Update 2021: Post Covid19 The Cross Keys is open & accessible

When we decided to make a guide of the best, accessible beer gardens we realised that there were a couple of problems. The first was a kind of ideological issue: is there such a thing as a bad beer garden? They’re all places where you can sit in the sun and drink a pint, how can that experience be ranked? The second problem was the enormity of the task. It’s almost impossible to provide a comprehensive guide to the best or most accessible beer gardens across an entire country of about 52,000 pubs.

Bu we decided to push ahead with it anyway. So we made efforts to take a look around, ask some of our most stylish friends and home in on a selection of recommended beer gardens. We ended up with a list of pub gardens that we know are very popular and the next step was to find out about the disabled access they each have.

We ended up with a very select list of great beer gardens which are all accessible even if, occasionally, the pubs that they are part of might not be quite so wheelchair friendly. They’ve all made the list for different reasons but they all share one thing in common: they’re brilliant places to relax in the sun with a cold beer. By all accounts, that’s something that we’re likely to want to do at some point this summer.

The Cross Keys, Leeds, has a great terrace. Despite being in the busy centre of the city they offer plenty of space to bask in. Over twenty tables are available in a relaxing terrace. With all the hubbub of city life going on outside the pub, you won’t want to leave!

The garden is flat and therefore very accessible. The building is also flat so there shouldn’t be any problem getting to the garden at the back, but if there is you can always take the side entrance to the garden from street level. They have a disabled toilet just inside by the back door.