TL;DR - A truly unique venue combining art, food and shopping…read more One of Sparky's colleagues tipped us off about this place, and I'm amazed we'd never heard of it before. In case you don't know (I didn't!), Saltaire was built by industrialist Titus Salt (amazing name!) alongside the river Aire to bring all aspects of his textiles business onto one enormous site. He also built a town for the workers, and the whole area is now a world heritage site. The mill has now been converted into an amazing and huge venue spanning several floors. There's so much here it's hard to take in, but I'll try and summarise. The ground floor is a mixture of books on art, stationery and arts supplies, postcards and the like but interspersed with huge art displays. At first I wasn't sure if I was in an art gallery or a shop, but the answer is both. As with the rest of the mill, David Hockney features strongly throughout. There's a basement level which we didn't explore in detail, but it sells rugs and wallpapers and is just as big as the ground floor. The first floor houses the most. One end is a gorgeous bookshop, where the focus seems to be on unusual titles rather than breadth - I saw many, many books in the recipe section which I'd never seen or heard of anywhere else. The other end of the building is devoted to homewares - kitchen supplies, furniture, clocks and more. A lot of it is very expensive, but it's a beautifully curated selection of objects for sale. Between these two wings is Salt's Diner. It's a separate venue on Yelp but suffice it to say we had lunch here and it was great.Through the restaurant you can access a further wing of the building which is split into an outdoor clothing shop, a jewellers, an art exhibit, a treasure trove of an antique store and a small coffee shop. Finally, the top floor is split into three: an exhibit on the history of the mill, a major exhibition of work by David Hockney, and a further cafe/restaurant. On top of all these, parking is free on site and it's right next to the Saltaire train station, so there's really no excuse for not visiting.

Its easy to spend the best part of a day wandering round the amazing Salts Mill with its extensive…read morecollection of David Hockney's work and its eclectic selection of "shops" which include an excellent book shop, the wonderful home section with its stunning array of furnishings and kitchen porn, and the antique/collectables area. At some point you are going to need to get some fuel on board and Salts Diner is not a bad option. Its situated on the 1st floor of this wonderful labyrinthine industrial building in a large area between the book shop and the home shop. It was very busy on our visit between Christmas and New Year but we managed to get a table for 6 without much difficulty. The young waiting girls were all very helpful and attentive and we soon settled down with a reasonably priced bottle of Merlot to have a look at the menu. There is fairly wide choice of available, and while there is no real theme to the menu, there is enough to satisfy all the generations of family visitors that Salts Mill attracts. There are lots of ankle biters about so be careful in your choice of seating if you want a peaceful lunch. I had the roast butternut squash and lentil soup from the daily specials board which was tasty and wholesome, obviously a popular selection as it was soon rubbed off the board. B and I both went down the pizza route for our main and shared a bowl of nicely cooked crispy fries; nothing to complain about but pretty bog standard. The most successful main seemed to be Danny's beef meatballs and pasta in a rich tomato sauce, again from daily specials board, although the other boys were quite complimentary about their beef and ale pies which came in a nice white dish topped with puff pastry. All in all while this was nothing to write home about it was a pretty decent lunch in a great building. Salts Diner itself its not somewhere I would go out of my way to visit but works well a part of a visit to the Mill (I would particularly recommended a visit at the moment to see the amazing "Flowers" show on the top floor of work created by Mr Hockney on his iPad - just stunning). 3 for Salts Diner and 5 for the Mill.

This is a truly exciting and beautifully art gallery. I challenge you to wander past the window and…read morenot stop for a quick browse. I wasn't even meant to be stopping the day I discovered this gem in the heart of Ilkley and I suppose you might say it actually stopped me in my tracks. It isn't hard to see why either. Inside there was a lovely range of different types of art from a range of exciting media. Some of my favourites were the exquisitely painted photo-realistic images, although the Stef Ottevangar animal sculptures were really quite cute. There was jewellery on show too, including some lovely metal carved earrings for about £20. My absolute favourite was this amazing snowy road scene on a huge canvas, it really was something else. Essentially, whatever is on show here clearly will be of the highest quality and although it may be high end, I can justify those sorts of prices for high art by independent artists. Take a look for yourself, it's lovely!

I stopped to admire the glass figures in the window of this small gallery/shop and went inside to…read morehave a closer look. The figures are huge. almost life size, made by an artist called Steven Yates. My eye was caught by another piece that happened to be by the same artist. It was a paper mache pair of figures in a passionate embrace, painted red. When I asked about it the lady painting at the back of the shop explained that on the male figure there were 'men seeking women' ads. and on the female figure 'women seeking men' ads. It is appropriately title 'Chemistry' - I like it because the artist has really captured the movement and passion of the couple. It is slightly erotic but not tasteless! Alas if I only had £800 to spare and an appropriate wall to hang it on! Aside from this piece, which really grabbed me, the gallery is filled with paintings of landscapes and flowers, some beautiful, others quite ordinary. There were a few smaller glass and ceramic works and a cabinet of handmade jewelry. It is a lovely place to have a look around even if you can't afford to buy anything!

