Kirkstall: what to know before moving day
Kirkstall's shops are strung along Kirkstall Road and Abbey Road, the A65, with the Kirkstall Bridge shopping complex and a Morrisons by the river. Kirkstall Abbey stands in a public park on the north bank of the Aire, with the Abbey House Museum across the road. The Kirkstall Festival fills the abbey grounds on the second Saturday in July, and the art trail follows on the third weekend, so check those dates if you are moving near the abbey in summer.
Industry shaped the rest. Kirkstall Forge, started by the abbey's monks and claimed as the longest continually used industrial site in Britain, closed in 2002 and is being redeveloped, with a station that opened in 2016. The coal-fired power station closed in 1976, and the old Kirkstall Brewery is now a large student residence for Leeds Beckett University. Residential streets on the map include the Hesketh, Norman and Morris roads and the Woodbridge estate.
How the van gets to Kirkstall
Two roads cross in the middle: the A65, which links Kirkstall with the city centre, Yeadon and Guiseley, and the B6157 between Stanningley and Moortown, which crosses the Aire on the Grade II listed Kirkstall Bridge. From Bradford, the A647 to Stanningley and then the B6157 is a direct line in.
The drive from Bradford is roughly 20 to 35 minutes. That is an estimate from route data, not a timed run, and traffic changes it.
Services for Kirkstall
Each service below links to its Leeds page, which covers how the job works in and around Leeds.
Kirkstall: questions before you book
Which station is nearer, Kirkstall Forge or Headingley?
It depends which side you live. Kirkstall Forge, opened in 2016, is on the Leeds to Bradford line in the Aire valley. Headingley station, on the Harrogate line, is a few minutes' walk from the centre of Kirkstall. Neither affects the van, which comes by the A65 or the B6157.
Is the 200-miles stone on the A65 in Kirkstall?
Yes. An early 19th-century stone monument on the A65 near the Kirkstall Forge site carries a plaque saying Kirkstall is 200 miles from London and 200 miles from Edinburgh, and it makes a handy landmark for directions.
Where the local details on this page come from
Checked on 28 September 2026 against:
- Postcode lookup (postcodes.io, ONS data): LS5 3EP is in Kirkstall ward, Leeds, unparished
- Kirkstall (Wikipedia): north-west suburb about 2 miles out on the eastern side of the Aire; neighbours; Kirkstall Abbey and Abbey House Museum; meaning of the name; Kirkstall Forge (closed 2002, redevelopment); power station closed 1976; shops along Kirkstall Road and Abbey Road, Kirkstall Bridge shopping, Morrisons by the river; A65 and the B6157 crossing on the Grade II Kirkstall Bridge; Kirkstall Forge station (2016) and Headingley station; Kirkstall Brewery student residence; Kirkstall Festival and Art Trail dates; the 200-miles monument on the A65
- Kirkstall Forge railway station (Wikipedia): opened 19 June 2016 on the Leeds to Bradford line
- A65 road (Wikipedia): runs north-west from Leeds via Kirkstall, Horsforth, Yeadon and Guiseley
- A647 road (Wikipedia): Stanningley bypass; the older line through Stanningley is now the B6157
- OpenStreetMap map view (checked 2026-09-28): Abbey Road (A65), Morris Lane, Spen Lane, Queenswood Drive, the Hesketh, Norman and Morris streets, Woodbridge Estate, Kirkstall Abbey, Kirkstall Bridge Shopping Park, St Stephen's Church