The Rail, Maritime and Transport union strike officially begins today (Monday 20 June) and will continue throughout the week.
Commuter chaos ensued thismorning in Leeds and will continue throughout the day as a whopping 80% of all trains running across Great Britain are cancelled.
Today marks the biggest walk-out of rail staff in more than 30 years with further walk-outs due to take place on Thursday and Saturday. The union have confirmed that an estimated 50,000 employees will be walking out over the course of the week, making it the biggest train strike since 1989.
The strikes are an attempt to reform the rail industry and Network Rail alongside 13 other train networks will be taking part.
Strike days are scheduled today, Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 June. A very limited service will be seen from all networks on these days with most trains only running between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
Network Rail has urged passengers to check their travel route ahead of time with train operators and only travel if absolutely necessary on strike days. The disruption will heavily impact Leeds and Yorkshire, here is a list of all the services effected.
Northern Rail
Northern Rail have stated they will have "extremely limited availability" of train staff and that the majority of services will not be running. They urge passengers not to travel at all between Tuesday 21 June and Sunday 26 June.
The seven services running on the days of the strike are as follows:
Transpennine will also experience serious disruption and will be closing a number of stations during the strike period.
There will be roughly one train per hour between Manchester and York, and every two to four hours on other routes, and no trains at all to the following stations:
Yarm
Scarborough
Seamer
Malton
Selby
Brough
Hull
Some other Transpennine services will only have limited availability, these are as follows:
LNER have announced that only 38% of their trains will be running on all strike days.
There will be no services between Leeds, Harrogate, Hull, Skipton and Bradford Forster Square. The Leeds to London service will also be extremely limited with only one train every hour.
On strike days there will be one fast train per hour between Nottingham, Sheffield, Corby and London and one per hour on routes between Derby, Matlock, Nottingham, Leicester and Sheffield. All other lines will be closed.
For more information and to view their timetable, click here.
Crosscountry
Crosscountry will also be running a very limited service with no road transport busses in replacement.
You can find more information and their timetable here.
Get ready to take the plunge Leeds, as a community-led sauna and ice bath concept is on its way.
Hidden behind a railway arch in Saxton Gardens, Kontrast is gearing up to bring its popular sauna and ice bath concept to the city.
Following the huge success of its Manchester site, Kontrast Leeds will combine saunas, ice baths and a cafe designed to bring wellness into everyday life.
The Leeds space will feature two traditional saunas, one infrared saunas and four ice baths each varying in temperature between 3 and 13 degrees.
Images: Supplied
Plunge pools can be enjoyed solo or shared, depending on what guests choose, giving people the opportunity to shape each session around exactly what they need that day.
To suit different moods and preferences, Kontrast Leeds will include both a social sauna and a silent sauna, giving guests the option to come for conversation or reflection.
Single sessions will cost just £12 for 45 minutes, with 90-minute sessions from £20.
Image: Supplied
Known for making sauna and ice feel more accessible, welcoming and community-driven, Kontrast has grown beyond regular sessions to become a base for recurring events. These include their live ambient DJ set event, Unwind, which celebrates local talent, and their weekly run club, both of which the team hopes to bring to Leeds as part of building a similar sense of community in the city.
The Leeds site builds on everything the team has learned from Kontrast in Manchester.
Alongside the core sauna, Ice, cafe offering, the new site will include improved facilities, more spacious sauna provision and additional ice baths meaning more room for people to get involved.
Leeds city centre crowned one of the best places to live in the north by The Sunday Times
Clementine Hall
Today, Leeds city centre earned itself a coveted spot in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.
What brilliant news to end the week on, hey?
Leeds city centre was amongst eight other locations across the north and the north east to be featured on the list.
The market town of Skipton took home the dazzling first prize, but it's still nice to be included isn't it.
Here's what the judges had to say about Leeds city centre: “Leeds has five universities, the fourth largest urban economy in the UK (with job opportunities in finance, insurance and big business), a youthful vibe and a relatively affordable average house price (£285,100).
Image: Unsplash
“Stay close to the centre, where you won’t have to worry about the patchy public transport, and it all adds up to a fun-filled, fulfilled life within walking distance of stylish shops, cafés, bars and restaurants. There’s a good choice of riverside homes, where you may spot kingfishers and otters, and even the schools are good.”
In total, 72 places across the UK were selected by The Sunday Times to showcase the very best of Britain, with Norwich named the overall national winner.
The full list of locations in the north and northeast include:
Skipton
Howardian Hills, North Yorkshire
Leeds city centre
Morpeth, Northumberland
Newcastle: Gosforth
Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire
Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire
York
Helen Davies, editorial projects director and Best Places to Live editor, said: “This guide is a great opportunity to highlight the best places in Britain.
“It is full of places that show that our village, town and city centres can still be full of life, as well as places bursting with natural beauty, culture, connectivity and most importantly a sense of community.
“Our expert team of judges visit every location on the list and talk to the locals to find out what they love about the place they live."
Clementine Hall -
20th June 2022 
