Yorkshire


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why">WHY?</h2>



<p>Built in the mid-19<sup>th</sup> century by Sir Titus Salt to house his mill and workers, the West Yorkshire Victorian model village of Saltaire has since been awarded UNESCO Heritage Status. Christened by a combination of its founder’s surname and the River Aire on which it stands, the neat terraced rows and beautiful Italianate architecture of the mill, church and park bandstand have survived remarkably well 170 years on. </p>



<p>Designed by architects Lockwood and Mawson and built from 1853, the date is now the name of the mill turned gallery that exhibits local Bradford lad done good David Hockney’s paintings. The inspirational design complex has encouraged a bohemian culture to blossom with cafes, galleries, boutiques, bars and independent shops. Despite its roots, this village is not a museum, but a living, breathing community of arty types, students and professionals, families and long-term residents who are proud of their thriving, trendy and urban cool neighbourhood on the edge of Leeds and Bradford, excitingly, soon to be UK’s City of Culture 2025.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eat">EAT</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/Salt-Beer-Factory-Bar-8.jpg" alt="SALT bar and kitchen Saltaire yorkshire" class="wp-image-237" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/Salt-Beer-Factory-Bar-8.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/Salt-Beer-Factory-Bar-8-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/Salt-Beer-Factory-Bar-8-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/Salt-Beer-Factory-Bar-8-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">SALT Bar &amp; Kitchen</figcaption></figure>



<p>Spacious Salts Diner within <a href="https://www.saltsmill.org.uk/">Salts Mill</a> for coffee and cake, specials or salad, daytime only; <a href="https://theboathouseinn.co.uk/">The Boathouse Inn</a> for its riverside location, pizzas, pies and platters; cocktails and bottomless brunch at <a href="https://tallulahswinebar.co.uk/">Tallulah’s</a>; more liquid lunches straight from the taproom at <a href="https://taps.saltbeerfactory.co.uk/bar-kitchen/">SALT Bar and Kitchen</a> in the buzzing beer factory, once a Victorian tram shed; farm-to-fork artisan <a href="https://www.rumpusburger.co.uk/">Rumpus Burger</a>;&nbsp; vegan <a href="https://www.dandelion-cafe.co.uk/">Dandelion Café</a>; steak and more at <a href="https://www.peppermillsaltaire.co.uk/">The Pepper Mill</a> and some of the best Indian restaurants like <a href="https://aagrahshipley.com/">Aagrah</a>, <a href="https://shimlaspicerestaurants.co.uk/">Shimla Spice</a> and <a href="https://jinnahbistro.co.uk/">Jinnah Bistro</a> this side of Bradford (dubbed the UK Curry Capital). For fine dining, you’re spoilt for choice in Leeds, reached easily by train.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shop">SHOP</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/Untitled-design-308-1024x683.jpg" alt="1853 Gallery &amp; Art Materials at Salts Mill  Saltaire " class="wp-image-239" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/Untitled-design-308-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/Untitled-design-308-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/Untitled-design-308-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/Untitled-design-308.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">1853 Gallery &amp; Art Materials at Salts Mill </figcaption></figure>



<p><a href="https://www.saltsmill.org.uk/">Salts Mill</a> is still the heart of the village just as it always has been and is a terrific retail complex (especially on rainy days) with its bookshop, contemporary home design, Poster Shop, All Terrain Cycles, Trek and Trail, Kath Libbert Jewellery, Early Music Shop and 1853 Gallery with art materials and the largest collection of David Hockney paintings in Europe. In the streets named after Titus’s family members, you’ll find mainly galleries, craft, antiques, bridalwear and vintage stores. On busy Bingley Road, browse indies for fashion, jewellery and unusual gifts. Flea and a monthly farmers’ market, too, but for designer gear, high street chains and indoor malls, best hop on the train or bus to nearby Leeds or Bradford.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-health-amp-wellness">HEALTH &amp; WELLNESS</h2>



<p>No excuse for any couch potatoes as plenty of gyms on the doorstep from <a href="https://energymillshipley.co.uk/">Energy Mill Shipley</a> and <a href="https://www.primal-edge-gym.co.uk/">Primal Edge</a> to <a href="https://www.bradford.gov.uk/sport-and-activities/sports-centres-and-pools/shipley-pool-and-gym/">Shipley Pool and Gym</a> and plush <a href="https://www.nuffieldhealth.com/gyms/shipley">Nuffield Health Fitness &amp; Wellbeing</a>, or go Commando at <a href="https://commandofit.co.uk/saltaire-bradford-roberts-park-classes/">Roberts Park Classes</a>. Children can learn gymnastics from age four at non-profit <a href="https://www.saltairegymclub.co.uk/">Saltaire Gym Club</a> at Titus Salt School, while <a href="https://victoriahallsaltaire.co.uk/">Victoria Hall</a> runs regular classes from Cha Cha and Chat to Tai Chi for all ages. Private health care at <a href="https://www.ramsayhealth.co.uk/hospitals/the-yorkshire-clinic">The Yorkshire Clinic</a>; luxury spa, leisure club and golf at <a href="https://www.hollinshallhotel.co.uk/">Hollins Hall Hotel</a>; Thai therapy at <a href="https://www.sirinartthaitherapy.com/">Sirinart</a> or <a href="https://www.rosathaimassage.co.uk/">Rosa Thai Salon</a>; <a href="https://www.yobalance.co.uk/">YoBalance Hot Yoga</a>; walks in Shipley Glen or on Baildon Moor; cycle the Leeds Liverpool Canal; get in the swing at <a href="https://www.northcliffegc.org.uk/">Northcliffe Golf Club</a> and <a href="https://www.saltstennisclub.co.uk/">Salts Tennis Club</a>: or get rid of frustrations at <a href="https://axebey.co.uk/">Axe Bey Urban Axe Throwing</a>!&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-community">COMMUNITY</h2>



