Monday 15 July 2019

401 Walks from Haworth 2019

Our next walking will be on

Saturday 10th August 2019

and will be from 

Haworth and Brontë Country




Haworth is a hilltop village not far from Bradford
in the heart of West Yorkshire's Bronte Country.

Situated above the Worth Valley amid the bleak Pennine moors, Haworth is internationally famous for its connection with the Bronte sisters, who were born in Thornton (near Bradford), but who wrote most of their famous works while living at the Haworth Parsonage (which is now a museum owned and maintained by the Bronte Society), while their father was incumbent parson at the adjacent Haworth church.

Other attractions include the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway,  
an authentic preserved steam railway which has been used as a setting for numerous period films and TV series, and which also plays a starring role in the village's annual 1940s weekend where locals and visitors alike don wartime attire for a host of nostalgic events. 

 Several public footpaths lead out of the village, and there is much scope for rambling, though perhaps the most famous walk leads past Lower Laithe Reservoir to the picturesque (but unspectacular) Bronte Falls, the Bronte Bridge, and the Bronte Stone Chair in which (it is said) the sisters took turns to sit and write their first stories. This path (which forms part of the 64 km (40 mile) long Bronte Way) then leads out of the valley and up on the moors to Top Withens, a desolate ruin which was (reputedly) the setting for Heathcliff's farmstead in Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights". [N.B. Top Withens can also be reached by a shorter walking route departing from the nearby village of Stanbury.] Also nearby is Ponden Hall (which is believed to be the house called Thrushcross Grange in "Wuthering Heights").

                           
Bronte Bridge on a rainy walk
Back in the village of Haworth itself there are many good tea rooms, souvenir and antiquarian bookshops, restaurants, pubs and hotels (including the "Black Bull" - where Branwell Bronte's demise into alcoholism and opium addiction allegedly began). As such, Haworth makes an ideal base for exploring the principal attractions of Bronte Country, while still being close to the major cities of Bradford and Leeds.

 There will be 3 walks;
  • A Walk led by; Garth Raybould
  • B Walk led by; Lee Kelly
  • C Walk led by; Gwyn Jones

A Walk from Haworth 2019

Walk Leader:Garth Raybould
Distance: 13 mls
Total Ascent/descent: 1980ft app


This is a classic moorland walk, with great views to all horizons (weather permitting), several reservoirs, a lengthy section of the Pennine Way and some ‘interesting’ bits like half a mile of shoulder-high ferns and the occasional bit of boggy ground.  We also pass Top Withens, the (now abandoned) farmhouse reputed to be Emily Bronte’s inspiration for Wuthering Heights.  It’s a fairly tough walk, by distance rather than climbing, though there are one or two steep bits.  We shall need to keep up a brisk pace, and also keep close together towards the end of the walk where navigation is challenging.
Top Withins on an earlier walk.

B Walk from Haworth 2019

Walk Leader: Lee Kelly
Distance: 8.5 mls app
Total Ascent/descent: 1100/ 950ft app
B Linear Route from left to right
 

Who wants to traipse the moors all day when there is something better to walk? Todays walk is a regular one because it offers so much variety and interest, so why change what has been successful in the past.

We start at Laneshaw Bridge in Lancashire (Free Toilets) and head towards Wycoller alongside Wycoller Beck.

Arriving at this picturesque ancient village we cross one of seven ancient bridges to view the remains of Wycoller Hall, the inspiration for Ferndean Manor in Jane Eyre.

Keeping our eye open for the Panopticon, we continue on the Bronte Way, alongside the beck, gradually climbing and enjoying the views and heading towards the highest point of the walk and our lunch stop.

Watersheddles Reservoir was undergoing a £1.4m modernisation the last time we were here and its nice to see several new ladders over the walls. The path meanders through ferns and alongside the river Worth and since the Rights of Way officer has promised to clear the pathway, as he did last time it will be a lovely section of the walk
Continuing along the Bronte Way we cross the river Worth and climb up to great views.


Passing Ponden Hall (Thrushcross Grange in "Wuthering Heights ) and reservoir (may be canoeists) we head towards the quant village of Stanbury.

We now cross the dam of our third reservoir (inspecting for possible breaches!), then head uphill for Haworth and the Bronte Parsonage.


 

C Walk from Haworth 2019

Walk Leader: Gwyn Jones
Distance: 5.5 mls app
Total Ascent/descent:




This walk takes us along the Bronte Way, across to the village of Stanbury and back to Haworth. It is not a flat walk. There will be time to stop for a breather when needed. Most of the inclines are gradual with one short climb after we cross the South Dean Beck. We will stop about half way up to have our sandwiches. Some of the paths are a bit rocky so if you use a stick bring it.

We start from the church and gradually make our way onto Haworth Moor. We then drop down to the Bronte Way and continue on to Bronte Bridge. The climb from here is on the Pennine Way but we don’t stay on it too long before we turn across meadows and along lanes to Stanbury. From here we drop down to cross the reservoir before another gradual ascent back to Haworth. 
Bronte Bridge from our picnic site

Towards Stanbury and Lower Laithe Reservoir