Haworth and the Brontë Way

Across the wild Pennine moors to the romantic ruin of Top Withuns.

NEAREST LOCATION

Haworth

RECOMMENDED BY
DISTANCE

8.1 miles (13kms)

ASCENT
1508ft (460m)
TIME
3hrs 30mins
GRADIENT
DIFFICULTY
Hard
STARTING POINT
SE029372

About the walk

Who could have imagined, when the Revd Patrick Brontë became curate of the Church of St Michael and All Angels in 1820, that the little gritstone town of Haworth would become a literary hot spot to rival Grasmere and Stratford-upon-Avon? But it has, and visitors flock here in great numbers: some to gain some insights into the works of Charlotte, Emily and Anne, others just to enjoy a day out. If the shy sisters could see the Haworth of today, they would recognise the steep, cobbled main street. But they would no doubt be amazed to see the tourist industry that's built up to exploit their names and literary reputations. They would recognise the Georgian parsonage too. Now a museum, it has been painstakingly restored to reflect the lives of the Brontës and the rooms are filled with their personal treasures. That three such prodigious talents should be found within a single family is remarkable enough. To have created such towering works as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights while living in what was a bleakly inhospitable place is incredible. The public were unprepared for this trio of lady novelists, which is why all the books published during their lifetimes bore the androgynous pen names of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.

From the day that Patrick Brontë came to Haworth with his wife and six children, tragedy was never far away. His wife died the following year and two daughters did not live to adulthood. His only son, Branwell, succumbed to drink and drugs; Anne and Emily died aged 29 and 30 respectively. Charlotte, alone, lived long enough to marry. But after just one year of marriage – to her father's curate – she, too, fell ill and died in 1855, at the age of 38. Revd Brontë survived them all, living to the ripe old age of 84.

Tourism is no recent development; by the middle of the 19th century, the first literary pilgrims were finding their way to Haworth. No matter how crowded this little town becomes (and those who value their solitude should avoid visiting on a sunny summer weekend), it is always possible to escape to the moors that surround the town. You can follow, literally, in the footsteps of the three sisters as they sought freedom and inspiration, away from the stifling confines of the parsonage and the adjacent graveyard.

As you explore these inhospitable moors, you'll get a greater insight into the literary world of the Brontës than those who stray no further than the souvenir shops and tea rooms of Haworth.

Walk directions

Take the cobbled lane beside the King's Arms, signed to the Brontë Parsonage Museum. The lane soon becomes a paved field path that leads to the Haworth-Stanbury road. Walk left along the road and, after just 75yds (69m), take a left fork, signed to Penistone Hill. Continue along this quiet road to a T-junction.

Follow the track opposite, signed to the Brontë Waterfall. Becoming a path, it eventually descends to South Dean Beck where, close to the stone bridge, you will find the Brontë Seat (a boulder that resembles a chair) and the Brontë Waterfalls. Cross the bridge and climb steeply uphill to a kissing gate and three-way sign.

Keep left, uphill, on a paved path signed ‘Top Withins’. Beyond another kissing gate, ignore the later left fork. After dipping across a beck the path leads on, eventually climbing to a signpost by a ruined building. Walk a short distance left, uphill, to visit the ruin of Top Withins, which can be imagined as the inspiration for Emily Brontë‘s Wuthering Heights.

Retrace your steps to the signpost, but now keep ahead on a paved path, downhill, signed to Stanbury and Haworth and the Pennine Way. Follow a broad, clear track across the wide expanse of wild Pennine moorland. Carry on for a mile (1.6km) to Upper Heights Farm.

At a fork at the farm, bear left with the Pennine Way, shortly passing a second farm. Some 200yds (193m) further on at a junction, the Pennine Way leaves to the left. The route, however, continues with the track ahead signed to Stanbury and Haworth. As other tracks join, the way becomes metalled and leads to the main lane at the edge of Stanbury.

Bear right along the road through Stanbury, then take the first road on the right, signed to Oxenhope, and cross the dam of Lower Laithe Reservoir. Immediately beyond the dam, turn left onto a service road and fork right along an uphill track that meets the lane by Haworth Cemetery.

From here you retrace your outward route: walk left along the road, soon taking a gap stile on the right, to follow the paved field path back into Haworth.

Additional information

Well signed and easy to follow

Open moorland

On lead near sheep on open moorland

OS Explorer OL21 South Pennines

Pay-and-display car park, near Brontë Parsonage

Central Park, Haworth

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route.

Know a good walk?

Share your route with us.

WALKING IN SAFETY

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Find out more

About the area

Discover West Yorkshire

Everybody knows that Yorkshire has some special landscapes. The Dales and the Moors first spring to mind, but what about West Yorkshire? That’s Leeds and Bradford isn’t it? Back-to-back houses and blackened mills… Certainly if you had stood on any of the hills surrounding Hebden Bridge a hundred years ago, and gazed down into the valley, all you would have seen was the pall of smoke issuing from the chimneys of 33 textile mills. But thankfully, life changes very quickly in West Yorkshire. The textile trade went into terminal decline, the mills shut down forever and in a single generation Hebden Bridge became a place that people want to visit.

The surrounding countryside offers walking every bit as good as the more celebrated Yorkshire Dales; within minutes you can be tramping across the moors. And this close proximity of town and country is repeated all across West Yorkshire. There’s such diversity in the area that you can find yourself in quite unfamiliar surroundings, even close to places you may know very well. Take time to explore this rich county and you will be thrilled at what you find to shatter old myths and preconceptions. 

Why choose Rated Trips?

Your trusted guide to rated places across the UK
icon example
The best coverage

Discover more than 15,000 professionally rated places to stay, eat and visit from across the UK and Ireland.

icon example
Quality assured

Choose a place to stay safe in the knowledge that it has been expertly assessed by trained assessors.

icon example
Plan your next trip

Search by location or the type of place you're visiting to find your next ideal holiday experience.

icon example
Travel inspiration

Read our articles, city guides and recommended things to do for inspiration. We're here to help you explore the UK.