Street view

It's a while since I showed any general street views in Saltaire village. These are both taken in the upper part of the village, at the west end towards Albert Road. Most of these houses were built later in the village's construction, in the 1860s. The top one is Shirley Street, named after Sir Titus Salt's grandson, the son of William Henry. (Shirley was a man's name in those days, now more likely to be given to a woman.) The row of houses is typical of the workmen's cottages built for the mill's ordinary workforce: two bedrooms plus a living room and scullery. Small they may be, but for their time they were exceptionally good, with water, drainage, gas and a private (outside) lavatory in a small back yard. 

The bottom photo is looking east along Titus Street. The larger houses facing Albert Road (far right above and far left below) were among the grandest houses in the village, built for professionals and senior managers at the mill. When they were built, they would have had a clear outlook over fields and countryside, though since then a housing estate has been built on the land opposite. You may notice that these appear to have had their stone cleaned of the dirt and soot of centuries, though many of the smaller terraces are still blackened. 

The whole village, still a wonderful place to live, is a conservation area and World Heritage Site, because of the completeness and state of preservation of the Victorian industrial village and its mill. 

Early autumn up at Northcliffe

I'd been to the hairdresser in the morning and didn't intend to go out again but it was such a lovely early autumn day that it seemed a shame to waste it. A few days of rain had cleared to leave blue skies and bursts of warm sunshine. I opted for the 'steep uphill at the beginning with a long, gentle descent to return' route, rather than the other way round. That takes me up into Northcliffe Park, which - as I'm sure I've said before - is a large area of woodland and grassland, more natural than Roberts Park. 

It turned out to be a very good decision. On the way up the road I bumped into an elderly gentleman from church, who I've known for years but don't often see. We greeted each other and he said I was 'looking lovely', which rather cheered me! (Must have been the new haircut!) A few yards further on I slowed to enjoy the tree (below) with its branches tipped with red. To my surprise, a deer skipped out of a gateway and crossed the road right in front of me. I didn't get a photo as it was too quick. Thankfully there were no cars passing at the time, as they often speed down the hill and round that corner. I know there are deer in the woods and park, even sometimes in the gardens round my apartment block, though that's usually in the early morning before folk are stirring. I've never seen one on the road before. 

Walking through the park, I was able to enjoy all the different trees - laden with apples, tinged with autumn colour, or simply interesting shapes to wonder at. I was admiring the little burst of gold in the meadow (below) when a green woodpecker suddenly flew up and away, out of the grass in front of me. I rarely see them. The black and white spotted ones are more common in our gardens and parks. 

Shadows were interesting and the blue, blue sky was a joy. 

As I neared the recreation ground, views over Shipley were attractive. There was someone flying a couple of kites (the ones on strings, not the birds), which was interesting to watch, even though they were too far away for photos. 

I arrived back to civilisation (well, houses anyway) along an avenue of fruit trees that were very definitely veering to autumn colour.  I was glad I decided to make the effort to go for a walk as it was really uplifting. 

Bloom, Shipley

There was yet another Bradford City of Culture event at the weekend, this time in Shipley Markey Place. 'Bloom' was a large-scale performance, 'paying tribute to the past, present and future of Shipley and its people'. It was 'a show about yesterday and about tomorrow, about our shared industrial heritage and what we might build next; a show about the power of community and the importance of connection -  and, most of all, a show about how we’re stronger when we come together as one'.

Created for Bradford 2025 by Upswing, one of the UK’s leading contemporary circus companies, it featured a large cast, with local movement artists, a community choir (which included several of my friends) and Upswing’s own team of world-class acrobats.  

It was pretty spectacular, making good use of Shipley's iconic 1960s Brutalist clock tower - which an acrobat climbed and from where, at the very top, an opera singer performed.

The finale involved eight acrobats dangling from a rig on a huge crane. They were lifted over the buildings, above the crowd, and performed an expressive aerial dance, later joined by some more of the performers from the stage - who weren't even attached by a harness but simply wrapped their feet and thighs in the ropes. 👀 I understand that the acrobats hanging from the rig and the person who reverse-abseiled the tower were local people who’d trained specially for the show. Those on the stage and who climbed the ropes were the Upswing professionals. Impressive. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

HONK Bradford

Last weekend, under the banner of Bradford City of Culture 2025, there was an event called 'HONK Bradford', which was a gathering of 19 street bands from all over the world.  On Saturday morning they played in various outdoor venues around the area, and then Saturday afternoon they were playing around the city centre, with a massed bands play-off in Centenary Square, followed by an evening concert. Unfortunately, I had a really busy weekend and wasn't able to get into Bradford for the massed bands event. I did, however, hop down to Roberts Park at lunchtime to enjoy the Bradford based, New Orleans influenced Homecoming Brass Band, bringing their interpretations of world, funk, Latin American and original grooves. It was fun and boppy, the kind of music that made you want to jig a bit (even me!) 

