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Hidden West Yorkshire

Explore fascinating stories from West Yorkshire.

Radio Leeds,100 episodes

Episodes

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Ghost sightings in Wakefield
Rob Shersby talks to Gayle Lofthouse about the ghosts of Wakefield.
18 Dec 2025,5 mins
The carpenter who conquered the ocean with a clock
The story of how Wakefield's John Harrison transformed ocean travel forever.
30 Nov 2025,4 mins
The first historian of Leeds
Ralph Thorseby was a 16th century antiquarian, born in Leeds.
26 Nov 2025,5 mins
Is new film based on Huddersfield Choral Society?
Yorkshire choir believe that they may be the inspiration for the new Alan Bennett film.
19 Nov 2025,7 mins
The woman who put Bradford on the stage
A blue plaque in Bradford marks the site of Esmé Church’s Northern Theatre School.
12 Nov 2025,4 mins
Wyke's headless horseman: Bevers Baht’ead
The eerie tale of High Fernley Hall and its spectral rider in Judy Woods.
31 Oct 2025,6 mins
Phoebe: The quiet ghost of Temple Newsam
Discover Phoebe Grey’s story. A kind maid lost to time at Temple Newsam.
30 Oct 2025,4 mins
The Leeds man who inspired Addams Family 'Thing'
W.F. Harvey was a surgeon during WWI and what he saw inspired his fictional horror work.
29 Oct 2025,6 mins
Black Dick: The ghostly rider of Cockley Wood
Explore the legend of Black Dick’s Tower and its haunting tale in West Yorkshire.
26 Oct 2025,4 mins
Wakefield's mysterious witching mirror
Among the artifacts at Wakefield's Mental Health Museum is a special mirror.
22 Oct 2025,4 mins
The haunted tunnels beneath England's oldest pub
The Bingley Arms is said to date back to 953 AD.
01 Oct 2025,6 mins
The Leeds film pioneer who disappeared forever
Louis Le Prince may have invented cinema but disappeared before he could prove it.
29 Sep 2025,5 mins
Heritage Open Day: The Old Fire Station in Gipton
Behind the scenes at a former Fire Station that is now a community hub.
19 Sep 2025,4 mins
Heritage Open Day: Inside a mental health museum
Jess Bayley has been to Wakefield to look around the Mental Health Museum.
18 Sep 2025,3 mins
Heritage Open Day: Hidden 200-year-old forge
Inside a 200-year old blacksmith’s, that forged items for the canal.
16 Sep 2025,4 mins
Heritage Open Day: Climbing Wainhouse Tower
Inside Calderdale’s tallest structure, affectionately known as the ‘Tower of Spite’.
15 Sep 2025,4 mins
A trip through Roman Castleford
Gayle Lofthouse speaks to Dr Tegwen Roberts about the project.
10 Sep 2025,4 mins
The most haunted car park in Leeds
Skulls and Stones Yard in Leeds was named after two brothers who died.
04 Sep 2025,4 mins
Asa Briggs: The Keighley codebreaker
From Keighley to Oxford, Asa Briggs chronicled Britain’s Victorian past.
20 Aug 2025,7 mins
Sunken bridge reappears during reservoir drought
Low water levels at Baitings reservoir have revealed previously hidden structures.
12 Aug 2025,4 mins
The phantom bear of Wakefield
Rob Shersby who runs the Wakefield Ghost Walk chats to Gayle Lofthouse.
06 Aug 2025,5 mins
For Sale: The wood with a ballroom and waterfall
Goit Stock Wood near Bingley known locally as the "hidden valley".
23 Jul 2025,4 mins
The Leeds inventor who gave us the Spirograph
From bike springs to NATO tech to Spirograph: Denys Fisher's inventive journey.
16 Jul 2025,6 mins
Pontefract's most famous export
It's 50 times sweeter than sugar, but why is Pontefract so synonymous with liquorice?
09 Jul 2025,5 mins
The singing hermit of Ilkley Moor
Job Senior’s voice and walls still echo across Ilkley Moor, 200 years on.
02 Jul 2025,5 mins
The weapons of war on display in Leeds
A new exhibition at the Royal Armouries Museum focuses on the weapons used in WW2.
27 Jun 2025,7 mins
Wakefield's incredible hidden F1 car collection
Cars feature from from Formula 1 World Champions Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher.
13 Jun 2025,4 mins
The Rugby League star who became a forensic genius
James Deighton speaks to Chris Westwood about former Hunslet winger Graham Goodman.
01 Jun 2025,3 mins
A decade of Morris dancing at Ossett Beercart
Sam Nixon chats to festival organiser Steve Ollerton about Ossett Beercart.
28 May 2025,3 mins
The Huddersfield chapel at risk of being lost
Jess Bayley finds out about the Edgerton cemetery chapel which is falling into decay.
22 May 2025,3 mins