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National
Jasmine Norden

The poshest village in Leeds and what life is like for those who live there

Residents love living in the 'beautiful' Leeds village named the poshest in West Yorkshire, but sometimes wish there was a bit more to do.

Scarcroft, in the north east of Leeds, was recently named the poshest village in West Yorkshire by the Telegraph.

The ranking said Scarcroft being home to two of Leeds's most expensive streets, as well as its golf club and good primary school, had contributed to its ranking.

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To see what residents thought of being handed the 'posh' title, LeedsLive headed up to Scarcroft to chat to some of them.

Scarcroft is just a 20 minute drive outside the centre of Leeds, lying just off the A58 between Shadwell and Wetherby.

Despite not being far from the city centre at all, the village is surrounded by fields and woods, and has a fairly rural feel.

The village itself was very quiet on a weekday at midday, with only a few people passing through it walking their dogs.

In 2019 Pymms on Ling Lane, Scarcroft was the most expensive home EVER sold in Leeds (Rightmove)

One dog-walker, Chris, lives just outside Scarcroft and walks through regularly, and took a couple of minutes of time out of his day to chat.

He said: "It probably is one of the poshest villages in the area. I love it around here because you're so close to Leeds but it feels like you're in the countryside.

"You get fantastic views from the top of the area, there's good schools nearby.

"I'm a member of the golf club so you get a nice feeling of local community through that.

"It's absolutely beautiful around here and great for the dogs."

Chris and his black Labrador love going for walks around Scarcroft (LeedsLive)

Scarcroft is home to Ling Lane and Bracken Park, which are both among Leeds's most expensive roads.

Houses stand huge and imposing on Ling Lane, where the average price for a home is over £1 million.

The central part of Scarcroft is slightly more modest, but still boasts many pretty detached properties.

Couple Steve and Val Marrison moved to Scarcroft more than 20 years ago - and have never wanted to leave.

Steve told LeedsLive: "We've been here 22 or 23 years. We moved here to play golf, and have been doing that for a long time.

"It does actually surprise me that it's been named the poshest village in West Yorkshire. But Ling Lane is one of the most expensive streets in Leeds."

Scarcroft's golf club is popular with the locals (LeedsLive)

Val and Steve were in the middle of a morning walk when they caught up with us.

"The old part of the village doesn't feel too posh," Val added.

"But the whole place is very nice and we do like it here. But there is no shops. When we moved here there used to be a post office but it was got rid of ages ago which is a shame.

"We like the golf club but it's also nice for walking around here and very quiet.

The Inn at Scarcroft - the village's only pub (LeedsLive)

"The only thing we don't like is that we can hear the big main road (A58) from our house sometimes because we're just off it."

Scarcroft Golf Club is very popular among local residents and people from further afield, boasting a big open course for members.

But as Steve and Val said, Scarcroft has its golf club and favoured pub the Inn at Scarcroft - but there's no shops and the village lost its post office 15 years ago.

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To get to a supermarket, residents have to head to Tesco in Seacroft or Morrisons in Wetherby.

The Inn at Scarcroft is well-reviewed though, and was attracting people even on a midweek day at lunchtime.

Scarcroft Primary School hasn't been visited by Ofsted since it became an academy, but on its last inspection in 2009 it was rated outstanding.

If you go just off the main road in Scarcroft, you can immediately be in the woods and fields - which is likely why those looking for a more rural life still near Leeds enjoy it so much.

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