Saltaire’s Festive Trail Set To Countdown To Christmas!

Image by Philip Lickley

Residents, community groups and businesses in Saltaire are hard at work preparing festive windows ready to light up throughout December in the much-loved Saltaire Living Advent Calendar, organised by visual arts Charity Saltaire Inspired. This magical community event has become a seasonal favourite in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Village, as an illuminated trail is revealed in the countdown to Christmas.

Running since 2006, the Saltaire Living Advent Calendar attracts visitors from across the region and followers online from across the globe. The windows of Saltaire’s Grade II listed cottages - as well as schools, shops, businesses and churches – come to life with festive scenes filled with quirky characters, nostalgia, Saltaire cats and a good sprinkling of humour, as windows light up daily throughout the month. This community event is open to all village residents and participants include new residents, children, seasoned window creators, professional artists, local businesses and community groups.

On 1st December, 12 windows will be illuminated in community buildings and by local businesses, with further windows lighting up each evening until Christmas Eve. Window designs remain a surprise until 4pm on their light-up date, and all 47 windows light up daily between Christmas and new year (until 1st January) giving visitors a chance to come and explore the full trail.

For the seventh year, Rydals Museum in Sweden (formerly a Mill) are participating in the event, presenting a window featuring three creations by artist from Marks konstgrafiska verkstad, a collective workspace and creative meeting place for professional artists and art and culture enthusiasts of all ages. In return, Saltaire Inspired have sent artwork to Sweden that was created with the help of visitors to the Winter Makers Fair at Victoria Hall in October.

A map showing the locations of the windows can be found at saltaireinspired.org.uk and trail maps can be found in shop and business windows throughout Saltaire. Windows are illuminated from 4pm - 10.30pm each evening, up until (and including) the 1st of January. For those unable to visit in person, window designs are revealed daily at saltaireinspired.org.uk and on Facebook (@saltaireinspired) and Instagram (@saltaireinspired).

The 2025 Saltaire Living Advent Calendar event is generously supported by The Bingley Gallery and Bradford Woodworkers Ltd.

The Saltaire Living Advent Calendar is organised under the umbrella of Saltaire Inspired, an ambitious visual arts charity, creating high-quality contemporary arts events in unique settings. Delivering three annual arts events in the World Heritage Village (Saltaire Arts Trail in May, Saltaire Makers Fairs in May and October, and the Saltaire Living Advent Calendar in December), Saltaire Inspired aim to celebrate and promote the artistic talent that can be found in Saltaire, Bradford and beyond, inspiring and enabling people of all ages and backgrounds to experience and participate in the arts, forming communities through creativity.