The Josephs Well, Leeds, is a fairly well known combined pub and live music venue, which has hosted everything from major acts like Inkubus Sukkubus, Killing Miranda, and the Screaming Banshee Aircrew, through up and coming local talent, Little Match Girl, Zeitgeist Zero, Action Directe, all the way down to complete unknowns like the very very good Near Meth Experience.
The venue does however have a reputation of being damned hard to find if you don't know Leeds city centre well. As it's now the venue for the rather spectacular first of the revived, back-from-the-undead, second wave of Black Sheep Live gigs, I've created this page to try and help non-Leeds people find the venue. Note that the directions given here are probably not the most direct, rather they have been designed to be easy to follow for someone coming in from beyond the city.
The Josephs Well is actually easier to find on foot than it is by car, as you can make use of pedestrian-only routes.
When you come through the ticket barriers at the exit from the platform area, immedieatly bear left, ignore the glass doors ahead and go left through an opening, past the ticket office (ticket windows on your right, machines on your left), and down the stairs or ramp into the rather magnificent 1930s LNER-built main hall. Go all the way along this, past the car-park entrance and the Weatherspoons pub (both on the left), down to the end of the hall and out through the little circular chamber at the end. This brings you out into Leeds City Square.
Cross the square and heaid up the street passing the gothic church at the far right hand corner. This street runs roughly North, straight through the city's business district. You'll pass the local head offices of the NatWest bank on the right. Go all the way up this street till you come to a wide cross-street with a central reservation and usually lots of busses, this is "The Headrow". Ahead on the right is a large, imposing building in whiteish stone, this is now "The Light" shopping centre. Ahead on the left is a wide plaza beyond which is the Leeds Central Library and Art Gallery. Look further to the left and you'll see the imposing and impressive bulk of Leeds Town Hall, opened in the 1840s by Queen Victoria herself.
Make for the Town Hall, go up the street between the library and the town hall, then turn left past the back of the town hall. Follow this road, you'll have the back entrance to the Hall on the left, and pass O'Neils and The Victoria Hotel (both very highly recomended for both food and drink) on the right. After this the road curves slightly to the right before straigtneting again, keep going, you've now passing the imposing Victorian bulk of Leeds General Infirmary to the right.
You'll pass "The George" pub on the left, and the traffic turns left and down ahead - cross this and keep going to the end of the (now dead end) street. Bear right and you'll find a pedestrian and cycle bridge spanning the Leeds Inner Ring Road (M58). Cross this (it's a gentle arch up and over) and when you come down the other side, the Josephs Well is to your left, past the end of the hedge and across the car park.
Driving to the Josephs Well itself can be more than a little confusing, so unless you really need to take a vehicle to the front door itself (i.e. you're either in a band or a wheelchair), it's usually easier to park somewhere convenient in the city centre and walk to the actual venue.
Drive to Leeds, and once there get onto the City Centre Loop, sometimes called "Loop Road" on signs. This is a one-way loop, clockwise, that goes all the way round the city centre.
Follow the Loop Road until you find yourself crossing The Headrow with the Town Hall (huge Victorian stone building, columns, stone lions, big tower in the middle, set with a large stone flagged plaza in front, you really can't miss it) ahead and to the left. Go straight on, past the side of the Town Hall, and move to the left hand lane as you do so. At the junction immedieatly past the Town Hall where the Loop Road turns sharply right, go straight on, past the side of O'Neils, bear left into a slip lane and turn left at the junction. You'll find yourself in front of the fancy brick-built gothic detailed Victorian part of the Leeds General Infirmary (LGI).
Find somewhere to park and follow the directions for walking from the LGI bit (end of 2nd last paragraph). The Josephs Well is just over the M58 motorway via the pedestrian / bicycle bridge.
Drive to Leeds, and once there get onto the City Centre Loop, sometimes called "Loop Road" on signs. This is a one-way loop, clockwise, that goes all the way round the city centre.
Follow the Loop all the way round until you find yourself passing underneath the railway station. When the road emerges follow signs for the A65. This will take you out of the centre heading West. After about half a mile you'll pass under the M58. Take the right lane before the bridge, and as you pass under take the left hand of the two lanes going right, round and back towards the city. Stay in the left hand of these two lanes and bear left, up beside the M58 and to a set of traffic lights. Turn left here and then take the next right. This road climbs and then turns right, follow it, take the next right, and you're at the Josephs Well
Note, more detail and pictures of the junctions are to be added to this last section, it's been a while since I drove to the venue itself.
Streetmap.co.uk map with the arrow on the Josephs Well itself