The Leeds to Liverpool Canal and Saltaire - September 2020

The Leeds to Liverpool Canal at Saltaire

One weekend in September, whilst I was back in England I took a day trip over towards Barnsley for a walk along the Leeds - Liverpool Canal.  The town of Shipley was my starting point and I walked from there up to Bingley.  The canal was built in the late 1700’s under the direction of James Brindley, the master canal engineer of the day, and it is truly a wonderful piece of canal building.  The route of the canal over this section roughly parallels the River Aire.  In fact it crosses over the River Aire at one point so you have the two waterways intersecting and one passing over the other.  There is also quite a rise in the land on this route towards Liverpool and there is one flight of 3 locks in Bingley and shortly after another very impressive flight of 5 locks.  This latter flight takes the water level up some 59 feet.  Working through that many locks has to be a slow process and a lot of work.  The canal is in use for recreational traffic and while most locks are worked by the boat owners themselves, the flight of 5 has lock keepers to oversee the process. 

Flight of 5 Locks

The Mill at Saltaire

The jewel of this section of canal is the town of Saltaire.  Saltaire was a purpose built development initiated by the mill owner Titus Salt.  By the 1840’s Mr Salt had become a very successful businessman owning several mills around the Bradford area.  But also by that time working and living conditions for the mill workers were pretty bad.  Mr Salt was aware of this and he decided to improve the situation.  He found an appropriate site near Shipley and built an entirely new larger mill to consolidate his other operations. Then he built all the other necessities for his workers - housing, churches, schools, recreational facilities.  He called the new community Saltaire after his own name and the River Aire, the river that runs through it.  

One thing Mr Salt did not build was public houses, he didn’t approve of drinking alcohol so he didn’t want his employees doing it either.  There are now pubs in Saltaire, including a nice river/park side one that I took advantage of.

Saltaire Bandstand and Park

Saltaire Park is a wonderful green space with a bandstand, a cricket pitch, a statue of Mr Salt and on this Sunday afternoon it was very popular even in these Coronovirus days.  It was also the day of the intended Great North Run in Newcastle (the largest half marathon in the UK and the World), which for Coronovirus reasons had been cancelled.  Around the country there were numerous mini virtual Half Marathons, including one here in Saltaire going up the canal towards Liverpool.  There was a constant flow of runners going up and down the canal path, for the most part quite socially distanced.

Any excuse to dress up as a Rhino

The mill in Saltaire has been renovated and is an impressive sight.  In its day it must have been a dark and grimy place with all the smoke in the air (photos of the area show many, many chimneys and of course all home heating would be from coal fires).  Now with the buildings sandblasted clean it all looks quite beautiful and idyllic.  Who wouldn't want to work there?

Victoria Hall, Saltaire

The restored mill provides a site for an art gallery, a restaurant, a museum and several shops.  It is a great place to explore.  The art gallery has a lot of works by David Hockney, who of course being born in Bradford is a local boy. 

United Reform Church, Saltaire

The various halls, churches, schools and the remaining housing (much of this has been demolished) also look beautiful now.  The area has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage. Well worth a visit.