The Titus Salt statue
A 1903 bronze flanked by an alpaca and an angora goat, emblems of the wool on which the whole village was built.
When Sir Titus Salt opened this park for his millworkers in the summer of 1871, the rules posted at the gate banned alcohol, gambling and bad language, and he still presides over the lawns from a bronze statue of 1903, flanked by an alpaca and an angora goat in tribute to the wool that made him. The park does not carry his name, though: Sir James Roberts, a later owner of the mill, gave it to Bradford in 1920 and renamed it in memory of his son Bertram. What you get is fourteen acres of lawn, a cricket ground and a bandstand on the north bank of the River Aire, facing the vast stone bulk of Salts Mill, all of it inside the Saltaire World Heritage Site. It looks better today than it has for a century. A £4.5 million restoration in 2009-10 rebuilt the bandstand that was demolished during the Second World War and revived the Half Moon Pavilion, now a café beside the cricket ground, with toilets and a view straight across the pitch. The riverside promenade is flat and pushchair-friendly, there is a modern playground and a small skate park, and on summer weekends the bandstand hosts free concerts. Entry is free and the gates never close. Be honest with yourself: anywhere else, you would not cross town for this park. Its worth is its setting. You step off the train at Saltaire, walk down Victoria Road between the identical stone terraces Salt built for his workers, cross the canal and then the river on an iron footbridge, and there you are, with the mill behind you showing its David Hockney collection for nothing (Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00-17:00, from 09:30 at weekends). Treat the park as the closing chapter of half a day in Saltaire, not a destination in itself. From Bradford it is easy: a train from Forster Square reaches Saltaire in roughly 12-15 minutes, then a five-minute walk. By car it is about 6 km north; Salts Mill's visitor car park is free (satnav postcode BD17 7DR) but is locked outside the mill's trading days, and the park has its own car park off Higher Coach Road. Summer is gently busy and very family-oriented, peaking during the Saltaire Festival in September; in winter daylight is short, the grass is muddy and the café tends to shut early.
A 1903 bronze flanked by an alpaca and an angora goat, emblems of the wool on which the whole village was built.
Rebuilt in 2010 after wartime demolition, it hosts free summer weekend concerts with the mill filling the view across the river.
A restored café beside the cricket ground, with toilets and seating over the pitch; the natural stop with children.
Higher Coach Road, Saltaire, Shipley BD17 7LU
Do not come for the park alone; it is a pleasant riverside park but ordinary out of context. Combine it with Salts Mill and the village streets in one visit, and remember the mill is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so pick a day between Wednesday and Sunday.
Very much so. The paths are flat and paved, there is a modern playground and a café with toilets, and the iron footbridge from the village takes a pushchair without trouble. In winter expect muddy grass and daylight that fades before 16:00.