Whether you are interested in art or not I would advise you to take 5 minutes to have a browse…read morethrough the art and crafts that is on offer within the walls of The Old Grammar School Gallery (TOGS). The art on offer is not just beautiful but some of it is well within the means of most people's pockets. I have been into TOGS a few times now and I have even purchased some art. There is everything from paintings, to pictures, to glass wear, to ceramics and so on. This month there is a solo exhibition by Julia Odell. Now I will put my hands up and say that Julia is a personal friend of mine and I wouldn't want anything I say to be taken as favoritism. But I find her paintings engaging and they always lift my mood or take me off somewhere else. There are also works of art by many other local artists and entering The Old Grammar School is an easy and enjoyable way to spend half an hour. The last time I was in there I purchased a beautiful piece of hand made glass wear. £20? Absolute bargain!! But please don't take my word for it. And anyway, taking the time to visit Otley is well worth it! The town is full of interesting shops and a lovely riverside walk if you prefer a quiet stroll or a walk in the park. There is nothing like the lovely clean smell on a warm summers day as you walk along the rivers edge. Oops. This was meant to be about COGS!! As you can guess, I'm a huge fan and the staff are knowledgable and enthusiastic too. For me, TOGS ticks all the boxes.

From the owner: Original art by local artistsread more

I love looking in art galleries, as I'm sure you'll agree, there is always something interesting…read moregoing on. I'm one of those hellish customers who never intends to purchase the art work - I simply can't afford to - but likes to spend a good hour browsing anyway. In theory I'll be able to purchase...one day! Anyway, I was about Otley town and noticed Browns so went in for a good perusal. I was greeted instantly by a lovely lady who asked me how I was, which was very welcoming. This place is really nicely laid out and certainly has a high end feel about the artwork within. They had a number of different artists' work on display in a range of different styles and media. The first pictures by J Lagadec, which struck me on entering, were these female silhouettes, black lines on a cream embossed background, and one with a distinct red 'v' at her nether area. Nearby there were some exquisite watercolour landscapes by Graham Carver and some humorous paintings by Mackenzie Thorpe - including what I assumed was Death holding a sunflower over his shoulder. So there was quite a variety of styles on show. Overall I think my favourite artist was Todd White - his collection was a humorous lot with undertones of a darker nature. My favourite was just called 'Caffeine' and depicted a series of caffeinated wide-eyed people, all in business attire, sporting bloodshot, toothy and forced smiles. It was full of detail, skill, character and was just really quite fun. He also had a series of cartoonish clocks for sale, splatted cows and ice creams, all for about £44 which was really not too bad a price given the expense of the rest of the art work. That's not to say I thought the art on show was over-priced, I am more than aware of how long those pieces must have taken, and how much skill was required to create them in the first place. On a separate note, Browns also does picture frame fittings too! Essentially, this beautiful gallery is a must-see if you are having a casual day in Otley. Beautiful.

Studio Seven is a new, exciting and intriguing art gallery owned and run by James Davis, an artist…read morehimself whose areas of expertise lie in both graphic design and pop art. Although the studio itself is only a small space there is certainly enough art work within to keep you occupied, challenged and provoked of though for a good deal of time. At the time of my visit there were a number of pop art pieces, more notably a painting of Heath Ledger's Joker, immortalised in stark bold blocks, posed in an eternal passive aggressive smiling glare. As well as this a beautifully bold cyanotype Audrey Hepburn image was on show, amongst other famous icons. As well as pop art pieces there were some sculptures and more mixed media pieces, including a bizarre-yet-cute frame set with some cut out crafted ducks arranged inside. I think one of my favourite pieces was the image of a shop/building front, painted in these vibrant and aggressive reds, with the vintage victorian style clock face at the heart of the image - I'm no expert but I'd hazard a guess at calling it postimpressionist. As my boyfriend and I were gawping at all the different paintings the owner came in, it was oddly empty prior to this, and asked us how we were. We chatted briefly and discovered that he was quite a diverse artist himself and had only recently opened the gallery. He was really approachable, down to earth and genuinely making a go of surviving creatively. For that alone I couldn't be more impressed since there are plenty of us out there who yearn to live from our talents, but seldom take the risk and try to make it work. If you are in Otley, scratch that, wherever you are - make the effort to stop by Studio Seven. There you will find challenging pieces of art from a variety of movements all worth pride of place in your home.

From the owner: Studio Seven offers a wide range of artwork. Original oil & acrylic paintings, photography, lino…read morecuts, limited edition prints, canvas prints, aqua tints, watercolours & paper cuts. As well as graphic design, photo restoration and Photo 2 canvas services.

This is a lovely little shop/ art gallery in a really convenient location. It's fairly new in the…read morearea, but seems they really know their stuff about art. Downstairs is a shop, selling handmade items, from prints to socks and gifts. The downside is the prices though, obviously it's because everything is handmade and the shop is representing the artists, but I wouldn't say everything is affordable. It's a really nice place for gifts though, where you don't mind splashing out on some expensive chocolates for someone. upstairs there's lots of hidden interesting rooms, there are gallery rooms where work is exhibited. The exhibitions change every month or so and there's often preview evenings which are good fun. There's also artist studios, where you can often have a nosey in and see the artists at work, the shop then sells these artists work so it seems it's a really nice relationship between them and the staff. It's a lovely shop, everything is so well thought out and the displays are beautiful. I think the owner/staff must spend a lot of time picking the stock and thinking about how to display it, it really is special. The items are worth the price (generally) because you know they've been made by an artist who really cares.

This is now a beautiful place to visit. The grounds over recent years have had lots of care and…read moreattention and it's now a lovely place to wander round on a weekend. Race For Life takes place in the grounds of Cartwright Hall and it's great jogging round and seeing what a lovely park this is. The art galleries are really good and there are often new exhibitions open. This is a good place to visit whether it's raining or shining!!