Otley Run Leeds: All the pubs and bars and everything you need to know about infamous pub crawl

With students returning to the city and the freshers period getting in to full swing, the infamous drinking route that stretches from Headingley to the city centre can be expected to be filled with fancy dress-sporting groups.

But with complaints of the bar crawl leading to excessive drunken disorder in the city, the Otley Run has been under the spotlight over whether it should be phased out from the city.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Otley Run.

What is the Otley Run?

The Otley Run is a two-and-a-half-mile pub crawl that starts at Woodies Ale House in Headingley and ends in the city centre at The Dry Dock after other boozes are stopped off at for a drink along the way – though the exact number does vary.

The route follows along Otley Road and has become a well-known drinking session that sees groups of students, friends and hen-dos and stag-dos taking it on in fancy dress on frequent weekends.

With so many venues on the run it can often lead to people getting into drunken states, which has led to criticism from the community.

How many bars and pubs are on it?

The given number of pubs and bars along the route is 15, though different figures are sometimes given and, naturally, as more drinks become consumed there are frequented occurrences of people skipping out a few stops.

Which drinking holes does it include?

The often-cited route of 15 pubs starts at Woodies Craft Ale House in ends at the Dry Dock towards the north of the city centre. In between there is The Three Horseshoes, The New Inn, The Headingley Taps, Manahatta, The Box, Skyrack, The Original Oak, Hyde Park Hotel, The Library, The Pack Horse, The Eldon, Leeds University Union, The Fenton

When did people start doing it?

There have been various incarnations of the Otley Run over the years but the original beer crawl is cited to be one that was undertaken by farmers when laws under the Licensing Act 1964 gave Otley pubs favourable hours on market days.

Why has it courted so much controversy from Leeds residents?

Due to its nature, the Otley Run regularly sees people getting into drunken states and has led to complaints to the council and police over littering, smashed glass, vomiting and more serious crimes like harassment.

As the run has become more popular and well-known it has led to groups coming from other cities and causing greater disruption.

Recent plans submitted to open a McDonald’s on the route have also faced a pushback due to the additional problems it could bring, with one complainant saying it could “pour fuel on the fire”.

What is being done about the issues?

A Leeds City councillor recently said that the run was “turning Headingley into Magaluf” and the council has said that it will clampdown on disruption in the area with fines of up to £1,000.

Venues along the route are also taking greater steps to communicate with each other to point out the more troublesome groups and turn away those responsible.