Saltaire as you've never seen it before

Regular readers of Salt & Light will have realised, I'm sure, that yesterday's quiz photos were taken from the huge chimney of Salts Mill, looking vertically down. (Not by me, I hasten to add. You wouldn't get me up there! The only way up is by the long, long ladder. I am, however, rather flattered that a few of my friends thought me capable of it...)

You may recall that I showed photos of the scaffolding erected to enable some repairs to the chimney. Someone who works in Salts Mill noted in the comments on that post that he was hoping to get one of the workmen to take some photos from up the top. He was a good as his word and, even better, he has offered me the photos to share here on the blog. I'm thrilled therefore to showcase these fascinating images and would like to offer my huge thanks to Paul Taylor for the privilege - and to the unnamed photographer, who did a great job!

1⇧ The photo above is looking more or less west and shows part of the south frontage of the Mill with its twin towers, and the railway line to the left. You can see that building work continues, to improve one of the main visitor entrances to the Mill.

2⇧ Here, looking north-west, we see the main body of Salts Mill, the satellite dishes giving a clue to the modern use of the building, which houses Pace plc, a technology company. Beyond that is the New Mill with its elaborate chimney. That is actually on the opposite bank of the Leeds-Liverpool canal, though you can't really tell that from this photo. The trees, green lawns and cricket pitch in the middle distance are in Roberts Park. You can just see the River Aire curving round. At the top of the photo you can see Titus Salt School and its playing fields, and the little white shed that is the bottom of the Shipley Glen Tramway.

3⇧ Looking west again, the railway line carves it way through, with the Victoria Road bridge passing over it and, just beyond that, Saltaire station's platforms. You can see how the United Reformed Church sits immediately opposite the main entrance to Salts Mill, within its own tree-filled grounds. The village houses on the left of the photo are among the oldest in Saltaire. Beyond the houses, the woodland towards the top left is Hirst Wood.

4⇧ Looking south-west, the dominant building is the Victoria Hall, with the original factory school opposite. The large school-like building to the bottom left is Shipley College's Exhibition Building. On the left edge, you can see a three-storey building that is the old Salt's Hospital (now apartments). Very bottom right is the grey roof of Caroline's Club and next to that the Caroline Street carpark. That used to be the site of the village's Sunday School, which was demolished. Opposite that space you can pick out some of the shops on Victoria Road. This photo gives a good idea of the grid layout of Saltaire and its relative size. I guess it covers about a square mile altogether.