Swarthmore Education Centre
WHERE
Leeds
What it’s like
Family pottery and jewellery making courses in a Leeds education centre with its own café for a break afterwards.
The courses here are the point: family pottery sessions and jewellery making, run at Swarthmore Education Centre rather than a drop-in paint-your-own-mug setup. That's worth knowing before you turn up expecting to wander in on a whim, these are proper courses, so booking your time around them makes more sense than a spontaneous rainy afternoon dash.
Café No. 5 on site does hot and cold food plus sweet treats, handy if a pottery course runs into lunchtime or you just want a coffee while the kids finish their piece. It only runs Monday to Friday, 8am to 3pm though, so an evening or weekend course means bringing your own snacks or eating elsewhere.
Getting there without a car is straightforward. Buses run from Leeds city centre, and the First Service 5 drops you at Leeds City College Woodhouse, just a one minute walk from the door. If you are driving, there's no car park on site, the nearest is a ten minute walk away on Burley Rd, though Josephs Well offers free parking in the evenings and at weekends, which is worth timing your visit around if you'd rather not pay.
Access-wise, there's a lift from the basement to the ground floor, but not up to the first floor. Courses get moved downstairs where they can be, which is a sensible workaround rather than a proper fix, so it's worth mentioning if wheelchair access matters for your visit.
Facilities
Need to know
- Parking
- No public car park on site. Nearest is 54 Burley Rd (10 mins walk), free evening/weekend parking at Josephs Well
- Food
- Café No. 5 serves hot and cold food, sweet treats and beverages
- Wheelchairs
- Lift from basement to ground floor
- Getting there by bus or train
- Multiple bus services from Leeds city centre
- These are structured courses, not casual drop-in painting sessions
- Café No. 5 keeps weekday daytime hours only, so plan food around that if you're visiting evenings or weekends
- Free parking at Josephs Well is only for evenings and weekends, not weekday daytimes
- Bike parking is available if you're cycling over
Plan your visit
What do kids actually do here?
Family pottery courses and jewellery making courses, rather than a quick drop-in session.
Is there parking?
No car park on site. Nearest is on Burley Rd, about a ten minute walk, or Josephs Well has free parking evenings and weekends.
Can we get the bus?
Several services run from Leeds city centre. The First Service 5 stops at Leeds City College Woodhouse, a minute's walk from the door.
Is there food on site?
Café No. 5 does hot and cold food, sweet treats and drinks, but only Monday to Friday, 8am to 3pm.
Is it wheelchair accessible?
There's a lift between the basement and ground floor. There's no lift to the first floor, so courses are moved downstairs where possible.
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