Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Saltaire

  • Saltaire – Salts Mill

    Saltaire – Salts Mill

    I had a little visit to Salts Mill in Saltaire a few weeks ago, a building which was originally constructed by Sir Titus Salt in 1853. Salt wanted to create a modern village for his workers and what he built is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

    The mill building today is a combination of art gallery, antiques emporium, bookshops and other random stuff. The building remained in use as a mill until 1986, but the sheer amount of floor space and the falling price of imports meant that it became unviable as a business.

    I have to be honest and comment that I thought this was a deathly boring place, but I’m perhaps not the target audience as I wasn’t intending to spend a lot of money on artwork. The building was fascinating and this could make for a museum that was world class, but there’s nearly nothing here about the actual structure itself. Anything of interest in terms of what was once in the mill is down the road in Bradford’s rather excellent Industrial Museum.

    I’m sure that this sort of thing has a big audience, but I found nothing to engage me at all. I accept that’s not the mill’s fault…

    Signage around the mill was poor and confusing, not helped by certain sections being shut such as the 1853 Gallery which was probably potentially the best bit of the building. The cafe arrangement was all over the place with more confused signage and people muttering about being lost or not knowing where to queue. I would go as far, as I’m in a critical mood, to say that the signage was inept, which is evident from the sheer number of reviews where different visitors are finding different things. One person said that there was a marvellous 45 minute video introduction covering the site’s history, and I’d note that would have very much been useful to me and others, as the theme of there being nothing about the building’s heritage is a common one. I have a slight suspicion that there is actually more at this site than a fair few number of visitors, including myself, have managed to locate.

    Another floor, this time selling books.

    It’s fair to say that I didn’t manage to find anything to me of interest at the site (and I’m struggling to recall a time that I’ve thought that about any site such as this), rather disappointing as I was hoping for some interesting art exhibition or information about the building. I think I managed to spend about 15 minutes at the site, and that involved lingering around a bit to try and lengthen the experience. But, it was all free of charge and the reviews of the site suggest that many people do get a lot out of the site. There are a fair few reviews of people who like me didn’t share the love of the place, but I’m glad that the building has survived as it’s an important part of the region’s heritage.

    I’ll leave this in agreeing with a review posted a couple of weeks ago which gave 1/5 and said:

    “Absolutely nothing to give a nod to the sites history and a seriously missed opportunity. Having studied Salt and his impact on society we took a drive to Salts Mill. There was a Hockney exhibition and a glorified Waterstones.”

    And the Hockney exhibition was shut when I was there…..

  • Shipley / Saltaire – Cap & Collar

    Shipley / Saltaire – Cap & Collar

    The sun hasn’t helped me here in delivering a quality photo of the frontage, but there’s always Google Street View for anyone who requires better imagery…. Anyway, this is a Good Beer Guide listed micropub which was established in 2014 and I wasn’t going to miss out on visiting this when I was in Saltaire.

    I understand that there’s a beer garden to the back, but otherwise this is a relatively small pub. The main bar area is visible and the welcome from the staff member was immediate and seemed genuine.

    The beer options, inevitably limited given that this is a micropub, but a few cask and keg options, although nothing dark. There were though some bottles and cans which I didn’t investigate at the time (but have now looked on-line and there’s plenty of choice across most beer styles), so there were some additional choices there. They also have their own branded clothing on display, which felt a bit aspirational, but there we go…..

    I went for the Spectrum Eclipse from Vocation Brewery, along with Seabrook crisps which I think I’ve become addicted to. As an aside, I used to wonder why Morrisons stocked so many Seabrook crisps, but I’ve now discovered that both of them are headquartered in Bradford.  Very hoppy and fruity, it was a refreshing beer although the lingering flavours were a bit weak.

    There was a nice and friendly neighbourhood and community vibe to the micropub, deservedly in the Good Beer Guide I thought as the beer offerings were something different from the generic. Apparently (well, I’ve from CAMRA) that there a frequent tap takeovers and there are sometimes folk music performances. For those who don’t sufficient Seabrook crisps enough, the pub also has some street food vendors that attending on a rotating basis, giving a bit of choice to customers. All very lovely…..

  • Shipley / Saltaire – SALT Bar and Kitchen

    Shipley / Saltaire – SALT Bar and Kitchen

    I visited the SALT Bar & Kitchen last week, although I’m now back in the area and it’s a reminder to myself I never wrote about my little excursion to this venue which is now owned by Ossett Brewery. It’s a short walk from the Saltaire UNESCO World Heritage site, so anyone going there might be interested in walking here as well to enjoy the history of this building. And the beer obviously.

    The bar is located in a former tramshed, it’s an impressive set-up and it was popular when I was there, with plenty of customers sitting outside with the wasps, seagulls and other dangerous animals that exist in this country.

    The whole set-up is modern and on-trend, with a central bar area.

    I wasn’t sure what food they did, but it transpired to be pretty much just pizzas. This is an entirely agreeable set-up to me and although this wasn’t the cheapest, it had some of the best toppings that I’ve had a pizza in terms of the quality of the ingredients. I was suitably impressed with this and it went well with my Hessian coffee stout from their own brewery.

    I went through a few third pints of beer, all of which were decent options, although I particularly liked this one, the Risk & Reward imperial stout from their own brewery. Also available at the bar were the Rat beers, which I saw at the Rat and Ratchet pub in Huddersfield this week, and they also sold all of the SALT beers.

    At the rear of the bar is the SALT Beer Factory that they said I could have a little look at. That wasn’t a special gesture, it’s open to everyone on weekends, but I did enjoy having a meander around their brewery set-up.

    I was impressed at this entire arrangement, the service was friendly, the staff were knowledgeable, the location was clean and modern, it’s definitely a destination venue. It’s also a marvellous advertisement for the brewery, quite different from the perhaps slightly less exciting set-up that Magic Rock have in Huddersfield. I’d also say that this should be listed in the Good Beer Guide, as they have cask and keg options, and this is a magnificent example of how to run a venue professionally.