Visit Saltaire & The Hockney Gallery

Reach Sir Titus Salt’s fascinating model town at Saltaire by canal boat

You can visit Saltaire and The Hockney Gallery on a short break from Silsden.

Saltaire, on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal near Bradford, was founded by Salt in 1851. In 2001, Saltaire became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with UNESCO noting: “Saltaire is an outstanding and well preserved example of a mid 19th century industrial town… The layout and architecture of Saltaire admirably reflect mid 19th century philanthropic paternalism, as well as the important role played by the textile industry in economic and social development.“

Sir Titus Salt was a leading industrialist in the woollen industry. He wanted his workforce to be healthier, happier and more productive. So he moved his five mills to a new green site away from the overcrowded town centre of Bradford. Saltaire Mill operated from 1853 to 1986 and gave employment to thousands of workers.

The mills were housed in beautiful Italianate buildings.  And Salt built neat stone houses for his workers with community facilities including wash-houses, a hospital, library, reading room, concert hall, billiard room, science laboratory and gymnasium.  He also built a village school for the children of the workers, almshouses, allotments, a park and a boathouse.

Today, the extraordinary town of Saltaire is a popular tourist destination with guided walks, events, shops, restaurants, cafes and galleries.  Salts Mill displays work by David Hockney, including his ‘The Arrival of Spring’ series and 90-metre long ‘A Year in Normandie’ frieze. There’s also a fascinating exhibition ‘People and Process’ about the history of the mill and the people who worked there, told through objects and film. It includes ‘Reel Lives: Saltaire women who worked the mills’, biographies researched by Colin Coates.

From Silsden, it takes around seven hours to reach Saltaire, passing through 11 locks. The locks include the Bingley Five Rise locks, one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways.

For more information about our canal boat holidays in the North East of England, go to https://www.drifters.co.uk/canals-of-north-east-england/