The Thackray Museum of Medicinehas received a special award at the European Museum of the Year following an outstanding year of exhibitions.
The Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds has been given a special commendation at European Museum of the Year by the European Forum.
The museum, located in Harehills, was commended for it's remarkable exhibition over the past year and its impressive community engagement.
The prestigious awards ceremony took place in Barcelona on Saturday 6 May 2023, with Thackray Museum of Medicine joining museums from across Europe to claim the prize.
The award praised the museum for being a 'transformative force for bringing together people of diverse backgrounds' as well as for creating 'meaningful connections and promoting social inclusion'.
Image: Supplied
2023 has been a transformative year for The Thackray Museum of Medicine, with a series of successful exhibitions and events drawing a record numbers of visitors.
The launch of the Private Parts exhibition in January, followed by the Behind the Microscope exhibition in February half-term and an incredible Easter holiday welcoming over 4,000 people, has helped the museum exceed its pre-Covid visitor numbers for the first time.
In addition to this, the museum's community space, The Core, has re-opened following a long-term residency with NHS partners, and the museum's partnership project with Leeds 2023 and Sable Radio, Culture Club, has been working with young people to explore the museum's collection.
Image: Thackray Museum of Medicine
Edward Appleyard, Chief Executive of Thackray Museum of Medicine said: "This is a tremendous honour and recognition of the hard work and dedication of our staff and volunteers, as well as the support of our local community.
"Our mission is to engage and inspire people of all ages and backgrounds with the fascinating history of medicine and healthcare," Edward continued.
"We believe that our success in achieving this mission has been reflected in the record numbers of visitors we have welcomed this year and the positive feedback we have received from the local community. This award is a testament to the power of museums to educate, entertain, inspire and connect people from all walks of life."
To find out more about the museum and to plan your visit, take a look at their website.
Farmer Copley's Tulip Festival is back and it's just as beautiful as we remember.
Spring has officially sprung and with it, so does Farmer Copley's iconic Tulip Festival that officially opened last Sunday.
Based in West Yorkshire, nestled between Pontefract and Featherstone, the Copley family really know how to get you feeling ready for the season ahead.
Just moments after entering the festival, we can assure you that winter will feel like a distant memory.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Spanning over 8 acres, Jack and the team have planted over 600,00 tulip bulbs consisting of 100+ different varieties of all shapes and colours that arrived directly from the Netherlands.
In addition to the 500,000 planted last year, that means there's over one million tulips to enjoy - now that is pretty impressive if you ask us.
Varieties include Carnaval de Rio, Tom Pouce, Gavota, Lily Flowering Mix, Blushing Appledorn, Wedding Dress and Rodolfo.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The festival includes five sections that have been split by 5 metre walkways enabling the best customer interaction in the field.
There's two dedicated pick your own areas where a mix of bulbs have been planted to ensure that visitors have a wide range of tulips to explore, pick from and create the perfect bunch of tulips. How lovely is that?
Of course there's plenty of photo opportunities, fairground rides and a bar to enjoy the view with a tipple or two.
This really is the perfect family-friendly day out and with the weather looking gorgeous (for now), we'd take the opportunity to see the tulips looking their best whilst you can.
The festival is on until Sunday 3 May 2026, with tickets starting from just £9.
To find out more and to book your ticket, take a look at Farmer Copleys website. We'll see you in the tulip fields.
Leeds has been crowned one of the best cities in the UK for student nightlife
Clementine Hall
Our city is bursting at the seems with brilliant late night venues for students, but now it’s officially been confirmed.
And it's all down to accommodation provider Canvas who analysed key nightlife factors such as drink prices, the number and ratings of venues, and local safety scores to reveal the best cities in the UK for a night out.
If you've got Leeds as your student city of choice then you're in for a brilliant three years, as we ranked number four in the top ten list. Get in.
Leeds has a whopping 325 venues and a strong 4.40 average rating, drink prices are relatively affordable drinks with a pint costing an average of a fiver and soft drinks at £1.71.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Leeds also came out with a solid safety score of 47.28, so it's fair to say Leeds it’s a well-rounded option for students.Bath took the top spot with 10 venues per 10,000 people and an impressive average rating of 4.45 stars.
Coming in second, Manchester boasts the highest number of bars and clubs overall, with 606 venues, 15 for every 10,000 people and a strong average rating of 4.37 stars and a pint costing slightly less than Bath at £5.50.
In third place was Newcastle and in fifth place was York. It's safe to say that the North dominated the top spots, and rightly so.
The top ten best cities for student nightlife in the UK are:
Clementine Hall -
9th May 2023 
