The fascinating story of a Leeds beauty spot that once housed a prisoner of war camp

It’s a much-loved Leeds beauty spot which takes its name from your Yorkshire Evening Post.

Post Hill is a designated Leeds Nature Area on the western end of Farnley, and partly in Pudsey. It is located mostly east of Pudsey Beck and Farnley Beck, between Wood Lane in the north and Troydale Lane in the south, and forms part of the West Leeds Country Park.

The landmark takes its name from your favourite newspaper which sponsored events in the mid-1920s and then bought the land in 1925 so the Leeds Motor Club could hold its races.

By 1926 the hill was presented to the Motor Club by Mr R R Whittaker, the editor of the Yorkshire Evening Post, and Sir Charles Wilson, who was an MP at the time, as they both declared the hill open to the club.

The western aspect of Post Hill, laid with a cobbled track up the hillside, was said to be the steepest hill climb in the world. It’s drop length is 527ft and with a rise of 200ft.

Before the acquisition, the northern part of the area was known as Park Spring, and the southern part as Jonas Wood.

Post Hill was the location of POW camp No. 91, during World War II where Italian and German prisoners were held to work on farms in the surroundings. After the war the camp was used for displaced people from Europe.

After the war the original camps were used for anyone who was displaced that came from Europe.

By the 1950s the hill was most popularly used for scrambling challenges that attracted crowds of up to 10,000 people and at the time were recorded and televised by the BBC.

Since 2002 the hill has been owned by Leeds City Council and trials are still held on Post Hill.