In early June, I did the Otley Run with a group of mates. The Otley Run is a pub crawl in Leeds, comprising 17 pubs along one (very long) road, where everyone dresses up. My friend's boyfriend studied in Leeds and so does the run with his mates annually, and my friend and I joined them for this year's. The theme was villains, and I already had a cowboy hat and bandana from a previous party, so I went as a generic cowboy (although if anyone asked, I was 'Angel Eyes' from 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly').
I got the train up to Leeds on the Saturday morning and was meant to travel with another school mate, however she woke up to rashes all over her body so instead spent the day in A&E, meaning that I ended up going alone and meeting the others there. Luckily, my friend, Phi, picked me up from the station, helped me get ready, and then off we went to meet the others. She was dressed as Cruella de Vil and seeing her costume made me cry with laughter.
Phi and I started with white wine however we had to down half of our first glass as the group wanted to avoid the crowds, and by our second glass, we were definitely tipsy. Our huge group was comprised of three smaller groups and I'd already met a few people in the group beforehand but everyone was very nice and welcoming, so I felt comfortable from the get-go. We played a couple of drinking games too, including Undercover, which Phi and I had learnt about whilst in South America. We didn't make it to all of the pubs as we wanted to stay ahead of the curve, however my favourites were The Original Oak for the beer garden, The Dry Dock for the entertainment, The Skyrack Pub for the photobooth, and Walkabout for the music.
We got very lucky with the weather, so the beer garden in The Original Oak was a very welcomed surprise, and although there were several fights at The Dry Dock, I loved the novelty of a bar on a boat (and yet I found it nostalgic, as it reminded me of Thekla in Bristol). Phi and I took some photos in the photobooth at The Skyrack Pub, then headed to the loo, where a girl dressed as a Flintstone advised us to move onto the vodka lime sodas in order to last much longer into the night, which was appreciated. We also had some food at Mahmood's, which helped sober me up, although this is where the group split as I was eating 'too slowly'. I also skipped a drink at one of the pubs, so sobered up halfway through the night (having been leathered just moments before), and then started up again post-food.
We tried to go to the Student Union, but it was closed (potentially due to the Palestine protests?) and although I don't remember much of the second half of the pub crawl, I remember loving Walkabout and dancing on the stage with the rest of the group. Conveniently, the pub crawl ends in the city centre, making it easier for everyone to head home. There was a bit of drama within the group, but after a Maccies and a walk, everyone was in good spirits. I'd left my bag at Phi's hotel, so had to go back and grab it, before Ubering to my hotel and checking in tipsy in the early hours of the morning. Luckily, this all went smoothly and I managed to get a solid night of sleep.
Check out was at 11am so I chilled until then, before meeting up with a few people from the group for brunch. We just headed to a Spoons, where the staff dropped trays full of drinks multiple times (one being on the stairs above us, which soaked the couple directly below and they were not happy at all, even asking for the accident book). We chatted until most people caught their trains, however my train was only at 3:05pm. Despite having been to Leeds previously, I'd never actually explored the city as I'd only stayed for birthdays and parties, so I initially booked my ticket with the aim of getting to know the city a bit, however it was drizzling and the city was much smaller than I'd realised, so instead I just headed to the main Waterstones for coffee and cake and to read my book.
Overall, I loved the experience. The cons were that my train was slightly delayed on the way back, one of my friends didn't end up making it, and it's fairly expensive. The pros were that it was much cheaper than in London, the costumes and venues were fun, and it was a great way to meet new people. Leeds is small, but nice, and I'd definitely recommend doing the Otley Run as least once to see what it's all about!
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