Why I'm big on Bradford...

By DANNY WHEELER

Civic marvel: Impressive Bradford Town Hall, with its Florentine clocktower, was built in 1873 and features statues on its facade of all 34 monarchs from with Elizabeth I to Victoria, plus Thomas Cromwell


‘Have fun in Bradford - ooh, I don’t think I’ve ever said that to anyone before’
Thus, our good Yorkshire friends bade us farewell from Bridlington and we headed down the M62 into unchartered territory.

It’s not so much that Bradford has a bad reputation, more that it simply doesn’t have one at all when people consider short break destinations in the UK.

But as the home to the National Media Museum - which houses a 3D Imax - Saltaire, the UNESCO world heritage site, and a quaint industrial museum that brings home the horrors of 19th century poverty, it’s a surprisingly interesting place.

Most importantly, Bradford is also the gateway to the West Yorkshire Moors, ie Wuthering Heights country, with its picture-postcard villages, windswept walks, amazing views and array of cosy hostelries.

And there’s a decent curry or two to be had as well.

Unfortunately, Bradford currently has a big hole in the middle of it, where Westfield had been planning the latest of its enormous shopping centres until the recession halted proceedings mid-excavation.

Civic chiefs had hoped the mall would see a return to the prosperity Bradford enjoyed in the late 1800s when the impressive city hall (with its 220ft high clock tower based on the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence) was built on the back of wool trade profits.

So for the meantime, the Tuscan-style clock tower will continue to dominate all views of the city centre while the newly renamed media museum performs the role of Bradford’s modern beacon for tourism.


Source of pride: The National Media Museum houses a 3D Imax and two other cinemas, plus a TV archive and photography and art exhibits on its seven floors - and entry is free


Just specstacular: The Wheeler family sport the attractive 3D glasses in the Imax to watch a mesmerising movie about life under the sea


An impressive place it is too. The five-storey 3D imax is a big draw, but the Pictureville and Cubby Broccoli cinemas showcase more eclectic films and hold regular festivals in tribute to the likes of Bette Davis.

Across seven floors, there are art and photography exhibitions, an animation gallery and on Level 3 a section called TV Heaven, which allows you to book a booth and watch one of 900 old programmes from the last 60 years.

There are memorable episodes of Doctor Who, Allo Allo and the Young Ones, various soaps, old kids’ shows Captain Pugwash, Ivor The Engine and Animal Magic as well as classic plays and dramas.

We settled on Some Mothers Do Ave Em from 1978 and our eight-year-old, Charlie, was in hysterics.


History boy: Young Charlie Wheeler tries to get his head around the concept of a motorcycle and sidecar in the engaging Bradford Industrial Museum


A sombre but perhaps more educational exhibition is to be found a little out of town at the Bradford Industrial Museum, which houses in a former spinning mill a collection of trams and other motor vehicles, printing presses manned by instructive guides and an impressive working display of steam power.

Here, the deprivation which went hand in hand with Bradford’s most prosperous period is spelled out in gory detail beside the terrifying rows of textile machinery.

The sudden expansion of the wool industry led to 70 mills springing up in the borough in the early 1800s and a rural market town was transformed into a city by the influx of 100,000 people.


Centrepiece: The Congregational Church in Saltaire is a unique attraction in the UNESCO village built for millworkers by enlightened Titus Salt


By 1841, Bradford was producing two-thirds of the country’s wool but there was a horrible price to pay: the average life expectancy was just 18 and half of children in the area didn’t reach five.

From such dark times emerged leading liberal figures who were responsible for giving Bradford the country’s first council houses, maternity hospital and further education for the masses.

Chief among such enlightened folk was Titus Salt, who erected an entire village of houses, schools and parks around a mill he built in 1853 beside the River Aire just to the north of the city.

He named the town Saltaire and this fascinating brownstone memorial to a bygone age is now a very fashionable spot, with smart cafés, organic delis and boutiques.

