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Leeds bakery crowned one of the best in the UK for second year running by The Good Food Guide

What an achievement.

Clementine Hall - 24th March 2026

The Good Food Guide has released its annual list of the top bakeries across the UK – and one in Leeds has made the cut.

The prestigious guide has been travelling across the nation testing out the joy of British bakeries, from pastries to loaves to croissants to biscuits. What a tough job.

The Good Food Guide has said that the nation is going through something of a ‘modern baking boom’ and selected one spot locally that are doing it better than anyone else.

And that bakery is the fabulous Nova Bakehouse that is co-owned by sisters Sarah Lemanski and Hannah Mather.

Images: The Hoot Leeds

Images: The Hoot Leeds

Located on Leeds Dock, Nova Bakehouse is a beautiful sun drenched spot that serve up irresistible morning buns, chewy cookies and speciality loaves.

They focus on 'flavour forward baking' using seasonal ingredients to create monthly specials that'll have you going back time and time again.

It was the only Leeds spot to feature on the list, for the second year running might we add, but elsewhere in Yorkshire Haxby Bakehouse in York and Baker’s Yard Bakery in Sheffield are included.

Image: The Hoot Leeds

Editor of The Good Food Guide, Chloë Hamilton, said: “Choosing just 50 winners was an almost impossible task given how diverse and highly skilled the British baking scene has become.

“From wood-fired sourdough in Perthshire to a central London café peddling pains au chocolat that take you straight to the streets of Paris, one thing uniting them all is sheer unadulterated deliciousness."

All of a sudden we're feeling pretty peckish for a croissant...what's your favourite bakery in Leeds?

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Featured image - The Hoot Leeds

News

Leeds band Yard Act announce 2026 UK tour including homecoming gig

Clementine Hall

Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024.

We are so, so back.

It's been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a small selection of UK gigs for later in the year including a homecoming gig at the O2 Academy on Friday 6 November.

The dates follow the band’s first show of the year at the 6Music Festival this Friday across The Pennines in Manchester.

After Leeds, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on Friday 13 November before making their way down south to the O2 Academy in Brixton on Thursday 26 November.

Images: The Hoot Leeds

Images: The Hoot Leeds

Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album Where’s My Utopia? with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August 2024.

It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy. It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.

Since then, the band have remained active, whether writing Where’s My Utopia’s follow-up on scratching the itch to get back on stage, heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives, which was preceded by an intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.

Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to the Autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait.

Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday 27 March. Sign up here.

Read more: Myles Smith announces HUGE arena gig in Leeds this year

Featured image - Supplied

News

The Crucible Theatre set for major £45m upgrade as World Snooker Championship stays in Sheffield

Sheffield Theatres' much-cherished Crucible is set for a huge upgrade as the World Snooker Championships (WSC) are set to stay in the Steel City.

Great news for sport in Yorkshire all-round.

Estimated to be worth around £45 million, the Grade II-listed structure renovations won't begin for a little while just yet, but it is set to increase the capacity of the space by more than 50%.

Announced on Tuesday, 24 March, the major refurb will be partly funded by public money and topped up by the private sector and "philanthropic partners".

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The UK government and Sheffield City Council will be pumping in approximately £35m, with a further £10m being added through the investment mentioned above.

Soon to allow the theatre to scale up or down in size, the hope is that the new 'in the round' format will enable the Crucible to serve its arts and sporting audiences for decades to come, as well as opening the big Northern stage up to new opportunities.

Due to start in the summer of 2028, it's still unclear as to the exact completion date, but the plans are in support of confirmation that the annual snooker tournament will stay put.

A fresh agreement with the WSC will see them stay in Sheff until at least 2045, with the Crucible's number of seats set to jump from just under 1,000 to 1,480.

It's also said there is an option in the deal to extend the contract until 2050, and as one of the biggest competitive events that comes to the city year in and year out, you would expect them to push hard for the Council and partners to push hard for this, too.

crucible theatre redevelopment — Credit: Bread and Butter PR (supplied)

sheffield theatres investment — Credit: Bread and Butter PR (supplied)

Dan Walker, Chair of Sheffield Theatres Trust, said in a statement: "The Crucible is a wonderful theatre with a brilliant reputation, and the positive impact of this investment will be seen for years to come.

"As a proud resident of Sheffield, I know the importance of snooker to our city, but this isn’t only good news for Sheffield: this is amazing news for the north of England and the whole of the UK."

If all goes to plan, the overhaul should take around 18 months, with productions being hosted in the Lyceium and the newest room, the Montgomery.

All the while, the Sheffield Theatres will continue to present new work both domestically and around the globe over this period, with more details coming this autumn 2026.

world snooker champs staying in sheffield — Credit: Supplied

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Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied)