Got up and ready as usual today, making plans to see a number of places. Ate my Bradford special which is toast and juice for breakfast. Then hopped in the car, looked at the map, plunked in some directions into the GPS and was off.
My first stop was Shipley. I was surprised to discover that it is simply another section of Bradford. The area I went was pedestrian only, but didn’t have any specific characteristics to make it stand out – I’m sure had I been driving through I wouldn’t have considered it being outside Bradford. I didn’t stick around.
Another 5 minutes down the road was Saltaire, a UNESCO world heritage site. It’s a really cute little town, preserved in it’s Victorian state. The basic storey = rich textiles guy Salt wanted to build his own town to run his new factory, so he did. Everything is logical and layed out properly, with straight roads, logical houses and the proper amenities of a large church, very Victorian main hall, a school, and of course the huge textiles mill. The old photographs and drawings really do make it look lovely, particularly as he had a park designed across the river to ensure these Victorians had green time.
The problem is, they aren’t really set up for tourists. I wandered around quite a bit looking for the entrance to the mill, and then for the tourist info center, and was shocked to learn that the info center didn’t exist anymore!! I eventually found the entrance to the mill and was greeted with a large shopping center – the current owners scrapped all the old stuff and used the very valuable space for restaurants, galleries and shops. If I wasn’t so irritated at not finding anything historical I’m sure I would have thought it was cool!! They did have a small room devoted to the history, so I watched their little video. After a mini walk-about I decided it was time to move on.
I then drove to Knaresborough, a hill-top town with pre 1066 origins. Its big draw is two fold. The first (and reason I was there) is the ruins of the castle. It was constructed around 1100, expanded by King John (of Robin Hood fame) and then again by Edward I & II. The reason I was excited about it is John of Gaunt’s mother (Phillipa, Queen of England) really loved it there, so spent many summers up there with her family…. Which means there’s a good chance Katherine was there at some point (I’m obsessed, I know). The castle was destroyed after the Civil War, so not much remains, but it was fun seeing the views and pretending it was the 14th century!
The other draw is the cave of Mother Shipton and the Petrifying Well. Mother Shipton is an old prophetess of quite some fame from Henry VIII’s time – some of her predictions were quite interesting for an old homeless woman (“Iron will float on water like wood”, “Men will ride through the sky”)… What was really cool though was the Petrifying Well. The geology they explained = similar process to stalactites & mites, except running water, forming a ‘shield’ where it ‘waterfalls’ and will petrify any porous object in a matter of months. They had loads hanging mostly teddy bears. Apparently its takes 3 months for a teddy to turn to rock!
I then decided to be brave and do an alternate route home – I routed through Leeds. Well it was rush hour so a very bad idea. I did get to see a chunk of the city, going at 5mph. But I’m glad I went in and I’m proud of my driving!!!
Now I’m packing up my stuff in preparation of a big drive down to the outskirts of London tomorrow and then the big flight home on Wednesday. I have to say I’m starting to feel ready to go home. I don’t want to start the big study but I am feeling the need to breathe some home air.
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