwood to the south and the A6120 outer ring road to the north.

In the 11th century William the Conqueror granted the lands on which the park stands to Ilbert de Lacy for his support in the Harrying of the North in the winter 1069–70. De Lacy, who founded Pontefract Castle, was a knight from Normandy. During the 13th century, the area was used as a hunting park for the de Lacys, who were the Lords of Bowland on the Yorkshire-Lancaster border. Ownership of Roundhay passed through succession to John of Gaunt and then to his son, Henry IV. In the 16th century Henry VIII gave the park (though not the manor) to Thomas Darcy. Through succession and marriage, it was acquired by Charles Stourton, XV Baron Stourton (1702–1753) in the 18th century.

Stourton, XVII Baron Stourton (1752–1816), sold the estate to Thomas Nicholson and Samuel Elam. Nicholson took the northern part which became Roundhay Park. Thomas Nicholson's land had the remains of quarries and coal mines. He disguised these former industrial areas by flooding them to the Upper Lake and the Waterloo Lake. The work was spread over 10 years at a cost of £15,000. What became known as the Mansion House was built between 1811 and 1826 with a view over the Upper Lake. Nicholson constructed a castle folly. The Nicholson family was responsible for building the Church of St John, almshouses and a school on the south side of the park.