SE1438 : Salt's Mill - Mills on the Canal
taken 6 years ago, near to Saltaire, Bradford, England
Saltaire is a Victorian model village on the outskirts of Bradford, by the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal The village takes its name from Titus Salt, a Victorian textile magnate and philanthropist who built a mill and a village to house his workers.
In December 2001, Saltaire was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (Link for a site plan of Saltaire showing the overall layout and the boundaries of the UNESCO World Heritage Site). The vast majority of buildings in the village have been individually designated as listed buildings by English Heritage.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is the longest canal in Northern England at 127 miles long. The first of the trans-Pennine canals it took 46 years to build at a cost of five times the original budget, mainly because of the length and complexity of the route. It passes through 91 locks with a summit level of 487 feet at Foulridge near Nelson and Colne. It was originally conceived in the 18th century to carry woollen goods from Leeds and Bradford and limestone from Skipton but in its 19th century heyday it carried stone, coal and many other goods. The impact of the railways was not as great as with other canals and commercial traffic continued along the main canal until 1964. Regular work stopped in 1972 when the movement of coal to Wigan Power Station ceased. In the latter part of the 20th century the leisure potential of the canal was developed and it is now a popular destination for cruising, fishing, walking and cycling. See Link for detailed information.