Friday, 17 June, 2022
Friday was the hottest, and check-out, day.
We went down for breakfast. Carol welcomed us and then asked ‘Another fishy breakfast?’ She remembered everything we ate the day before and asked if we wanted the same. What a talent. Krish repeated his fish breakfast while i had a smaller version of a full English one and not longer afterwards wished I’d stuck with the haddock I’d had on Thursday. Too hot for meat!
We went up and packed everything. I suggested we might have a cool morning and go to the media museum that everyone raves about so we stored our luggage and walked over.
On the way we went into the Waterstones bookshop where i bought some cards. I’d read about it in my research. It’s been called the most beautiful bookshop in the world, and most certainly the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have left this till the last day because I could have spent much more time here. The bookshop is inside The Wool Exchange Building, a grade I-listed building built as a wool-trading centre in the 19th century (1864-1867). It is likely the most significant building in Bradford. From the outside you’re not so aware what awaits you inside. The Wool Exchange is a lovely enough building, with lots of elaborate stonework, turrets and a great clock tower, but along the side on Hustlergate, Waterstones entrance is on a very modern glass wall. Once inside, it’s a different story. It feels like you are inside a beautiful old chapel. Leaving it to the last day also meant that I was hurrying a bit and only now see how, if I’d sat upstairs in their cafe, I’d have had a better view of the whole shop.
On our way over to the Science and Media Museum I thought it would be good to pop into Sunbridge Wells, which is an underground retail complex with Victorian style units running the length of the tunnels. We didn’t make it – we got a bit confused by where it was, then deterred by Krish’s dislike of anything remotely cellar or cave-ish. On these short visits, and with my limits on walking and climbing, there will always be things we don’t see. It’s hard to not regret this. However, we did see some interesting things. Over near the chip shop there was loud Indian music. When I traced the source it seemed to be coming from a balcony at the top of a lovely red brick corner building. Each time we’d passed here, the music was playing. The square below had benches and had they not been some sort of convention spot for people to lay around on, I’d have sat a while listening to the music and admiring the building.
We also had to pass the town hall again. It has a really large square, Centenary Square and City Park, in front that has a huge mirror pool with 100 fountains. When we walked through there was no water – that might have been nice though, like running through the sprinklers. Bradford City Hall was opened in 1873. The building was designed in the Venetian style. The bell tower was inspired by Palazzo Vecchio in Florence and houses 13 bells.
Near the town hall is the opulent looking Alhambra Theatre. This is where we would have eaten had there been a performance day while we were there. The restaurant has British food and a great view of the city, they say. The theatre is an interesting looking one, rather like a Brighton building. In 1964, and in 1974, it was designated a Grade II listed building. It underwent extensive refurbishment in 1986 and seats 1,456. Too bad we didn’t go in. Near the theatre, the streets are anything than opulent. There’s a lot redevelopment needed around there.
The museum is just beyond the town hall next to an Ice Skating building. It’s across a major road with traffic to and from Leeds. Things really open up around here and there are nice views.
The museum itself is in a modern building. It opened in 1983 as the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television. There are five floors of exhibits and there are cinemas, one being the first IMAX theatre in Europe. Today two of the floors were closed, getting ready for new exhibits. We wandered around and I have mixed feelings about this place, bearing in mind that we probably lost out on seeing some good stuff on those closed floors. Some of it was very interesting but other bits felt dated and amateur – the TV area especially. There was a videogame section I’d love to have looked at but mostly I saw arcade machines and an extra entry price. Some of the things we saw:
We wanted to have some lunch before the train and eventually settled on a place in The Broadway that did grilled chicken and burgers. I had a chicken on a naan thing and Krish a burger. To be honest, this fast food option was the best thing we ate the entire time – something to think about for the future. Fast food is not always such a bad idea!
Krish walked to the hotel for our case while I walked to the station. On the way I passed Bradford Hotel and St George’s Hall, the buildings that had welcomed us when we first arrived. St George’s Hall opened in 1853 as a stunning Victorian Concert Hall, renovated in 2016. A huge building!
I waited for Krish on the street level and started to feel anxious ten minutes before our train time. He showed up with about four minutes to spare. We hurried up to the platform to find our train. No one had got in yet and then a station worker came over to tell us it was cancelled. Not only was it not going anywhere, but there were no trains to London for the rest of the day. We could instead use our tickets to get on a train to Leeds and then from there another train, leaving in an hour, would honour our tickets and get us to London. No choice then. We got on the train for the short journey to Leeds, then found our platform for the next leg. Although this was all a bit annoying, in the end it worked out OK. The Leeds to London train was an hour faster and not crowded since the train had put on extra carriages for those of us who had been stuck in Bradford. The only drawback was that I lost my first class carriage that I’d bid for back in Bradford. The train journey was easier than the original, though, since we had only three stops instead of the eight with the other train line.
At Kings Cross there was the usual culture shock of arriving back in busy London. We let one bus pass us and then got in the next and off to home again! Bradford crossed off our list.
A post script – I hadn’t been keen on Bradford, even while I was there. Thinking back and gathering the photos gives me a chance to reflect on it all. It was a very interesting place and there are things I didn’t see that I would like to see again. Perhaps a combined visit with Leeds could work. I’d go to the Peace Museum if it were open, and the Industrial Museum, and I’d definitely see Sunbridge Wells and the village of Saltaire. I’d even go to the Indian restaurant I’d never reached .
