A Mother-Daughter Day out in Leeds

As much as I love my exotic getaways, I decided this was the year I start to blog about trips a little closer to home too. So when Trainline invited me to plan a UK day trip to test out their mobile ticketing app, the timing was almost perfect. My Mum is away in Spain this Mother’s Day, so I decided to invite her on a pre-Mother’s-Day day out in Leeds. As we’d be catching the train, I planned to take her for a few cocktails and to check out Leeds’ new luxury shopping centre Victoria Gate.

Using the App

After booking our trains through my Trainline account (you can use any device), our mobile tickets immediately appeared in my Trainline app. All I needed to do was activate them before boarding the train. This meant that when we arrived at York station, we were able to breeze past the long ticket-collection queues. We went straight towards the train as the app also displayed the departure platform of our train before it had reached the board.

En Route to Leeds

When on the train and at the ticket barriers in Leeds, I handed my phone over to the inspectors so that they could view my mobile tickets. They seemed to be familiar with the mobile ticketing drill and just gave my screen a quick glance. As someone who constantly has their phone in their hand, I found showing the mobile tickets so much easier than trying to locate that pesky orange ticket. It’s one less thing to worry about and one less thing to lose when you’re on a journey. Genius!

Good Coffee and The Corn Exchange

My older sister Natalie lives in Leeds, so our first stop was to go and meet her for a quick coffee on her lunch break. Natalie took us to a cool little coffee joint called Cielo on Duncan Street, just off Briggate (Leeds’ main high street). After a cracking flat white and a quick chat, Natalie headed back to work and my Mum and I went to check out the Corn Exchange.

The Victorian Corn Exchange was built in 1864 and is one of Leeds’ most spectacular buildings. Originally built for corn trading, it’s now a hub of artistic and boutique vendors selling everything from vintage clothing and jewellery to falafel. It’s an amazing place to come to find gifts, accessories and vintage treasures that can’t be found on the high street.
 

Cocktails and Shopping

As an online shopping fan, I don’t hit the shops very often, so having an afternoon of shopping was a massive novelty for me. We checked out Harvey Nichols, The Victoria Quarter and the new Victoria Gate shopping centre (with a huge John Lewis). I picked up a new Mac Lipstick in the shade ‘Blankety’ and a few more beauty treats. This luxurious area of Leeds is historic, stylish and extremely photogenic. I loved strolling through the arcades and walking twice as slow as I usually would.

The final stop on our day out in Leeds was Angelica, a stylish rooftop bar on top of Leeds Trinity Shopping Centre. We sipped on delicious cocktails and rested tired feet after a lovely afternoon in the city. I don’t often switch off from work and emails, especially during the week. But spending some quality time with my Mum really helped to leave the digital world of work behind and enjoy some simple pleasures.

What did you think of my Mother Daughter day out in Leeds? Are you planning to do something lovely with your Mum for Mother’s Day? If you enjoyed this post, please leave me a comment in the box below x

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 Fancy trying out the Trainline app for yourself? Download it here.

Want to read more of my closer-to-home blogs? Check out my Local’s City Guide to York  

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Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by Trainline. All views are my own.