The mill itself homes a number of independent traders selling jewellery, clothes, books and designer homewear. There is also a permanent exhibition by Bradford-born David Hockney and a few yummy-looking restaurants.

Salt was made a baronet by Queen Victoria in 1869 and his funeral was attended by 100,000 people seven years later. His body rests in the mausoleum in the unique Congregational Church in the centre of Saltaire.

Of course, the wild, romantic moors are the reason most visitors come to the area, to go walking - possibly in search of Top Withens, the mythical site of Wuthering Heights - and immerse themselves in the incredible story of the three Bronte sisters.

Rambling around the barren land, anyone who has sighted a BBC period drama in recent times will feel the urge to scream 'Heathcliff' or 'Cathy' at the top of their voices.


Top-notch rambling: Dilapidated farm buildings at Top Withens, the mythical site of Wuthering Heights, aren't much to look at but are great fun getting to


Haworth Parsonage, on the very edge of town, was home to the literary sisters from 1820 to 1861 and the scene of great tragedy.

Patrick Bronte lost his wife a year after moving to the town and then all six of his children, first his youngest daughters Maria and Elizabeth, then his only son Branwell, followed by Emily (Wuthering Heights), Anne (Agnes Grey) and Charlotte (Jane Eyre). Charlotte and Emily are buried in the crypt in the church next door.


Beauty and tragedy: The Bronte Parsonage, in Haworth, which was home to the literary Bronte sisters is now a period museum with an incredible story to tell


Charlotte’s physician, Amos Ingham, lived in a house that has now been converted into a hotel, Ashmount Country House, which is a short wander from Haworth’s steep, cobbled main street.

Ray and Gill Capeling run a very homely establishment with traditionally furnished rooms, an honesty bar in the front room and a Yorkshire breakfast that will put extra miles in a rambler’s boots.

An apothecary and a sweet shop at the top of the hill by the tourist information office are well worth a nose around and The Black Bull serves a fine pint but the main aim has to be to get out on the moors.


Step back in time: Haworth's steep, cobbled main street and its olde worlde apothecary and sweet shop offers a glimpse of life in the time of the Brontes


The walk to Charlotte’s Waterfall is not too strenuous and gives a glimpse to the more invigorating routes on offer.

And there’s nowhere finer in town to reflect on your day’s yomping than the Weaver’s, which is a friendly bar/restaurant serving much locally sourced fare.

A gentler form of sightseeing for weary limbs can be found in the Keighley & Worth Valley Steam Railway, which has six stops, one of which is Haworth, and another Oakworth, where the Railway Children was filmed.


Way to go: The gentle pace of the Keighley & Worth Valley steam railway train still caught our photographer by surprise as it pulled out of Haworth


Travelling in style: I savour a pint - and the views of course - in the buffet car of the Keighley & Worth Valley steam railway


With a pint of hand-pull bitter on offer in the buffet car for less than £2, it’s difficult to imagine a more pleasurable way to see the local landscape.

Running it close however was the drive south out of Haworth and across the moors on the way home - the most spectacular view yet of an unsung part of the world which has earned my respect.

Useful information:

www.visitbradford.com

www.visitsaltaire.com

www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (Adult day rover £14.00, children 5-15 half price, under-5s free; 01535 645214, www.kwvr.co.uk)

Bronte Parsonage Museum (Adult £6, children 5-16 £3, family ticket £15; 01535 642323, www.bronte.info)

Weaver’s Restaurant (15 West Lane, Haworth, BD22 8DU, 01535 643822,
www.weaversmallhotel.co.uk)

Ashmount Country House (Mytholmes Lane, Haworth, BD22 8EZ, 01535 645726,
www.ashmounthaworth.co.uk)

Great Victoria Hotel (Bridge Street, Bradford, BD1 1JX,01274 728706,
www.tomahawkhotels.co.uk)

source: dailymail