Hi, do you write tourist brochures for a living?
Bob Thursday, January 23, 2003, 12:15:11 AM, you wrote: > Hey Cotty, don't underestimate Bradford! > In addition to the "meejah museum", Bradford has some > outstanding 19th century Victorian public buildings plus > some stunning new ones too. Of course you really need to be > into architectural photography (wish I could afford an > SMC-Pentax shift lens!) but some of the townscapes are quite > inspiring. It's a city centre to be enjoyed with a 20mm or > 24mm wide angle lens and a 135mm telephoto or 70-210mm zoom > ... it's not the place for your 50mm lens but a 35mm would > be a good choice for a third lens. > Within easy reach of Bradford is the city of Leeds for more > of the same, plus a new yet thriving cafe society (neon, > chrome, all those reflections!) in the fastest growing city > economy in Britain. > Saltaire, which is effectively a northern suburb of the City > of Bradford, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with > magnificent stone mills and a whole village of housing built > to accommodate the mill employees from top to bottom of the > ladder. The extremely high quality of design, choice of > materials and construction have meant that the village has > survived the near-demise of the textile industry visually > almost unscathed. To add colour, there are boat rides on > the canal and a funicular railway up to the nearby beauty > spot. > Also within easy reach are the Colne Valley, Wharfedale and > the Pennine moorlands above Hebden Bridge (itself an > architectural GEM) and towards Haworth. This is Bronte > country, a distinctive and magnificent moorland landscape > with deep steep-sided valleys cutting into the bleak moors > that are so well described in the sritings of the Bronte > sisters. Industrial architecture is the order of the day, > with outstanding stone built woollen mills sited proudly > next to fast flowing moorland streams. There is a steam > railway running via Haworth (pronounced "Howarth") to > Keighley if that's what rings you bell (or sounds your > whistle!). > Finally I should mention the Victorian elegance of the > delightful Wharfedale spa town of Ilkley with its adjacent > high moor of musical renown. The music hall song "On Ilkley > Moor baht'at" describes the privations of being caught in a > wintry storm on the bleakest of moors without headgear - > "baht'at" is translated into the lesser form of English as > "without a hat". > I have no doubt that Bradford would be an excellent centre > for UKPDMLers' exploits. > Have you considered York? > Best, > John
