With a vast selection of theatres, performance spaces and art galleries, the town forms a cultural centre of the north and offers much for a quiet weekend away. Its busy nightlife, and variety of bars, makes for a vibrant nightlife; and there are numerous recommended restaurants to choose from.
The town is well connected by transport links and offers plenty of reasons to visit!
History
Halifax is steeped in history and has been a unified parish since the twelfth century. The area became involved in woollen manufacture, and this increased the population by 25 times between the fifteenth and sixteenth century. By the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, manufacture in the area had branched out into other types of textile materials.
The Piece Hall was built in the eighteenth century as a market for trading textiles, and remains an important work of architecture in the region. Bankfield Museum and Art Gallery comprises 10 galleries and explores the region’s manufacturing history.
Eureka! is Halifax’s most famous museum, and an exploration of science and technology for children. The museum comprises 400 interactive displays and exhibits, documenting human biology, scientific development, ecology and the world of work.
Art Galleries
Halifax’s main art collection is housed in the Visitors Centre and Art Gallery in the Piece Hall, and comprises works of art, craft, photography and design, with a new emphasis on crafts. The gallery covers a number of open-plan units, allowing browsers to savour the works individually.
Halifax’s Bankfield Museum and Art Gallery comprises 10 galleries, and focuses on textiles and contemporary craft works that document the area’s manufacturing history. Galleries include ‘World of Textiles’, ‘Edith Durham Gallery’ and ‘The Toy Gallery’.
The Dean Clough Gallery is home to 600 art and design exhibits, and comprises The Viaduct Gallery, The Design House Gallery, the Crossley Gallery, the Link Gallery and a number of seminar galleries on the upper floor.
Theatres
The Victoria Theatre stages around 165 productions each year, and seats 3500 people. Previous and upcoming performances include comedies, musicals and dance productions. The theatre bar has seating for 120 people.
The Square Chapel Arts Centre is a painstakingly renovated eighteenth century building, staging drama, children’s theatre, dance, musicals, community drama and various lectures and talks throughout the year.
The Viaduct Theatre specialises is small-scale productions, and The Playhouse has seating for 260 people.
Restaurants
The Millbank is just one of Halifax’s highly rated fine dining restaurants, and has been honoured with a Michelin star and recommendations by Good Food Guide, The Independent and The Times. The menu comprises contemporary European cuisine with ‘a Yorkshire touch’ and an extensive wine list.
The Bore is close by, serving classic British dishes, and is also highly rated.
Meena’s offers Balti, Tandoori and Bengali cuisine in a traditional setting, and is extremely popular with locals. Open late and situated in the town centre, the restaurant is also popular with post-party clubbers.
El Gato Negro Tapas Bar serves classic and contemporary tapas dishes and a variety of wines.
Pubs/Bars
Halifax and Calderdale CAMRA awarded The Fox and Goose ‘Pub of the Year’ in 2006, and also rates The Shears Inn, with has been recommended in 10 consecutive editions of Good Beer Guide.
Bar 15 is a bar and club, with seating for 200 and showcasing rock and alternative bands on Friday and Saturday nights. The bar is also known as ‘The Rockshack’ and has a resident classic rock DJ who plays regularly.
The Standard of Freedom and William IV are popular, traditional bars, with long histories and loved by locals.
Nightclubs
Although there aren’t a huge number of nightclubs in Halifax, there are a few very popular venues and Coliseum and Maine Street is the most popular. The club presents dance, r’n'b and party tunes, and opens three nights a week.
The Tube is a house music venue, open Friday and Saturday nights. The d?r is impressive, 70s-influenced designer kitsch, with state of the art lighting and sound technology, plush seating and a VIP lounge.
Acapulco presents mainstream dance and house music three nights a week, and is affectionately known as ‘Acca’. The club is renowned for its exceptionally cheap drinks and special offers.
The Tramshed Zoo Bar is a rock club, currently closed for a license review.
Shopping
The Piece Hall is Halifax’s most popular shopping area, comprising 50 independent retail units and a large market square. A fleamarket is held on Thursdays, and an open market on Saturdays. Specialist markets include a Christmas Market and continental markets.
Close by is The Woolshops Shopping Centre, home to more than 80 high street shops and 300 parking spaces. Units are currently occupied by River Island, HMV, Miss Selfridge, 2 coffee shops and a cafe.
The Halifax borough market is located in a Grade II listed, nineteenth century building, and comprises almost 200 stalls.
The main shopping street in the town is The Market Arcade; lined with charity shops, high street stores and cafes.
Sports
The North Bridge Leisure Centre is one of eight in the town, and offers an extensive programme of sports, athletics, aerobics and martial arts. There is a large sports hall and Projectile Gallery, a gym and Ofsted-registered creche.
Another popular leisure centre is Halifax Swimming Pool, comprising a 25-metre pool, fitness studio, dance studio, 2 squash courts and a multimedia multi-sensory room.
The Halifax Ski and Snowboarding Centre is based in the Sportsman Inn and Leisure Complex and offers a choice of slopes for beginners and the more experienced, with a range of tuition available to suit all abilities.
There are 10 golf courses in Halifax, including the notoriously difficult, 18-hole Halifax Golf Club that offers a challenge to the most experienced of players. The Halifax Bradley Hall Golf Club is also an 18-hole course, but is smaller and offers a more relaxing game.
Daniel
Financial
Today, work at home is an increasingly popular choice for individuals who are fighting to control every penny of expense. Financial benefits accrue to those working from the home both on the expense side and on the income side. It simply costs less to live when you eliminate commuting costs from your monthly budget. You will spend less on eating out, car insurance, tires and clothing when you are not traveling away from your home each day. Your income picture may also improve when you are able to set the prices for the work you do or the product you sell.
Health
Work at home is good for your health–both physical and mental. It’s a known fact that too much stress, particularly the bad kind of stress is not good for you. It has been related to heart disease, high blood pressure, and other physical ailments. Working at a job you don’t like or working around people that you dislike can lead to intense mental stress and in turn to physical illnesses. When you work at home, you can be as antisocial as you care to be, or you can communicate in a positive way with potential customers online and on the telephone.
Social Life
Another of the advantages when you choose to work at home is the benefit to your social life. How often have you had to turn down an event or a trip because you would be too exhausted to go to work if you attended the fun activity? When your business is at home, you can schedule your work around your social activities instead of the alternative. Imagine the fun of being able to plan a singles cruise to Acapulco in the dead of winter. Even if your idea of a social life is an afternoon watching your daughter’s track meet, you can plan to attend without a huge confrontation with your boss.
Working hours
When you work at home, not only can you schedule your social activities separate from your working days, but you can decide when during the day or the week that you want to work. You do not need to work from 8 to 5 with an hour off for lunch. You don’t have to work from Monday through Friday. Since the internet is a global marketplace, you can match your working hours with the majority of your order receipts hours. You can also make allowances for yourself if you prefer to work at night after the rest of your household is sleeping. You can also take a nap if you prefer during mid day.
Intellectual challenge
Work at home can be intellectually challenging, because you don’t have to do something just because it’s always been done that way. You are free to experiment, strike out in new directions, or stay with what has been proven to work in the past. If you are the type of person who loves a challenge, discovering problems and satisfactorily resolving them is the highest form of problem solving. You are the one in charge, to succeed or to be forced to reassess your plans and actions.
Jay
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