Optional visits

Bronte Parsonage and Haworth
Home to the Bronte family from 1820-1861. The parsonage was built in 1788-9 and remains much as it was in the 19th century. Eleven rooms display letters, manuscripts, books, furniture and personal treasures. The village of Haworth is hardly less atmospheric and there will be an opportunity to wander round its church yard and main street www.bronte.org.uk

Royal Armouries
The Royal Armouries is associated with the Tower of London. It contains an extraordinary range of artefacts telling the story of arms and armour around the world in battle, in sport and in self defence also using live demonstrations, film, music and poetry. There are even regular jousting tournaments. www.royalarmouries.org

The Leeds Library and Harvey Nicks
The Leeds Library was founded in 1768 as a proprietary subscription library and is now the oldest surviving example of this sort of library in the British Isles. It boasts Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) as one of its original subscribers. The collections are particularly rich in travel, topography, biography, history and literature. There are long runs of periodicals, popular novels, children's books and Civil War pamphlets and Reformation tracts. http://www.theleedslibrary.org.uk/

Red House, Gomersal and the Huddersfield University Library and Computing Centre
The Red House was visited frequently by Charlotte Bronte being the home of her great friend Mary Taylor. It is "Briarmain" in Shirley. In describing the Red House, Charlotte spoke of it as a place with "no splendour but there was taste everywhere" - a good description for today too. http://www.bronte-country.com/

The University's Library and Computing Centre has been transformed in a comprehensive redevelopment programme. It is worth a visit by anyone planning the modernisation and redevelopment of library spaces. http://www2.hud.ac.uk/cls

"Under your own steam" visits
If you wish to take time out, Leeds has many interesting places to visit including - the City Art Gallery which has an impressive collection of British 20th century art and paintings by such luminaries as Signac, Courbet, Sisley and Henry Moore; the City Museum; beautiful Victorian shopping arcades; Temple Newsam (a magnificent Tudor Jacobean mansion 4 miles from the hotel, set in 1500 acres of parkland. The birthplace of Lord Darnley); and of course Harvey Nicks! Maps and printed guides will be provided.