Cottingley, a village a mile or two west of Saltaire, was the setting for the infamous "Cottingley fairies" hoax. In 1917, two young Cottingley girls, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, took photographs purporting to be of fairies. These photographs were eventually published and 'authenticated' by - amongst others - the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The girls did not admit that they were faked pictures, of cardboard cutouts stuck on hatpins, until 1981. It's a fascinating story (read more here) not least because it shows how readily people will believe what they want to believe. The photographs, cameras and related memorabilia are now in the National Media Museum in Bradford.
The episode is commemorated in a sign at the entrance to Cottingley village - and that, in a way, is another story, as I have tried unsuccessfully to photograph the sign many times. From the front it does not show up against the trees behind it. From the back (as here) it is cluttered against what is normally a busy road junction. A snowy day a few weeks ago, with unusually quiet roads - plus a bit of tidying up in Photoshop - mean that this is more successful than my earlier attempts. (All the snow has melted now.)
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