Boatmen on the Kennet

 

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).

Stone carving

This craftsman is a member of The West Riding Stone Carving Association.  They were giving demonstrations of their craft in Roberts Park as part of Saltaire's World Heritage celebrations. The Stone Carving Association, based in Halifax, was founded in 2009 by a group of individuals who shared a common interest and wanted to promote their craft to the wider community.  As well as demonstrating their skills at events like the one in Saltaire, they provide workshop facilities, support and training so that these vital traditional skills continue to flourish.  The craftsman shown was carving a crest of thistles - and below are other examples of their work!

Train driver

Rarely seen on SDP - a portrait of a person!  It's not so scary photographing people at events like the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway's Steam Gala Weekend - the volunteers seem to welcome it. There are probably many photos of this train driver on the Web!  There were hundreds of photographers around and he affably leaned out of his cab to chat to a passer-by.  Handsome man, don't you think?  It's a cliché that all little boys want to be train drivers - well, some of them manage it!  And as a visitor you get a real sense of the love that all the volunteers have for their work on the railway.  They all play their parts with relish: the ticket-sellers, the train drivers, the station masters and all those who run around doing the less visible jobs that together make the venture such a success.  Someone told me that KWVR have a hostel and people come to stay on working holidays to help with the restoration of the engines and rolling stock.  I salute them all.