When the Victorian wool baron Sir Titus Salt built a village for his mill-workers, he created a special community with fine public buildings and 824 homes. The sense of community he created survives today in Saltaire village near Bradford in West Yorkshire.
Every September for the last eight years residents have come together to welcome visitors to enjoy art, music, drama and dance at their village festival.
Saltaire is now a Unesco World Heritage Site and a tourist attraction, but it is still a working village, with businesses not concerned with tourism among the cafes and gift shops. The houses are all inhabited and there is a College and Upper School.
Saltaire Mill now exhibits David Hockney paintings and Burmantofts pottery and includes retail shops. The village wine bar is called Don’t Tell Titus, because Sir Titus Salt would not allow pubs or beer-houses to be built.
Saltaire is 8km (5 miles) from Leeds Bradford Airport. Saltaire is 15 minutes by train from Leeds and nine minutes from Bradford.
This year’s festival takes place from 9 to 19 September.
Websites: www.saltairefestival.co.uk
www.saltairevillage.info
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