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This Leeds hamlet has been voted one of the top villages in the UK
The Sunday Times said Thorner "has it all", noting the hamlet's visiting fish-and-chip van, friendly pub and Post Box deli's charming Secret Garden café
A hamlet just outside of Leeds has been voted one of the top villages in the UK in a new list released by The Sunday Times.
The paper's list, titled "The 50 best villages in the UK", collates some of the most popular villages across the country and features a total of seven different locations in Yorkshire.
Put together in no particular order, each village has been included as a cut above the rest for "having it all" - which the paper defines as the following: attractive houses, good connections, a decent school and friendly neighbours who come together at the pub, shop and village hall.
The Post Box Deli's Secret Garden Cafe in Thorner gets an honorary mention / Image: The Post Box Deli
A selection of brunch dishes at The Post Box, including Blue Bird Bakery Yorkshire sourdough topped with peanut butter and banana / Image: The Post Box Deli
The village representing Leeds is rural hamlet Thorner, which is located between Seacroft and Wetherby. Sitting to the north-east of the city.
Boasting archaeological evidence of Bronze Age and Anglo-Saxon settlements, Thorner's historical significance was just one of the things that made the gorgeous country hamlet stand out.
"Happily you can’t hear the traffic, or smell it — the aromas are all woodsmoke in winter, freshly mown grass in summer and sheep all year round," they write romantically.
Thorner's main street features an idyllic row of stone cotages / Image: Betty Longbottom via Geograph
"St Peter’s Church looms over the wide main street, once used for markets and now home to a GP and a useful set of amenities."
Describing the little village as "properly old-fashioned," they continued to say it "may look rural, but it’s so close to Leeds you can almost touch the ring road, before going on to name a number of charming little independent businesses in Thorner.
St Peter's Church in Thorner / Image: Wikipedia
These include the Fox, a friendly local pub with a Monday night quiz; the Post Box deli with its tea rooms and Secret Garden café; Indian restaurant Maisha Spice; and a visiting fish-and-chip van.
Further features that made Thorner stand out, according to The Times, were its cricket and tennis clubs which "keep sporty types occupied" and the village's "thoughtful" ThornerCares mutual aid support group, which was set up to help people affected by Covid.
At 8.5 miles away from Leeds city centre, the nearest station is Leeds Cross Gates (4.5 miles from the village) and the average house price is £414,493.
Leeds Festival 2026 is officially underway and we've rounded up drinks prices at the bars on the festival site.
While many of us will be sipping on warm cans of cider and boxes of wine at the camp sites, you can't take any of your own alcohol into the arena (where all the stages are) itself.
So you'll need to budget for drinks over the course of the weekend if you want to watch the headliners with a pint in hand.
And with headline performances from the likes of Fontaines D.C., Raye, Florence and the Machine and Dave, there's masses of amazing live music on the horizon at Leeds Festival 2026.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
We're already on site at Leeds Festival ready to bring you all the action and updates from this massive weekend - staring with, importantly, drinks prices.
So, let's get into it...
This year you're looking at paying around £7 of beer and £7.50 £7.50 for a pint of cider.
Different for this year, is you'll get 10% off if paying with a Paypal debit card which you can get for free - which we think is pretty class and well worth your time.
You can take your own empty water bottles in to refill at water stations around the festival site.
You're also allowed to bring in sealed water/soft drinks which are 500ml or less.
And if you're taking your own booze into the campsites, remember that there's no glass allowed, so you'll need to decant anything into plastic bottles.
Here are all your drinks prices for Leeds Festival 2026
Beer and cider
Budweiser - £7 (£6.30 with Paypal discount)
Corona Extra - £7.50 (£6.75 with Paypal discount)
Kopparberg Crisp Apple - £7.50 (£6.75 with Paypal discount)
Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime - £7.70 (£6.93 with Paypal discount)
Rose - 175ml £10 / btl £35 (£9/£31.5 with Paypal discount)
Italian sparkling - 200ml £10 (£9 with Paypal discount)
No and Low
Budweiser Zero - £5.80 (£5.22 with Paypal discount)
Water - £2.50 (£2.25 with Paypal discount)
And that should just about do you in terms of booze - as always, please drink responsibly and look after each other.
For all the other important information, you can consult our complete 2026 Leeds Festival guide down below.
Featured image - The Hoot Leeds
Leeds
Leeds Festival warning issued as police announce speed cameras and traffic restrictions
Clementine Hall
Leeds Fest is almost here, but festival-goers heading to Bramham Park by car have been warned to take extra care on the roads.
Driving to Leeds Festival has never been particularly easy, but West Yorkshire Police have issued a warning to those driving by car in an attempt to make it somewhat easier.
Ahead of Leeds Festival 2026, temporary traffic management measures will be in place from Wednesday 26 August until Monday 31 August.
The measures are designed to improve road safety, reduce congestion, and help ensure the safe movement of the tens of thousands of people expected to attend the event.
Speed camera enforcement vans will be operating throughout the festival period alongside clearways surrounding the festival site.
Police have warned that drivers caught breaking the temporary restrictions could face prosecution, so it's definitely worth keeping an eye out for the signage as you approach the festival.
Superintendent Dan Wood said: “Leeds Festival is one of the largest events in West Yorkshire and attracts a significant increase in traffic to the local road network.
"The temporary speed restrictions and clearways are being introduced to help keep everyone safe, including festival-goers, local residents and road users.
"We would ask all motorists to pay close attention to the temporary signage in place and allow extra time for their journeys. Speed enforcement will be carried out during the event, and we encourage drivers to comply with all restrictions for their own safety and that of others."
Festival attendees are also being urged to follow the event signage rather than relying solely on their sat nav. Dedicated routes will direct different categories of visitors to the correct locations, including:
Camping entrances
Day / Non-camping ticket parking areas
Drop-off and pick-up points
Staff and authorised vehicle access routes
Motorists who follow sat nav directions alone may be directed to unsuitable routes, causing unnecessary delays for themselves and other road users.
Georgina Pellant -
13th September 2021 
