We look at the hidden gems that you never knew were there, around towns and cities near you.
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00:00We all know that our towns and cities are full of strange and interesting locations
00:09and venues.
00:10But do we ever really delve beneath the surface of the places we live?
00:13Well, now you don't have to, as our roving reporters bring you the hidden gems from places
00:18near you that really put the great into Great Britain.
00:20We've got Andy showing us around Leeds, the people of Cardiff and Liverpool share
00:24their city's secrets, and Kevin explores a little-known historic building in Birmingham.
00:29It's easy to take our city for granted and walk or drive by its many secrets.
00:34There are many hidden gems to enjoy, both in Leeds' centre and the city suburbs.
00:39Some of them are hidden in plain sight.
00:43During the next three minutes we're going to discover some of the surprising stories
00:46and hidden gems of the city, starting here at Leeds Town Hall, which is currently under
00:50renovation.
00:52Did you know it was once home to a police station called the Bridewell?
00:56There are many cells underneath this grand building, with some concealed below the front
01:00steps.
01:01You may have strolled past one of these air vents in Leeds, which is just one sign of
01:06a huge underground network of tunnels.
01:09Leeds Station itself was built on top of a former station called Central Station and
01:14disused platforms and offices still linger below.
01:17Dating back to 1850, this lifting tower is a signal of the city's rich rail heritage.
01:23It was one of a pair which stood either side of a viaduct running into Leeds Central Station.
01:29Have you spotted this before?
01:31This is Winifred, by Russell Meacham, better known in the street art world as Quebec.
01:37It's an elephant with armour, inspired by the Royal Armouries.
01:41It's named after Russell's late grandmother.
01:46And it's located between York Place and Park Place in Leeds City Centre.
01:51As well as an underground subway below Merrion Street, there's believed to be one here, underneath
01:56Brigate, installed in the 1960s.
02:00It was in a bid to keep pedestrians safe from traffic when cars used to drive up and down
02:05here.
02:06And yes, that's perhaps another gem you may not have known about.
02:10There are lots of murals around Leeds City Centre.
02:12This is one of my favourites, it's Cornucopia by Graham Wilson, which was unveiled near
02:17the Corn Exchange in October 1990.
02:21Welcome to Penny Pocket Park, opposite Leeds Minster, an easily missable spot off Kirkgate.
02:27In 1912, part of the park became the responsibility of the Thomas Wade Trust, who since 1530
02:33have worked to ensure the provision of open spaces to the people of Leeds.
02:39Let's venture a bit further out of Leeds City Centre now, and this sign on the Leeds and
02:43Liverpool Canal reads, the remains of a wooden icebreaker lie submerged.
02:48And it's found near the Leeds Industrial Museum in Armley.
02:52Staying on the waterside theme, have you ever spotted this hidden gem in the form of a grey
02:56heron which was designed to be submerged and then reappear as the river level changes on
03:00the waterside by the coals?
03:03Another of my favourite hidden gems is the Horsforth Hall Park Japanese Garden, which
03:07originally opened in 1987.
03:10It uses features and materials to represent the mountains, woodland areas, waterfalls,
03:15lakes and open grasslands found in Japan.
03:22Thanks for joining us on this tour of Leeds best kept secrets, and there's plenty more
03:25where that came from.
03:30Thanks Andy, that was a fascinating look at the city we thought we knew well, but now
03:33it's clear we hadn't even scratched the surface.
03:37Now it's over to the people of Cardiff themselves to tell us what sites we should seek out the
03:41next time we pop along to the Welsh capital.
03:45There are loads of hidden gems around Cardiff, it's such a beautiful city, I've lived here
03:52for 8 years now and I absolutely love it.
03:55I love wandering around the dock feeder canals, really in the south east of the city, I mean
04:06the bay is fantastic, there's lots of little hidden gems around the bay, Penarth, I love
04:12Cardiff, it's a great city.
04:13Oh I don't know, obviously I like being around the castle, I've never been in it but obviously
04:18it's nice.
04:21Hidden gems, I do really like Roath Park, obviously it's really nice around there.
04:28It's good to look at, you know, cool trendy current stuff, but you know, if you want to
04:36look at some history or look at some, you know, just cool pictures or cool things, definitely
04:42the museum.
04:43There's some good music venues, you know, like the Music City Festival at the moment,
04:48that's been good, like the Moon, I don't know, like Tiny Rebel.
04:57I love going to Cardiff Bay, it's not really a hidden gem, I just love going there, even
05:01if I'm not going to eat there, just to walk around.
05:05Go to Jacob's Antique Market, you know, there's some, you know, old bits of history in there,
05:11you know, military memorabilia and everything.
05:13I mean trendy places I can, you know, it's hard for me to recommend.
05:18There's a little trail at the top end of Uke Park as you come to where the Black Weir is,
05:23if you stay on the western side of the river and follow the little path up there, you'll
05:30go past the riding school on the left hand side, you suddenly feel that you could be
05:35deep in the countryside, you could be miles from anywhere, it's tranquil, all you can
05:40hear is the sound of the taff.
05:45I think we can all definitely agree that was a fascinating insight into some wonderful
05:48hidden gems in Cardiff, from the city centre to Cardiff Bay.
