If you are a fan of any of the Brontës, I highly recommend a visit to Haworth, England, where the sisters and their brother, Branwell, were born, wrote, and lived most of their short lives.
You can walk from one end of town to the next in ten or fifteen minutes, assuming you don't stop in at any of the many small shops and galleries which cater to present day visitors.
We had bitterly cold weather during our visit, and even with a heater going full blast, our hotel room was chilly. Imagine how miserable it would have been to live in there with only coal fires for heat!
We ventured out on one of the many paths to explore the surrounding countryside.
Rolling hills are criss-crossed with stone walls and dotted with sheep
At the edge of sheep meadows we passed through this gate to the moor, and up to Top Withins, the farm believed to have inspired Emily's description of Wuthering Heights. The lone tree on the horizon marks its location.
And it is certainly every bit as windswept as Emily's vivid descriptions suggest. In this photo you can see how the grass and the tree branches are being bent by strong winds.
Of course, no visit to Haworth is complete without a stop at the the Brontë Parsonage.
The sisters did much of their work at this table.
A number of their belongings are on display, including this sampler completed by Charlotte just before her twelfth birthday.
Seeing this inspired me to dig out my own little sampler.
My original design has gone missing so I had to make a replacement. It is a small and simple piece, worked on cotton thread over linen. I'm hoping to be able to finish it within a week or two.
You can walk from one end of town to the next in ten or fifteen minutes, assuming you don't stop in at any of the many small shops and galleries which cater to present day visitors.
We had bitterly cold weather during our visit, and even with a heater going full blast, our hotel room was chilly. Imagine how miserable it would have been to live in there with only coal fires for heat!
We ventured out on one of the many paths to explore the surrounding countryside.
Rolling hills are criss-crossed with stone walls and dotted with sheep
At the edge of sheep meadows we passed through this gate to the moor, and up to Top Withins, the farm believed to have inspired Emily's description of Wuthering Heights. The lone tree on the horizon marks its location.
Though it isn't terribly far from town, it feels very isolated indeed.
And it is certainly every bit as windswept as Emily's vivid descriptions suggest. In this photo you can see how the grass and the tree branches are being bent by strong winds.
Of course, no visit to Haworth is complete without a stop at the the Brontë Parsonage.
The sisters did much of their work at this table.
A number of their belongings are on display, including this sampler completed by Charlotte just before her twelfth birthday.
Seeing this inspired me to dig out my own little sampler.
My original design has gone missing so I had to make a replacement. It is a small and simple piece, worked on cotton thread over linen. I'm hoping to be able to finish it within a week or two.
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