'Continue up round the corner and turn left to reach Bingley Road..' Bingley Road is the main road from Bradford along the Aire valley to Bingley, Keighley and ultimately Skipton. It forms the southern boundary of Saltaire village so technically the left hand side is in Saltaire and the right hand side isn't. (Unless you're an estate agent, since the cachet of a Saltaire address these days extends quite a long way into areas that once would have died rather than call themselves Saltaire!)
The road contains a parade of shops on both sides and the Saltaire side is locally known as Gordon Terrace. It was originally designed by Saltaire's architects as housing, but the properties were converted into shops in the early 1900s. Nowadays there is an interesting mix - clothes shops come and go; there is a hairdresser, several estate agents, optician, delicatessen, jewellers, gift shops and a couple of eateries. This one, The Terrace is a coffee shop and bistro and takes advantage of the wide pavement to have a few tables outside. As we're over half way round our 'virtual walk' now, I shall treat you to a 'virtual coffee' in the bistro - but inside, as it's a little chilly for the open-air tables today!
The other side includes more functional offerings - a Co-op supermarket, chemist, butcher, florist and greengrocer plus a betting shop, a couple of fast food outlets and a good fish and chip shop. All in all it makes a useful little local shopping area. I've often thought it would be interesting to chart the change in the shops here since Victorian times... another project, maybe? There's an interesting old photo that gives an idea of how the shops might have looked - but it seems you have to register with the Saltaire village website to see it - sorry! I'll leave the link in case any members are reading this.
[No 5 on the street plan]
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