One of Leeds' best loved outdoor bar spaces is back for the winter months, and bringing some seriously exciting new additions to the line-up.
Bringing together indie food trucks, live music, boozy bingo and the sports of the season, Chow Down's Winter Village is returning in all of its glory- and you'll have a full eight weeks to get yourself down there.
Opening on Thursday 10 November, many a cosy winter night will be spent tucked inside the tipis or watching the World Cup inside the brand new beer hall.
To keep warm, grab a seat by the fire pit, heaters and take a snug, boozy hot chocolate or soothing mulled wine in hand and join your nearest and dearest to cheers to the wintry season ahead.
Image: Chow Down
There's going to be plenty to get involved in too. We're talking the return of the ever-popular drag brunches, as well as Bingo Lingo, comedy nights, a Christmas-themed dog social and the big pub quiz to round off the year with Chow Down Quizmass.
But that's only just the beginning. Given that this festive season is bringing us the 2022 FIFA World Cup for the very first time, Chow Down will be taking full advantage of the showings and allowing those looking for a boozy football experience to watch the games in the Hutte Bavarian Beer Hall.
The atmosphere here will be electric. Expect Huge screen and sound system, steins and beer selection, street food, heaters, table service and pre-match anthems for every single England and Wales match, plus all games from the quarter final onwards.
Match day or not, the rest of the Winter Village will continue to offer some of the most exciting food and drink options throughout the full eight weeks.
The resident kitchen takeovers will be made up of winter warmers from Bastards Bistro and The Middle Feast, with tasty sweet treats from The Savvy Baker filling diners between drinks.
Image: Chow Down
If that's not enough, the rotating traders and open fire cooking will come from a vast range of Leeds' favourite street food vendors. Burger favourites Meat Stack will make their Chow Down debut whilst Luigi Street Food will serve up delectable slices.
Mans Market will be taking their Chinese cuisine to the next level with their pop-up truck, and names like Bento Box, Heffe Mojo, Tikka Chance on Me, Little Red Food Cluck! Oi Dumplings, Sabroso Street, Eat Like a Greek, Niko's Comfort Kitchen, Korean Grub Club, Hoi Polloi Street Kitchen, and Igloo Pizza will ensure nobody leaves hungry, no matter your foodie preference.
Stu Butterworth, one of Chow Down's founders is excited about the new season: “After a hugely successful debut Winter Village last year, we’re back for 2022 with a revamped venue full of exciting changes. After consumer feedback and the ongoing cost of living crisis, entry will now be free for the vast majority of our 8 week run, with events such as drag brunch, our World Cup screenings and headline DJs such as Norman Jay still ticketed.
"We’re once again super excited to bring an array of incredible festive food, drinks and entertainment to the centre of Leeds this Christmas and we’re looking forward to getting festive with everyone from November onwards”
Chow Down will open from Thursday 10 November 2022 until New Years Eve, with bookings open from Tuesday 4 October 2022.
Feature Image- Chow Down
News
Leeds farm welcomes five calves from one of the UK’s rarest cattle breeds
One of the rarest cattle breeds in the UK has had calves at Temple Newsam’s farm.
We think this might be the cutest story we've written about all year.
Categorised as ‘priority’ by the Rare Breed Survival Trust (RBST), Vaynol cows originate from North Wales and were first established in the late 19th Century.
The herd over at Temple Newsam stems directly from that first herd, having lived there since the 1980’s.
Images: Leeds City Council
And now, they've welcomed five new calves - and the beautiful new arrivals are just five of 150 animals in the UK.
Vaynols can now be found in five locations in the UK, with Temple Newsam’s Home Farm currently home to one bull, 14 breeding cows, five heifers these amazing new calves.
Richard Aldis, farm manager at Temple Newsam, said: “We’re so thrilled to have welcomed these little ones to the farm.
“The team here works hard to protect these rare breeds that the farm is home to and it’s always wonderful when we can successfully grow the herd. The calves are settling in well and we’re just thinking about names for them.”
Councillor James Gibson, Leeds City Council’s executive member for environment, said: “It’s wonderful to hear the news about these rare little calves being born, it is truly a testament to the important work that is done by the team at Temple Newsam’s Home Farm in preserving these breeds for future generations.
“There is so much for visitors to enjoy at the estate. Alongside the farm and its wonderful animals, people can explore the magnificent Temple Newsam House, enjoy the new bike park, and visit the recently opened play barn. It really is a fantastic day out for the whole family.”
Government announces all national museums across the UK will remain FREE for everyone to visit
Emily Sergeant
Dozens of national museums across the UK are set to remain free for everyone to visit, it has been confirmed.
Funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the 14 national museums of the UK are all located in England – including the Royal Armouries in Leeds – and free entry to was first introduced all the way back in 2001, with millions of visitors having benefitted since.
National museums are said to add more than £1 billion a year to the economy, and bring in visitors from all over the world.
In fact, seven of the UK’s 10 most visited museums are national museums, and 7.1 million people visited the Natural History Museum and 6.4 million visited the British Museum in 2025 alone.
Earlier this year though, the Government committed to working with local leaders and the museum and tourism sectors to explore whether charging overseas visitors could help museums’ finances.
But following this, it’s now believed that charging could deter visitors, and that the impacts and benefits would ‘not be felt equally’ across the sector.
The Government has announced that all national museums in the UK will remain free for everyone to visit / Credit: Science Museum Group
Instead, the free entry will be funded by the £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere Fund – which is providing £760 million for museums – while £600 million of infrastructure funding is supporting national museums and DCMS-sponsored cultural organisations.
The latter funding will be used to address critical maintenance and works to estates, and enable institutions to deliver on their commitments to share collections with visitors from around the world.
A further £160 million is coming from The Museum Estates and Development Fund to help museums tackle maintenance backlogs.
On top of that, the Government will work with Arts Council to develop a long-term strategic plan for the future of museums.
Sophie Smith -
29th September 2022 
