Leeds Dock Water Taxis

You may think that the two little yellow boats sailing down the river of a Yorkshire city would look more at home on the canals of Amsterdam, and perhaps you would be right, but these well-loved aquatic immigrants have been transporting over 120,000 passengers a year along the River Aire since they relocated from The Netherlands in 2014.

Twee and Drie (Dutch for Two and Three - interestingly, there has never been a One) carry passengers between Leeds city centre and Leeds Dock to the South. The route is part of the Leeds and Liverpool canal and was historically used to transport coal and goods by barge to the many warehouses in the area. It’s a great way to see the city from another perspective, and learn a little more about the history of its waterways. The drivers (or skippers) all have a wealth of knowledge about the canal, its buildings, and the boats that pass by, so the 12 minute journey also serves as a quick history lesson. 

The taxi route also travels under the historic Leeds Bridge, which was the site of possibly the world’s first successful moving pictures. Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge was filmed by Louis Le Prince in 1888 from the window of an ironmongers (now the British Waterways building) at the south end of the bridge. If Simon is your skipper you may get to hear some of the history of Le Prince’s time in Leeds, as well as his rivalry with Thomas Edison, and still-unsolved disappearance.