Photographer's new exhibition inspired by pubs

A renowned Bradford photographer has opened his latest exhibition, which he said is all about the health benefits of walking to the pub.

Take a Walk on the Mild Side features images Ian Beesley has taken across the industrial north on both sides of the Pennines.

They have gone on display at Salts Mill in Saltaire and he has also made an accompanying booklet with Barnsley poet Ian McMillan.

The 72-year-old wanted to highlight the mental and physical benefits of visiting pubs, especially for men.

He said: "People might say there's an irony in that, in going to the pub and drinking beer.

"But you've got a number of things going on. You've got your mental wellbeing, because you're socialising.

"You're combating loneliness, you're making friends. It's making you feel part of a community.

"And being social animals, it's very beneficial for your health."

Beesley, who grew up in Eccleshill, said the walks and pubs in the exhibition were not the "pastoral ideals" often featured on TV programmes.

He said: "Particularly if you live in a city, if you live in a post-industrial area.

"What you normally do if you're walking to a pub, you're probably walking down a nondescript street.

"You might go down a snicket, you might go across a bit of industrial wasteland.

"It's the idea that it's good for you to walk and the benefits of walking and walking with a friend.

"But also the other thing is it doesn't matter if you're walking in the countryside or the urban environment - it's just as good.

"The thing I'm putting forward is if you actually walk through the post-industrial landscape it's amazing what you can see."

Beesley, along with long-time friend and collaborator McMillan, used trains that run between Leeds and Manchester to choose some of the destinations.

Their booklet is intended to be part of a trilogy, the first being Sup Up & Away, and is in partnership with local brewery Amity Brew Co in Greengates.

It also has a foreword by Prof John Wright from the Bradford Institute of Health Research.

Take a Walk on the Mild Side is in Gallery 2 at Salts Mill and is part of Beesley's larger Life Goes On exhibition, which is free to the public.

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