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Leeds Live
Leeds Live
National
Dave Himelfield

Life in the tiny ancient village hidden just 6 miles from Leeds city centre

I'm standing on a muddy path between a field with sheep and another field where it looks like crops are growing.

A beck trickles parallel to the footpath which bisects gently rolling hills.

But I'm not in the Dales; I am in fact, less than six miles from Leeds city centre as the crow flies.

Read More: Unemployed Leeds man 'struggling' to find somewhere to live even though he's 'privileged'

I'm in the village of Shadwell, north of Roundhay Park. Apart from the distant roar of the city, it's as quiet as any rural village.

You can hear songbirds in the hedgerows as you watch red kites gliding and horses grazing.

You are 20 minutes drive from the biggest (and arguably the best) shopping and social centre in Yorkshire.

But it does have its own amenities including a post office and general shop, a library and a pub.

You wouldn't think Shadwell was so close to Leeds (Dave Himelfield)

It also has one of Britain's oldest chip shops, The Village Fish Shop which dates back to (at the latest) 1911 and is situated in a cottage dating back to 1637. It does great chips, by the way.

It is the best of both worlds but unlike some other "posh" villages just outside the urban sprawl, it has a genuine village feel.

The first written proof of Shadwell's existence is in 1086 in William the Conqueror's Domesday Book, where it is called Scadewelle, and is part of the Feudal Barony of Pontefract.

Shadwell is more established than nouveau riche. The people I speak to are reasonably friendly and it appears to be a place where people do more than sleep and leave for work.

There's a cinema club, a pilates group, a community centre and the Red Lion, which villager Philip tells me is at the community's heart.

"It's very friendly; we talk to everyone," says Philip, 76.

Philip, who enjoys planting flowers on the street outside his house, says Shadwell is not a dormitory village.

He says: "Some come to travel into Leeds but I always say they need to decide if they're commuters or villagers."

Alison Mackay lives in a pretty, stone terraced house. She's from Cookridge but she says Shadwell is "the best place to live".

Her son, Harry, 26, jokes: "It's a posh Royston Vasey [the village from the BBC comedy League of Gentlemen]."

But he adds: "It's a very tight-knit community; they all look out for each other.

"It's very nice," he says, although he says the bus service is "abysmal".

Tracey Linley, who works at the Post Office and general shop, grew up in Shadwell.

She says: "It's nice. Nice people. Friendly people.

Harry Mackay and his mum Alison, from Shadwell (Dave Himelfield)

"We feel like we are in the country; I still consider it rural. We have farms and plenty of walks," says Tracey, 53.

But the best of both worlds comes at a price.

Tracey says: "Forty years ago property prices wouldn't have been that different to somewhere like Crossgates...

"A cottage went on the market a year ago and sold for £400,000."

Indeed, a brief search of Rightmove reveals an average three-bedroom semi (albeit with a larger than average garden) costs almost the same.

Still, you can find a two-bedroom flat for less than £200,000 – if it doesn't sell the moment it's listed.

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