Saltaire is a stunningly beautiful village near Bradford, West Yorkshire. It exists purely because of Titus Salt, who built the village as a place for his Mill workers to live, worship and relax. The original buildings of the village and the mill itself still exist today. Saltaire is a World Heritage Site and something of a tourist destination, with good reason- the park, church, hospital, town hall, shopping parade- they're all gorgeous examples of Victorian architecture. Even the old tram shed is still there and now houses a pub. I honestly can't recommend Saltaire enough as a day out, especially if you were to go when either the Saltaire Arts Trail (May) or Saltaire Festival (Sept) are on.
This year was my second visit to the Saltaire Arts Trail. 'The aim of the Saltaire Arts Trial is to support the visual arts in and around Saltaire, celebrating the village’s rich heritage, and offering opportunities to both emerging and established artists'. It consists of local residents opening their homes up as temporary gallery spaces, which the public are invited to enter and enjoy. There's also a full programme of workshops, kids events and a large Makers Fair in the town hall. The purposes of my post? I want to inspire you to go next time and share with you my highlights and favourites.
Tourist Information
Local scenes in the Tourist Office.
10 Edward Street
I love the old radio sets in 10 Edward Street. Pictured are the works of Ian Swales, which were beautiful. Not pictured are the paintings of Joy Godfrey, which were also very good- I particularly liked the ones Brimham Rocks.
6 Helen Street
The quirky exterior of 6 Helen Street. I really liked the photography of Nicola Taylor on display here, and the fairies of Samantha Bryan (below).
13 Fanny Street
Housed the work of local artist Claire Caulfield. Simply gorgeous. She paints a wonderful mix of local, regional and international scenes and landmarks.
19 Herbert Street
Here I particularly liked the landscape screen prints of James Bywood (below) and Francesa Robert's landscape paintings (second below).
I loved these so much- they reminded me of the tourist posters from the golden era of rail travel.
75 Albert Road
House envy! And the owner's art work isn't too bad either. Beautiful landscapes by David Starley.
19 Ada Street
This property was exhibiting examples of the work of Salts Press. The picture above shows some of their work that was on display. Salts Press is a local firm whose work reflects Saltaire's stories and landmarks. I thought their exhibited works were fun and fresh.
Saltaire Bookshop
Housed within the bookshop were paintings by Claire West. They were my favourite works of the Trail. They were beautiful, colourful and joyful to look at. I also liked the mixed media work of Bonkers Clutterbucks (not pictured).
I popped into the 'hidden house' on the trail, 4 Myrtle Place for a look at the art work of Steve Simpson, before moving on to 6 Harold Place.
Here the stunning work of Paula Dunn was displayed in the garden, and the work of other artists were inside the house. What a wonderful setting for exhibiting art work. The Trail couldn't have been blessed with better weather this year.
I also dropped in to the pop up exhibits in the village, one of which featured the fantastic art work of local students. This really is a fantastic event. I visited many other properties that aren't featured in this blog. It really is an extraordinary thing to let strangers in to your home and open it up as an exhibition space. The propoerties that feature as open houses on the Trail also vary year to year, so you are offered a new and unique experience every year.
If you'd like more information about the Trail, or the upcoming Saltaire Festival, the websites you need are;
For more on the artists I've featured, please see;
