Leeds White Rose Shopping centre celebrated 26 years of being open back in March and has recently undergone an extensive transformation.
The 76-acre shopping centre is home to over 120 shops, restaurants, cafes and even a cinema. It instantly became popular when it opened in 1997, but for one reason for another, I had never been. So I decided I needed to change that.
As someone who lives just outside of Manchester (what am I doing working for a Yorkshire paper, I know, I know), my shopping go-tos are generally the Trafford Centre or the Arndale centre.
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So in all honesty, I wasn't expecting much. My preconceived idea was that it would be a small, town-like centre with a few shops that nobody is particularly bothered about - the sort of thing you see in most towns across Yorkshire.
But that was not the case and instead I found exactly the type of shopping experience I was after from Leeds White Rose.
I was surprised when I walked in and found myself in a somewhat 'mini Trafford centre' - it was much bigger and busier than I'd imagined. And I was greeted by several shops that I often frequent from Zara, H&M, Schuh, River Island, Office and New Look.
I was even more excited to find a sizeable Primark, where I managed to pick up some bargains for my upcoming holiday.
And I also stumbled upon a little treasure trove that I'd never heard of before called Flying Tiger, where I grabbed some great sunglasses and stationary bits! (Who doesn't love stationary?) The centre has recently seen an expansion to its food court and I was pleased to see some old favourites such as Wagamamas, TGI Friday's, Nandos and Starbucks.
As well as stumbling upon some more independent eateries such as Oh So Yum, Batch'd and Bakers and Baristas that I'm eager to try out. Other new additions include the opening of a Leeds United shop (if that's your thing), Sainsbury's and a Cineworld, complete with a very large IMAX screen (one of the biggest in the country actually), which is located in 'The Village.'
There's even a Wetherspoon pub and a brand new M&S which is opening next week and looks incredible (and huge!) What's more White Rose has over 5,000 free car parking spaces. The Village can be accessed directly via Car Parks 4 & 5, if you're just popping in for a bite to eat or the cinema and don't fancy wading through the shoppers.
Which is actually great considering how much of a pain it can be to park in Manchester or Leeds City Centre. It really feels like somewhere you could easily spend a full day and I will certainly be back again to explore it further and try out some more of those restaurants.
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