Familiar joy

I try to go out for a walk most days and, if I'm not going anywhere special, I'll just stroll down to Hirst Lock and walk along the canal towpath into Saltaire before slogging back up the hill! Some days it's nicer than others. Some days, when the sun's shining and the temperature is comfortable, it's a real joy. These are just phone pics so the clouds are a bit too bright but never mind. 

The stretch with the overhanging trees is showing clear signs of autumn. Maybe we'll have some good colour this year. 

The Wharfe at Boston Spa

Isn't this a lovely view?  It's the River Wharfe as it runs down through the village of Boston Spa. After recent rain, the river is much fuller than it has been. On the right you can just see Jackdaw Crags, an outcrop of limestone that's protected as a SEGI, a Site of Ecological and Geological Importance. 

In the centre of the village, a long-standing and significant river crossing point, once a ford, is now spanned by the five arch Thorp Arch bridge, constructed in 1770.  

Looking upstream from the bridge you can just see the 18th century weir that once harnessed the water's flow to supply local corn and textile mills with power. 

It was hard to get closer to the weir because of the vegetation on the river bank. Where once it was a hive of industry, now it has modern residences with tranquil views over the water. In the foreground you can see the recently constructed fish pass, part of an environmental scheme to enable fish, particularly salmon, to migrate up and down our rivers, bypassing the man-made obstructions. 

I did attempt a more 'arty shot' of the weir through the trees but, given that by this stage I was reduced to using my phone and not my camera, it didn't quite work! 

And finally, here I am with my phone - photo courtesy of one of my friends! 

 

Rural Boston Spa

A short walk along Boston Spa's high street brings you to fields and woods, and we turned down a lane that led back to the village centre along the riverside. A farmer was busy ploughing the stubble from the cornfield, closely attended by numerous gulls feasting on the grubs and worms the process upturned. The natural cycle continues, irrespective of whatever weather we are blessed with. 

On our walk we were treated to a capricious mix of light showers and sunny intervals, though it felt quite warm. Not a bad day for a ramble. 

I was enchanted to find patches of pink cyclamen, in the church's graveyard, in the bases of hedges and in the woodland. It originates from the Mediterranean region, not a native plant in the UK, but it is now naturalised here. Delicate and pretty, they add a splash of autumn colour and seem to enjoy dappled shade. 

Boston Spa

A few of us from the camera club went over to Boston Spa to meet with a friend and former member who lives there. It's a village about 25 miles from Saltaire, on the way to York. The village really came into being in the 1770s, when a sulphur spring was discovered that led to the development of a spa where visitors could 'take the waters'. By the early 1800s it was growing and thriving, which has left a legacy of fine Georgian buildings along the main street. As nearby Harrogate's popularity as a spa grew, Boston Spa's declined but the village remains an attractive and desirable place to visit and to live. 

The parish church of St Mary the Virgin (above) isn't very old as British churches go, built around 1880 on the site of an earlier church completed in 1814. 

Of course it is all much changed, but close attention to the buildings reveals details like arches through to yards at the rear. They were probably designed to allow horses and carriages through to stables at the back.  

Along the high street, I noticed a fine example of an old-fashioned milestone. 

Walking along the high street, I was trying to photograph some of the varied and attractive buildings - Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian and some much more recent that have been carefully designed to reference the styles of the older ones. (I'm always in two minds whether this is a good thing or not.)

It was around this point that my camera decided to die! All of a sudden it decided not to focus and completely jammed up, so that I was obliged to continue the rest of our walk using just my phone. (See if you can spot which photos I took with which instrument, over the course of my three posts about the day!) Thankfully, once I got home I was able to sort it out, though for some reason all its settings were wiped so that I had to start over and set it up 'from new'. 

Leeds Market

Kirkgate Market in Leeds is supposedly the largest covered market in Europe, much of it housed in an ornate Grade 1 listed building built in 1904. There has been a market on the site since 1822 and various buildings have been added and lost, some to a fire in 1975. Currently there is a large covered market and an open-air market at the rear. 

In 1884, it was the founding location of Marks and Spencer, originally a penny bazaar stall. There's a clock that celebrates the company's centenary.  

Markets are wonderfully colourful places but I found that photography was discouraged, particularly in the indoor market, which is a shame. I did rattle off a few snaps!