Leeds man's 'lengthy puzzle' to put city's pubs and bars on the map

Steven Lovell says the idea of the Tube-style map of Leeds's pubs and bars first came to him in the 1990s

A man who has spent 10 years creating a map showing every bar and pub in Leeds says it has proved to be a "lengthy puzzle" - and he has not finished yet.

Steven Lovell, 48, from Rothwell, said his London Tube-style map now featured well over 600 drinking spots "from Otley to Methley, Morley to Wetherby".

It was his second attempt to complete the map, Mr Lovell said.

He added that he now planned to widen his horizons and aimed to track down every drinking spot in Yorkshire.

Mr Lovell, a customer service advisor from Rothwell, said he devoted all his free time to creating his quirky Underground-style map, which he called his "Orderaround" project.

Its origins went back a long way, he added.

"In the mid-90s I saw a hand-drawn Tube map-style diagram of Wakefield pubs. The map stuck with me and eventually, in 2007, I began work on my own for Leeds," he said.

"It was a much bigger project than expected and I abandoned it until 2013, when I resumed it with renewed effort."

Mr Lovell's current map of Leeds's drinking establishments features a total of 634 pubs and bars

He said he began "by plotting places on a digital map using various sources of information from the internet".

"Then, as much as possible, I try to check each place I've found is still open by checking further sources such as Facebook, web pages and Tripadvisor and so on," he said.

"After all that, I begin the challenging design work of condensing it all into a geometric diagram.

"It's often a lengthy puzzle, but it's satisfying to get everything to fit and work out."

Mr Lovell, who studied graphic design, said the current edition of the map featured a total of 634 drinking establishments in Leeds.

He said: "It covers everywhere from Otley to Methley and Morley to Wetherby, and I'm always happy to make ongoing amendments for places to add, remove or change."

He said he was now "looking forward" to completing a map of the whole of Yorkshire and had already included 30 destinations across the county, including Whitby and York.

"Bedale and other parts of North Yorkshire are next - and then maybe I'll look to head over the Pennines," he added.