Andy Hutchinson raises a glass to what could be the quirkiest pub in Leeds - Dry Dock on Woodhouse Lane.
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00:00Hi, it's Andy Hutchinson here. Get your wetsuits at the ready as we set sail and take a look
00:06at one of the quirkiest pubs in Leeds, if not the country.
00:09Landlubbers, I hope you're feeling ship-shape as we delve into the history of this gravel
00:14barge-turned-pub. Leeds Dry Dock is on Woodhouse Lane, opposite
00:18what was Leeds Met and is now Leeds Beckett University. Did you know it's been marooned
00:22here since 1993? So if you're walking past, it's not difficult to miss.
00:28The vessel is believed to have been built in 1948 and was a sand and gravel barge called
00:33the Lambda, which could be found in the River Aire. Once moored here, it became a popular
00:38haunt for students and other locals and became the brewery's highest volume trading site
00:44nationally. The pub won a design award in 1995 and was
00:48revamped in the early 2000s. I'm Paul Ellison, I'm Managing Director of
00:55Yorkshire Design Group and our company was involved in creating the concept and delivering
01:00the Dry Dock pub. We did initially try to put it together as
01:04a floating restaurant on the river and started work on it but didn't manage to get the permits
01:10unfortunately. I think it was deemed a flood risk, which was a bit weird.
01:14My father-in-law, who set up the business, was in touch with a chap from Bass Brewery.
01:19They cooked this idea up between them. It was very madcap, but it was about bringing
01:23the boat onto dry land. We took it out of the water near where the
01:27tilt yard is for the Royal Armouries at the moment. That was one of the only places to
01:31access. We couldn't get insurance for doing it, so
01:34we didn't know at the time whether putting straps around the boat as to whether it would
01:39split in two and drop in the water and cause all manner of headaches. So we just had to
01:45go out on a limb and it was a very tense time of getting it lifted out of the water.
01:50The transport through the city itself needed a rolling roadblock with the police involved.
01:56I think it went out because of the size of it and the length of the truck that was carrying
02:01it. It had to go via Kirkstall Road, out of town that way, back in through Headingley.
02:06After much nail-biting, we got it to site and managed to get it bedded into the place
02:13and it's been there ever since. It's a part of Leeds history, which is really
02:16nice to have played a part in that. It was meant to be a temporary venue, but
02:20eventually became permanent fixture of the city and it's the last venue on the famous
02:26Otley Run pub crawl. The Dry Dock is a unique piece of the city's
02:31history and heritage, which has been enjoyed by generations of regulars. I have a connection
02:37to this place. Back in the day, I think the late 90s, I was lucky enough to come and see
02:43comedian Peter Kay here. Peter Kay was Peter Kay back then. Small crowd, he performed all
02:52out. He was just brilliant that night and sent the crowd home happy and that's what
02:57it's all about.