Days Out – Saltaire

This series picks locations for great days out near some very special canal highlights − anything from the perfect spot for gongoozling (watching boating activities) to an idyllic towpath stroll past extraordinary waterways heritage sightseeing, or perhaps a short boat trip and even a bit of souvenir shopping. The canals are full of heritage and engineering wonders and are also a calm haven for a wide diversity of wildlife and birds. You’ll also see boats on the move and breathe the balm of water in rustling green surroundings.

FIRE-spitting chimneys once choked the northern landscape; the preserved buildings can hold an aura of iconic loneliness in memory of textile workers who endured poverty, disease and overcrowded housing. But Sir Titus Salt’s mill is a breath of fresh air, standing boldly by the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the River Aire, its redundant chimney looming down from the sky with a silent story that wants to be heard.

The Industrial Revolution brought radical change, with the migration of the workforce to new industries along the canals, and the new pecking order of social classes riled in rabid confusion. Some mill owners were greedily blind to the wrongs of child labour and the social and economic slavery of workers miserably crammed into urban slums of disease and smog. Thankfully, Quakers such as Cadbury, and non-conformist church reformers such as Salt, proved by example that success in business could be built on fair trade.

For his mill workers, Salt built a village with neat rows of houses, schools, a workers’ institute, a park and more. Salt’s workers were given security, comfort and a quality of life better than many other mill workers might expect. The new industrial capitalism was the cauldron of Britain’s class structure and depended on the so-called lower class. Salt aimed to nurture a community with one common cause - the mill. Weavers earned a modest wage working for the textile industry that dominated world markets. Saltaire today is a thriving example of living heritage, immaculately preserved with ordinary life going on.

A beautiful day at the the Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Saltaire.

The Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Saltaire.

Salt’s Mill alongside the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

A beautiful row of terraced houses in Titus Street.

Titus Street in Saltaire, which runs parallel with Caroline Street, the latter being named after the wife of Titus Salt, Lady Caroline.

The stunning Victoria Hall in Saltaire.

The cobbled streets of Saltaire have been used in many TV productions, from Gentleman Jack to The Railway Children Return.

A hireboat moored by the mill.