Saltaire, West Yorkshire – UNESCO Model Village on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal

Victorian Planning, Canal Towpaths, and Riverside Walking in Airedale

Saltaire is a Victorian model village in West Yorkshire on the River Aire and the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. It forms part of the Saltaire UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognised for its 19th-century industrial planning and architecture.

The settlement was established in the 1850s by Sir Titus Salt beside Salts Mill, with terraced housing, civic buildings, and public spaces arranged in a planned grid. The canal runs directly alongside the village, with towpaths providing level routes along the Aire valley between Shipley, Bingley, and toward Skipton.

Saltaire lies in Airedale between Bradford and Bingley. The surrounding landscape rises toward moorland and upland ground, with Ilkley Moor and the national park boundary further north-west near Ilkley. The village itself sits on relatively level ground along the valley floor.

Walking routes follow the Leeds & Liverpool Canal towpath, riverside paths along the Aire, and connecting trails toward Shipley Glen and Baildon Moor. The Dales Way Link passes through nearby Bingley, connecting the Aire valley with Ilkley and the start of the Dales Way into the Yorkshire Dales National Park.