<p>The sometimes Muddy, fun and friendly <a href="https://saltairefestival.co.uk/">Saltaire Festival</a> runs annually in September, celebrating art, music and community. Run by a local charity, the organisers are all volunteers and encourage extra hands with the Festival as well as celebrating World Heritage Day on 27 April. Local residents can also join the Festival’s Open Gardens Event, welcoming visitors to view their blooms and perhaps provide a pop-up café or stall. <a href="https://saltairebrewery.com/">Saltaire Brewery Beer Festival</a> also takes place in September, for two days of street food, live music and supping pints – as well as cider, gin and fizz. Potato Day, a 1940s Weekend, Dragon Boat Races and the Saltaire Advent Windows in December all make up a packed, community-led programme.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The <a href="https://www.carolineclub.co.uk/">Caroline Social Club</a> welcomes new members to join this bastion of local activities from dancing, acting, play writing, bingo, live music and the arts, as well as hosting live performances and private functions. Volunteers can also assist the <a href="https://www.saltairecollection.org/get-involved/">Saltaire Collection</a> to care for, catalogue and digitise historical artefacts and photographs for an online resource centre. <a href="https://vegontheedge.org/">Veg on the Edge</a> is open to all with fresh produce grown by the community for the community.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nearby-attractions">NEARBY ATTRACTIONS</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1440" height="960" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/447973527_850190760477060_5949403227123405864_n.jpg" alt="Bingley Five Rise Locks on the Leeds and Liverpool canal raise the waterway 60 feet. They were built in 1774." class="wp-image-241" style="aspect-ratio:1.499267935578331;width:640px;height:auto" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/447973527_850190760477060_5949403227123405864_n.jpg 1440w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/447973527_850190760477060_5949403227123405864_n-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/447973527_850190760477060_5949403227123405864_n-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/447973527_850190760477060_5949403227123405864_n-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bingley Five Rise Locks on the Leeds and Liverpool canal. Image courtesy of <a href="https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/where-we-work/yorkshire-and-north-east/bingley-five-rise-250" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Canal &amp; River Trust</a> </figcaption></figure>



<p>Tour Saltaire with <a href="https://www.saltairevillageexperience.co.uk/guided-walks/">knowledgeable guides</a> who will inform and entertain as they lead you round this unique World Heritage Site where even the humblest mill hands lived in a two-bedroom house with drainage, water and gas. Ride <a href="https://www.shipleyglentramway.co.uk/">Shipley Glen Tramway</a> on summer weekend afternoons – run by volunteers (more always welcome), it’s the oldest working cable tramway in the land. At the top, take a short walk across Baildon Moor to the <a href="https://www.baildontowncouncil.gov.uk/bracken-hall-countryside-centre">Bracken Hall Countryside Centre</a> (open weekend afternoons), an excellent children’s natural history museum, also run by volunteers.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Completed in 1774, <a href="https://www.baildontowncouncil.gov.uk/bracken-hall-countryside-centre">Five Rise Locks</a>, the steepest staircase on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, is worth visiting to see this ‘wonder of the waterways’. The <a href="https://kwvr.co.uk/">Keighley and Worth Valley Steam Railway</a> runs to Haworth (famous for appearing in <em>The Railway Children</em> film) and the heart of Brontë Country, where you can step inside Brontë Parsonage Museum, the former home of the famous sisters. <a href="https://bradfordmuseums.org/venue/cliffe-castle-museum/">Cliffe Castle Museum</a> and its gardens, now a public park in nearby Keighley, was the former home of another textile baron: Henry Isaac Butterfield. Free to enter with an excellent café, you can take an online Virtual Reality tour to whet your appetite.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-culture">CULTURE</h2>



<p>This is arguably the hottest cultural postcode in the land as Bradford 2025 will be crowned the next <a href="https://bradford2025.co.uk/">UK City of Culture</a>. That means 12 unforgettable months of celebrating creativity and the arts, with more than 1000 shows, exhibitions and events across the Bradford District. A year to make a legacy that will live on as a springboard for the future, acting as a catalyst for regeneration and change, Muddy says bring it on! </p>



