Hannah DixHidden away amongst hills and the moors, just on the eastern slope of the Pennines is the village of Haworth. Perhaps better known to most as Bronte Country, the village was home to the three Bronte sisters after they moved there from Thornton in 1820. The family moved to into Haworth Parsonage after Reverend Patrick Bronte was appointed Curate of Haworth. Living at the Parsonage from 1820 to 1861, it saw the creation of three of all time’s greatest novels, Charlotte’s Jane Eyre, Emily’s Wuthering Heights and Anne’s The Tennant of Wildfell Hall.
With its tall stone buildings and narrow cobbled streets, walking the village is like taking a step back to the Bronte era. Yet it is not the village alone which holds the most fame, walking away from the streets and stone you will be led past Lower Laithe Reservoir and once past this, the adventure can begin.
Behind the Haworth you can find the picturesque Bronte Falls, the Bronte Bridge and the renowned Bronte Stone Chair, in which it is rumoured the sisters sat in to write the original stories. If this walk is continued along the right path, up on to the moors, the eventual destination will be that of Top Withens. Now a bleak ruin, it is said that this was the setting for Heathcliff’s moor top home in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering heights.
As well as its long routed Bronte history the village also boasts many more attractions, with such things like its steam railway and a great amount of its own local history. For a day out that will both inspire and enlighten Haworth village is a great destination.
