Do you feel that the world is turning into a place that is going downhill fast? If so, why not take a trip to Leeds to experience Wonderland for a few hours, or even days. No passport or visa required as everyone is welcome. Getting here is a breeze; you have a choice of train, bus (or train replacement bus), rabbit hole or looking glass. The last two are the cheapest, but a bit more risky, so best settle for the first ones.
The difference between Wonderland and other countries at the moment, is that it is run by people who know they are mad, rather than by those who are convinced they are clever, despite proving, on a daily basis, they are anything but.
Wonderland, first discovered by Lewis Carroll, has undergone a redevelopment by those fine people at LeedsBID, who strike just the right balance between being clever, as well as mad. They are clever in that they dream up some amazing summer adventures, remember Monopoly last year? but mad in that they think they can successfully pull off the execution. What’s that – they can! Must be me then.
Although the borders were opened on 26th July, I was granted entry to the country the day before, presumably to make sure that it is possible to have a stroll around the various attractions without coming to a gruesome end. I was accompanied by a group of other people, obviously equally as expendable, and our tour guides from LeedsBID, in whose ability in protecting us should things turn weird, didn’t inspire a great deal of confidence. My cynicism proved to be unfounded, as it wasn’t until I had left the group to explore on my own that things took a curious turn.
Our tour met by the bridge in Trinity Centre, where there is a stunning artwork incorporated into the iconic glass ceiling, depicting the Cheshire Cat. You can tell it’s from Cheshire because it has a footballer’s wife-style collagen lip job. If you stand on the green disc below and follow the instructions you could win a £200 Trinity Gift Card, but you probably worked that out for yourself.
It’s strange who you meet in Leeds first thing on a Friday morning! The March Hare and the Mad Hatter had just bumped into the King and Queen of Hearts, which is quite normal, it’s the chap in the background who seems out of place.
I might be a bit paranoid, but I could swear that this group was following me as we met again in Victoria Gate, outside John Lewis. What I couldn’t work out was, if they were indeed in pursuit, how come they got there first. Strange place this Wonderland. Even stranger, was that the chap in the background had arrived early as well!
It soon became clear that the Mad Hatter was having a morning tea get together, and I had stumbled upon it. Problem solved, so now I can go back to being nervous for all the normal reasons. Hey! just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean that you are not being watched.
The Mad Hatter and the March Hare hosted the tea party especially for Alice. Unfortunately there seemed to be a blockage in the rabbit hole, it’s probably being run by a water company, and she was late, so a ‘volunteer’ from the group was treated to as much tea and cake as she could handle.
Is this man everywhere?
It was probably the sight of all that food which made me realise I had not had breakfast, so I took my leave of the festivities to have a coffee and toasted teacake. Had it been the following day, when all of the attractions were open, I could have wandered a few yards up Victoria Gate and had a free marshmallow from the Drink Me, Eat Me stand. A tip for you there – you’re welcome.
It was in the Merrion Centre, the place I had decided to push the boat out for my snack, where everything got really odd. I could have sworn I saw a caterpillar sitting on a mushroom, smoking a hookah! I went to Leeds Central High School in the 1960s, which was just over the road from where the dude was taking a toke, so to stumble across a scene like this took me straight back to my teens.
I must have got a bit too close to the hookah, or ignored the sign and and tripped, as I began to feel a little woozy; the next thing I knew was that I was back home in Harrogate, having just woken up from a doze in my favourite armchair. I think I will go back again next week to see if it was all real or just a dream.
The journey through Wonderland is done by following the map in a leaflet, obtainable from a number of places throughout the City. For a complete list see https://wonderlandleeds.com/wonderland/ It lists the sites depicting incidents from the two Alice books and the poem Jabberwocky, all of which are either in the centre or just a short walk away. Don’t worry if you are not able to complete the full tour in one visit, you can come back as often as you wish, before the event ends on 31st August. This gives you plenty of time to see everything, and answer the questions, which can win you some great prizes. The draw dates are listed in the leaflet.
Wonderland Awaits runs from 26th July until 31st August, 2025 between 10.00am and 4.00pm on Monday to Saturday and 11.00am and 4.00pm on Sunday. The Mad Tea Party happens each day, every hour, on the half-hour, and is performed by students from Leeds Conservatoire. The other participants, such as the King and Queen of Hearts are students from Leeds Beckett University.
Alright, time to ‘fess up. The chap in the blue suit is Andrew Cooper, Chief Executive of LeedsBID, a truly remarkable organisation, more of which below. The man next to him, who obviously didn’t get the memo about the dress code, or it could have been the other way round, is Martin Dickson, Director of Brand and Innovation, of which there is an abundance, as can be gathered from this event alone.
LeedsBID (Business Improvement District) is a non-political, not for profit, business-led organisation, set up in 2015 – Happy 10th Birthday – to transform Leeds City Centre, which it does on a daily basis, in various ways. Blockbusters such as this are an added bonus, especially for the traders, as each £1 spent by the organisation, generates trade worth £9! For more information please go to https://www.leedsbid.co.uk/
In addition to the big events such as Wonderland Awaits, Leeds International Festival of Ideas, huge animation spectaculars on the side of the Queen’s Hotel, and much more, they attend to the daily needs of the City. Street Rangers do things like removing graffiti and deep cleaning the pavements. They are also on hand to patrol the centre to make it a safer environment, and assist strangers in finding their way around. It’s these elements which help to make Leeds the amazing place it has become. For full details of the contribution LeedsBID makes, please go to https://www.leedsbid.co.uk/
Feature image provided by LeedsBID. Photographs by Stan Graham
Tyke It To The Limit 