05:54Now let's see what the famous city on the Mersey, Liverpool, has to offer with Emily.
06:00Liverpool's tourist industry is absolutely booming and it's easy to see why.
06:06We have loads of attractions, museums and sights to be seen.
06:12But what would you consider a hidden gem?
06:15We've been on the streets of Liverpool to find out.
06:18I think the Georgian Quarter is an area that a lot of people don't know about because here
06:23in the middle of town there's a lot of footfall, a lot of tourism, but if you just go a little
06:30bit up that way to the Georgian Quarter, the buildings, the history.
06:34I don't think they're going that much, especially for the immigrant population, I think there
06:40should be something to educate them on beautiful places to go to and I think the waterfront
06:47happens to be one beautiful place for us all.
06:50I wasn't being on my bucket list before I kicked the bucket, I went to Enfield.
06:56There's little hidden gems up there, you've got to walk a bit, there's a book called Peter
06:59Cavanagh's that, yeah, it's a little bit of a walk from here but it's a little hidden
07:06gem.
07:07The Royal Court is doing a fantastic thing for Sir Ken Dodd.
07:13And also down that way as well, perhaps down off, you know, like to Water Street, Covent
07:19Garden by the church opposite the, you know, the Liver building.
07:25Earlier this year, four Liverpool treasures were named among the world's best hidden gems.
07:29The research carried out by Boken, part of the TripAdvisor group, revealed the genuine
07:34hidden gems across the world are suggested by actual tourists.
07:37The Victoria Gallery and Museum was crowned the best hidden gem in the area, with 16%
07:42of tourist reviews coining it as a local wonder.
07:45Three other venues and historic sites in Liverpool also achieved a place on the global list of
07:49hidden gems, including Sudley House, Western Approaches and the Williamson Tunnels.
07:57What an amazing look at Liverpool.
07:59There's so much to see and the people who live there are clearly the best guys to really
08:02show us the best of Liverpool.
08:06Last but certainly by no means least, it's over to Kevin Thomas to tell us all about
08:10a former silverworks in Birmingham, which is a true hidden gem in the middle of the
08:13city.
08:16Okay, so the building behind me is the Gwenda Works, but it started its life out as Henry
08:25Mountain Silverworks, and they made high-end silver perfume bottles.
08:32Well, the bottles were glass, probably made in Stourbridge and would have been shipped
08:36in, and they made the beautiful silver tops for the bottles, and they were a really, really
08:41impressive high-end jewellery company in Birmingham's jewellery quarter.
08:46But what's interesting is when they closed, they moved down onto Great Hampton Street,
08:51but then it was taken over by the Hussey Dawson Company, and they renamed it the Gwenda Works.
08:58And I've got this great photograph I found with the Gwenda girls standing outside of
09:03the works, and what they made, they made small plastic compacts.
09:10And the one I'm holding here is what's called New Old Stock, so this was never sold, and
09:16it's a beautiful Art Deco example.
09:19And what they would have done, they would have made them in their thousands, and what
09:23I like is that it went from a very exclusive silver company to this small plastic compact
09:31company that was exporting them by their thousands all over Britain.
09:35And we come and look at this building as part of the Art Deco jewellery quarter walking
09:41tour, because it's a real privilege to be able to link some of the items and let some
09:46of the people touch them and hold them that we've got of some of the products that were
09:49made here.
09:51So this was made at the Gwenda Works, and this is a small plastic Art Deco compact,
09:58and it was called a Tap Flap, and I was really lucky to find it, and if you open it up you
10:04can actually see that it's never been used.
10:07And this is Old New Stock, so somebody bought it, kept it in the back of their shop, and
10:12it was never sold, and luckily I came across it.
10:16So the Gwenda Works stands at the top of Leg Lane in Birmingham's jewellery quarter, and
10:21this was a really, really upmarket area.
10:25The lane, Leg Lane itself, was actually a driveway which came up to an enormous mansion
10:31that stood on top of the hill here, and this is where the amazingly named Henry Leg lived.
10:38And it's quite sad now that that's gone, but what's here now is this beautiful building
10:43still that's been renovated.
10:45I think it's one of my favourite renovations in the jewellery quarter, because you'd hardly
10:49know that it's been turned into apartments, and that's what's happening in the jewellery
10:54quarter now.
10:54The industry's moved out, and what's happening is lots of the buildings are being turned
10:59into apartment blocks.
11:02And there you have it.
11:03A fascinating glimpse into the evolution of Birmingham's jewellery quarter.
11:08The story of the Gwenda Works encapsulates the dynamic spirit of innovation that has
11:13uncharacterised this unique district.
11:19So there we have it.
11:21We've seen the secret tunnels under Leeds, and learned about the city's royal heritage.
11:25We've had tips to go through the canals and museums in Cardiff.
11:29The Vopoddians have told us about the Georgian Quarter, and Kevin has taken us through the
11:33Gwenda Works building in Birmingham's history.
11:36It's been brilliant to look in-depth at the sights these cities have to offer.
11:40And I wonder what hidden gems you might find in your town, if you just take a closer look.