City of Culture: Bradford Birthday
I've made it a habit to visit the UK City of Culture ever since a happy trip discovering Hull and Bradford was equally delightful.
My second trip to West Yorkshire this year had us visiting the Turner Prize exhibit - my favourite turned out to be the winner. Bradford is very easy to get around by walking or as in this case, jumping on a bus from outside our centrally located hotel.
The exhibit was in Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Lister Park, so visiting gained us a delightful autumnal walk too. I loved Bradford Industrial Museum, where we spent hours rather than the anticipated minutes, as there was so much to look at from Back to Backs with bedrooms reminiscent of my older sisters in the 1970s to printing presses, vintage cars and an excellent exhibition showcasing working life throughout the years.
In terms of food, on our first night, we chose a traditional, established local restaurant that was quite a trek outside the city. The portions served were so large that we barely managed to finish half of our meals.
The next day was my birthday, and we learned Stuart Copeland was in town chatting about life before, during and after The Police and it seemed a good an activity as any for my birthday evening, especially as it was in the legendary St George’s Hall.
We enjoyed a lighter and most enjoyable meal at Taste of Thai within the Darley Street Market. We’d visited earlier and bought some bits from the market stalls and vowed to return. We did this the following day for burgers from Mr TS before getting the train home.
One thing that Bradford surprisingly lacked was coffee shops. The only one worth mentioning is Jamaica Blue in the excellent shopping centre, discovered on the last afternoon. Otherwise, we would have enjoyed a breakfast there.
I long to return to see more of and embrace the culture, architecture and welcome of Bradford. Unlike Hull, it’s a lot closer to home.
October 2025
