Leeds Heritage & Hidden Gems Audio Odyssey

Explore Leeds at your own pace

A single ribbon of shimmering water slices through Leeds, its peaceful surface disguising centuries of industrial uproar and whispered deals beneath the canal bridges. This self-guided audio tour plunges beyond the shopfronts and railway arches, promising stories and places few visitors ever notice.

What secret crisis nearly sank the Asda empire before a stunning rescue? Which hidden feud led to near fistfights over the canal's route, threatening to tear towns apart? And who started a rock revolution under an unassuming archway at The Cockpit, sparking wild nights that changed music history in Leeds forever?

Stride from tranquil towpaths lined with Victorian mills to modern legends of supermarket drama and musical rebellion. Every step uncovers intrigue, invention and scandal-Leeds revealed as a city fuelled by grit, ambition and bold reinvention.

Photo: Paul Rigel, Unsplash

Tour details

• Duration: 1 hour 42 minutes, entirely at your own pace
• Distance: around 4.6 km (2.8 miles)
• Stops: 15 landmarks, including Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Asda, The Cockpit
• Audio: up to 38 minutes of narration
• Starts at: Leeds and Liverpool Canal

Map data by Mapbox and OpenStreetMap contributors

How it works

• Book here and a redemption code arrives by email within minutes.
• Download the free AudaTours app on your phone and enter the code.
• Download the tour once and the whole thing works offline.
• Walk to the first stop and press play. The audio for each landmark starts automatically as you approach it, so your phone can stay in your pocket.

There is no fixed date and no start time. The date you pick at checkout does not matter, and the tour stays on your phone permanently, so you can use it whenever you next visit and walk it again as often as you like.

What is included

• Professionally narrated audio that plays automatically at each stop
• An interactive map showing the walking route between landmarks
• Full offline access once downloaded, so you need no data or signal
• Freedom to start, pause and resume whenever you like
• Lifetime access - your code never expires

Where you will stop

• Leeds and Liverpool Canal
• Asda
• The Cockpit
• City Square, Leeds
• Mill Hill Chapel
• West Riding House
• Leeds Cathedral
• Leeds City Museum
• Leeds Arena
• Grand Theatre, Leeds
• Leeds City Varieties
• Kirkgate Market
• Leeds Minster
• BBC Radio Leeds
• Leeds Playhouse

Image: AudaTours

What is AudaTours?

AudaTours turns a walk through a city into a story. Our guides bring landmarks to life with the history, the scandals and the detail you would never get from a plaque.

• Immersive: real stories about the places in front of you, not a dry commentary
• Offline: download once and use it with no data, anywhere
• At your own pace: start, pause and resume whenever you want
• Accurate: every story is built from verified historical sources and checked before release

Good to know

• This is a self-guided audio tour on your own phone. There is no in-person guide.
• It does not include entry to any building or site along the route.
• The landmarks on the tour are not affiliated with AudaTours.
• You need a smartphone with Android 7.0 or later, or iOS 16 or later.
• Bring headphones and start with a charged phone.

Who it suits

Solo travellers, couples, families and small groups who would rather explore on their own schedule than follow a guide and a fixed departure time. It suits a first visit, and it suits anyone who has already seen the famous sights and wants to know what actually happened in them.

Image credits

Photos: Small-town hero (Wikimedia Commons, public domain); Paul Rigel (Unsplash).