The theme of the World Heritage Day celebrations this year was 'Water', so there was a particular focus on Saltaire's waterfront. There were some very interesting talks and displays about the canal and the river and the part they have played in Saltaire's development. One of the reasons Titus Salt chose this location for his mill was the proximity to water power from the river and transport links on the canal and railway. The canal was opened in 1777 and the railway in 1847, so both predate the mill which was opened in 1853.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal Society's boat, the Kennet, was moored in Saltaire over the weekend with an exhibition inside about local waterways. Built in 1947, the boat is one of the last unconverted boats to have worked on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and, typically, is a wide-bodied barge and not a narrowboat. Boats carried all manner of cargo including alpaca wool from the Liverpool docks to Saltaire. The early examples were towed by horses. (See also my post here).
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