Nottingham to Leeds drive: Best road trip stops, distance and time

The best road trip stops on the Nottingham to Leeds drive are Hardwick Hall, the Magna Science Adventure Centre and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. By car, the distance from Nottingham to Leeds is 74 miles, with a driving time of around 90 minutes.

Planning a Nottingham to Leeds road trip

A Nottingham to Leeds road trip takes you from Robin Hood’s supposed haunt to the biggest city in Yorkshire.

Top Nottingham experiences include a guided Victorian architecture walk and a Robin Hood-themed treasure hunt.

The best Leeds activities include food tours that visit top local restaurants and Emmerdale filming locations bus tours.

Nottingham to Leeds distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Nottingham to Leeds is 74 miles. Traffic plays a big factor in the driving time, but the journey from Nottingham to Leeds usually takes around an hour and a half.

Almost all of the Nottingham to Leeds drive is along the M1.

The best stops to add to a Nottingham to Leeds road trip itinerary are Hardwick Hall, the Magna Science Adventure Centre and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Nottingham to Leeds road trip attractions: Hardwick Hall

Come off the M1 at Junction 29 for Hardwick Hall, a lavishly decorated National Trust property. In the hands of the Dukes of Devonshire for centuries, Hardwick Hall has accumulated rich furnishings and tapestries.

Even if you don’t go inside the hall itself, the surrounding estate is an excellent place for country walks.

Attractions between Nottingham and Leeds: Magna Science Adventure Centre

The Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham is one of those fun, button-pushing science museums, where kids can learn about physics while playing with water and diggers.

However, it is much more than that. Magna is inside one of the biggest steelworks ever built. The hulking behemoth of a building is an attraction in itself, and much of the old industrial equipment is left in place. This is brought to life during a spectacular sound and light show.

Other highlights of Magna are the massive playground and water splash park outside. Branch off the M1 at Junction 34.

Nottingham to Leeds road trip stops: Yorkshire Sculpture Park

A short distance from Junction 38 of the M1, between Barnsley and Wakefield, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park is a large open space with woodland, walking trails, cutesy bridges and plenty of sheep.

Interspersed amongst this are more than 100 sculptures and art installations, including many by internationally-revered artists such as Antony Gormley, Jaume Plensa and Henry Moore.

The Yorkshire Sculpture Park manages to marry the peaceful and the playful.

Roundhay Park in Leeds.
Roundhay Park in Leeds. Photo courtesy of Leeds City Council.

More Nottingham road trips

Nottingham to Birmingham | Nottingham to Bradford | Coventry to Nottingham | Doncaster to Nottingham | Leicester to Nottingham | Nottingham to Newcastle | Nottingham to York.

More Leeds road trips

Doncaster to Leeds | Huddersfield to Leeds | Leeds to Hull | Middlesbrough to Leeds | Leeds to Milton Keynes | Leeds to Newcastle | Sheffield to Leeds | Leeds to York.