West Yorkshire

Introduction

West Yorkshire was created in 1974 as a metropolitan county comprising five metropolitan boroughs: Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield. Leeds, Bradford, Halifax and Huddersfield had previously been county boroughs covering all local government services. Other areas had been boroughs or districts in the former West Riding County Council, which dates back to medieval times. However in 1986 the county council was abolished (as were all metropolitan county councils in England.) Since then West Yorkshire has, in practice, been little more than a geographical area, local services being provided either by the councils of the Metropolitan Boroughs above or by ad hoc authorities for services such as police and fire.

Geography

West Yorkshire is a small area of under 800 square miles surrounded (clockwise from North) by North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire.

Metropolitan Boroughs

• Bradford - as well as the City of Bradford the District includes Shipley, Baildon, Keighley, Ilkley and Haworth.

• Calderdale - a region not named from a town but with Halifax easily the largest together with other former towns or villages including Elland, Brighouse, Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Sowerby, Heptonstall and Hipperholme.

• Kirklees - another name from local government reorganisation in the 70s based around Huddersfield and Dewsbury.

• Leeds - including other areas such as Pudsey and Otley.

• Wakefield - with numerous surrounding places including Castleford, Pontefract and Ossett.

Sights and Activities

See metropolitan districts above.

Events and Festivals

See metropolitan districts above.

Weather

By and large the weather is dryer to the east of the area and wetter over the west, particularly the Pennine areas.

Getting There

By Plane

Leeds Bradford Airport is a major centre for Jet2 in addition to numerous national and some other international flights.

By Train

Leeds and Wakefield are connected with London and the north-east on the 'East Coast' line. There is a main line from Leeds to Manchester via Dewsbury and Huddersfield, both in Kirklees and a branch line to Manchester Victoria through Bradford and several parts of Calderdale. Use National Rail's Journey Planner to work out times and fares.

By Car

The M1 and M62 motorways and their offshoots serve the area.

By Bus

All the main cities are served by National Express.

Getting Around

By Train

There are numerous branch lines from Leeds under the auspices of West Yorkshire Metro.

By Bus

First services provide the main links except in Wakefield, where Stagecoach is the major provided.

By Boat

There is a canal ferry from Shipley to Keighley via Saltaire and Bingley, all in Bradford Metropolitan Borough.

Eat

See metropolitan boroughs above.

Drink

See metropolitan boroughs above.

Sleep

See metropolitan boroughs above.