<p>If you can’t wait till then, there is the <a href="https://bronte-country.com/saltaire/aire-sculpture-trail.html">Aire Valley Sculpture Trail</a> alongside the River Aire with octopuses and pirate ships en route; an annual <a href="https://saltaireinspired.org.uk/events/saltaire-arts-trail/saltaire-arts-trail-2024/">Saltaire Arts Trail</a>; regular free Roberts Park bandstand concerts; productions at nearby <a href="https://www.bingleyartscentre.co.uk/">Bingley Little Theatre</a> and Yorkshire’s finest Wurlitzer Cinema Organ in Victoria Hall which rises up from beneath the stage when about to perform. Newest attraction on the block is the poignant <a href="https://www.peacemuseum.org.uk/">Peace Museum</a>, recently opened at Salts Mill.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-average-house-prices">AVERAGE HOUSE PRICES</h2>



<p>Properties in Saltaire have an overall average price of £207,480. The majority of sales are terraced properties, fetching £208,793, with semis selling for around £257,000 and flats costing about £145,071. A bargain for a UNESCO World Heritage Site!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hot-property">HOT PROPERTY</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/77731_P1336_IMG_00_0001.jpeg" alt="Apartment for sale in old mill in Saltaire West Yorkshire" class="wp-image-240" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/77731_P1336_IMG_00_0001.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/77731_P1336_IMG_00_0001-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2024/09/77731_P1336_IMG_00_0001-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Industrial heritage meets modern living, this two-bed apartment in the fancy Victoria Mills complex is <a href="https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148686203#/?channel=RES_BUY" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">on the market for £275,000</a>.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nurseries">NURSERIES</h2>



<p>Lots of ‘Good’ nurseries in Saltaire and Shipley, such as <a href="https://www.hirstwoodnscc.co.uk/">Hirst Wood Nursery School</a>, known locally as the Sunshine School as the original nursery was ‘open-air’ when it first opened in 1932. It still gives access to a wonderful outdoor area, while there is also a before and after school Sunshine Club. <a href="https://partou.co.uk/nurseries/ashmoor-day-nursery-pre-school/">Ashmoor Private Day Nursery</a> for children aged up to five is another goodie for its exciting outdoor play area, while <a href="https://westfieldhousechildcare.com/">Westfield House Child Care</a> admits to being ‘a bit different’ with activities such as Forest School sessions with walks in Northcliffe Woods. Full marks for <a href="https://www.littleheartsnursery.co.uk/">Little Hearts Nursery Shipley</a>, rated ‘Outstanding’ for children from 0 – 5yrs.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-schools">SCHOOLS</h2>



<p>Sir Titus Salt was keen that his workers’ children received a good education and that ethos continues today, even in some of the original buildings. Local schools can learn all about the history of the village in <a href="https://www.saltairevillageexperience.co.uk/schools-education/">Saltaire Experience</a> presentations using acting and costumes to bring former characters such as mill workers and schoolchildren to life. <a href="https://www.saltaireprimaryschool.co.uk/">Saltaire Primary School</a> and <a href="https://www.shipleyceprimary.org.uk/">Shipley Church of England Primary School</a> both get good reviews, as does <a href="https://www.titussaltschool.co.uk/">Titus Salt Secondary School</a> in nearby Baildon. Local grammar schools include independent <a href="https://www.bradfordgrammar.com/junior-school/">Bradford Junior</a> and <a href="https://www.bradfordgrammar.com/">Senior</a> Schools, while independent <a href="https://woodhousegrove.co.uk/">Woodhouse Grove</a> at Apperley Bridge welcomes children from nursery to sixth form as well as boarders.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-best-kept-secret">BEST-KEPT SECRET</h2>



<p>Sir Titus Salt is widely believed to have been teetotal as he advocated temperance and didn’t allow the building of any public houses in Saltaire. He hoped that by providing other facilities such as a park, church, community hall and shops, that his employees wouldn’t drink their wages away and be unfit for work. That’s why, when bars were eventually introduced in modern times, one cheekily called itself ‘Don’t Tell Titus’. But it turns out the wealthy philanthropist didn’t always practice what he preached and his workers may have been very surprised to see the size of his wine cellar bills! &nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-commute">COMMUTE</h2>



<p>Saltaire train station is in the heart of the village, with regular trains to Leeds (20 mins) and Bradford (35 mins), from where you can connect to London (around a 2hr 30 min journey). There are also services to Keighley and Skipton and beyond to the Settle &amp; Carlisle Railway north. To drive south, follow the A650 to Bradford and then the M606, M62 to the M1. The A65 is the road north-west to the M6 and beyond, or follow the A658 towards Harrogate to join the A1 (M) north-east to Newcastle and onwards. A mini bus links the village with Shipley and there are regular services to Bradford, Leeds, Skipton and Keighley. Leeds Bradford Airport can be reached in 20 mins, meaning that Muddy can be skiing or sun-bathing in no time.&nbsp;</p>



<p><em>View the full&nbsp;</em><a href="https://muddystilettos.co.uk/best-places-to-live/"><em>Top 300 Best Places to Live</em></a>.</p>


Saltaire

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