The Otley Run is the most famous pub crawl in Leeds, popular with students, and for stag weekends, hen parties and other celebrations. Visitors from all over the UK and beyond descend on the pubs of north Leeds every weekend, many of them in fancy dress. The Otley Run grew out of an older pub crawl, the Headingley Mile, and exploded in popularity during the late nineties and early noughties, when a number of new pubs opened in the area.

There are variations to the Otley Run, but in general the idea is to have a drink in every pub on, or very close to, the Otley Road, from Woodies in Far Headingley to The Dry Dock on the edge of the city centre, next to Leeds Beckett University’s City Campus — minus, that is, a few establishments which prefer to exclude Otley Runners. The route typically takes in fifteen pubs in all.

Joe Williams’ book An Otley Run tells the story of a day spent doing the pub crawl, with characters and costumes that will be familiar to anyone who lives in Headingley, Hyde Park and Woodhouse, for whom Otley Runners are a regular sight.

Here you can see a map of the Otley Run and surrounding area, and explore the pubs and other places of interest along the route on our Virtual Photo Tour.