Distance: Approximately 3 miles
Pram Friendly: No
There are few women from Yorkshire who elicit as much admiration as the Bronte sisters.
Writing world famous literature from a humble village on the outskirts of Keighley is no mean feat, doing it more than 80 years before women were even allowed to vote takes it to a whole other level of achievement.
To celebrate International Women’s Day this walk will take you on the paths these women were sure to walk on, and the beautiful thing is not a great deal of it will have changed.
The aim of the walk is to get to Top Withens, this is an abandoned farm house thought to be the inspiration for Wuthering Heights which appeared in Emily Bronte’s book of the same name.
Whether you believe that or not, the truth is this walk will drop you into some of the most beautiful Yorkshire landscape which undoubtedly inspired these three women.
Start out in Stanbury Village, and find Back Lane leading to Cold Knowle End Road. There is limited parking here but you should be able to find some in the village.
Head onto the moors following the sign posts along rugged paths and in no time you will be in the blissful of the moors.
If you are confused as to why some of the signs are written in Japanese, Haworth attracts as huge continent of literary tourist from Japan in normal times and so some of the signs are to accommodate this.
Keep walking and take in the scenery, it’s truly breathtaking whatever the weather. In honesty I prefer it when it is wild and windy; I can just picture Mr Rochester galloping along on his horse.
Eventually you will come to the bottom of a hill and from there you will be able to see Top Withens, carry on up the hill. It is steep and if it is a wet day the stones can get slippy.
When you reach Top Withens you will be treated to the most magnificent view and there are a few benches to allow you to sit a while and take it all in.
The ruins of the farmhouse itself are also fascinating, it is hard to imagine anyone living in such a desolate place, the winters must have been brutal.
When you’ve descended back down make sure you stop off in Haworth itself to have a look at the Parsonage Museum and the lovely selection of shops and cafes.
