The outskirts of Leeds are home to a number of picturesque villages with long histories and tight-knit communities.
And perhaps none so much as Ledsham, a village in east Leeds district that boasts having one of the oldest buildings in Yorkshire right in its centre. Tiny Ledsham is home to All Saints Church, which dates back to Anglo-Saxon times.
With a population of less than 200, this old, pretty village is quite the exclusive place to live. I headed down to Ledsham to find out what it's really like and speak to people living and working locally.
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It was a beautiful, sunny day when I arrived in Ledsham, that lit the stone houses and blossoming trees with vibrant colours. As you might expect for a tiny village with just one church and one pub, it was also very quiet, with not a soul to be seen on a Friday afternoon.
All Saints Church stands proud among the old houses. The south and west walls date back to around the eighth century - this makes it the oldest building in West Yorkshire. It's still an active church, but it wasn't open on this day.
The village hall notice board suggests a tight-knit community though, with signs for the recent parish council meeting, updates on the church services and a village quiz - all updated recently.
There weren't many people about in the village, so I headed to Ledsham's pub just across the road, the Chequers Inn, to see if I could find anyone to chat with. Chequers Inn has its own long history, and is very popular in the local area.
Even in the middle of a weekday, it had a steady stream of customers enjoying the sun in its spacious garden or getting some shade inside. I met Janet, from nearby Kippax, and Ann, visiting from Barnsley, inside. They're old friends who met working for C&A in Wakefield when their children were little.
"We come here every couple of months for lunch," Janet told me.
"Obviously doing that was a bit harder over the last two years, but we're back on track now. Chequers is just such a lovely old pub. I have lived in Kippax for 54 years so I know Ledsham well.
"The church has definitely been here for ever. It's a lovely old village."
The walls of Chequers are lined with history about the village and the area, nestled under character-filled wooden beams, fireplaces and cosy low ceilings.
Louise, the manager of Chequers, has been commuting into Ledsham for about three years to work there from 10 minutes away.
Louise said: "There's a lot to do behind the scenes here and a lot to manage. People come from all over to Chequers to get that experience of an old, country pub. But also you have to know everyone.
"We get a lot of locals - I'd say they're still the main part of our trade and they kept us going through lockdown. There's such a nice community spirit here, everyone in the village is really nice. They hold community events here, which is lovely, and there's definitely no unpleasant people.
"It's a pub and a church and that's it in Ledsham, but we still get people from everywhere! It goes absolutely crazy over summer because we have lots of space in the garden, but it's lovely in winter too with the fires. I think the pub dates back to the 1600s, so it's pretty old.
"The whole village is such a cosy, quaint place. I don't think I could afford to live here though!"
Glancing online, some of the houses in Ledsham are estimated to be worth around £1m if they were sold today, so it's definitely not a cheap place to live.
Louise introduced me to Sammy, one of Chequers' loyal locals who is at the pub every day. Sammy told me he lives in Allerton Bywater nearby, but loves to come to Ledsham and Chequers Inn.
"It's a beautiful little pub," he said.
"Everybody in this village is friendly. The food and the beer is lovely. Out there in summer it's lovely, it's a cracking little place in a beautiful village. The guy who lives opposite is 86 and he comes everyday.
"You don't get enough old pubs like this anymore. It's very big with locals but also people come from far and wide to Ledsham."
Ledsham also attracts local walkers, given its location in the middle of the fields, with Ledsham Bank Nature Reserve and a public footpath along Ledsham Beck at the edge of the village. There are some slightly more modern houses, but most fit in perfectly with the village's quaint aesthetic.
Finally, I met couple Jill and Paul, more visitors from Kippax who consider Chequers Inn to be one of their locals.
"This is always a good place to come on a nice day," they told me.
"It's such a quaint place and the ambience is lovely, both outside and inside. We've been coming here since we first started dating! It's very pretty here but we definitely couldn't afford to live in the village.
"There's a real local community though in the village and places nearby. There used to be a village fair every year but it stopped back before the pandemic. Jill used to do the flowers in the church for it and there would be people and stalls all down the streets.
"Everyone is nice here."
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