The Saltaire tunnels will be open to visitors as part of the Heritage Open Days initiative, which will see a number of venues across the district participating. The two tunnesl will be open from 10am to 4:30pm on both 9th and 10th September. Visitors coming here to Saltaire, in Shipley, part of Bradford Metropolitan District, get to walk in the footsteps of mill-workers and students of the village, in a step hack in time, to explore the two Saltaire tunnels, that were built and used in the Victorian era, beneath the roads.
The tunnels which date back to the 1850s and 1870s, for the first time, have been made accessible to the public recently. One of them runs underground from Victoria Hall, to Exhibition Hall, to Shipley College. The other tunnels goes beneath Victoria Road. Chaiman of Saltaire History Club, Colin Coates, said the tunnels are a key part of Saltaire’s heritage, but have been used for storage over the years and he hopes now to get more people into history, using the tunnels. There’s no disabled access here, except by the access to the dining hall tunnel, only by a wheelchair. There is free entry to the 30-minute tours, with no booking required.
