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Old Paths And Ways Around Bronte Country

Difficulty Moderate

Walking time 3 hours

Length 9.7km / 6.0mi

Route developer: Christine Whittaker

Route checker: Steve Hughes

Start location St Michaels Church, Main Street, Haworth BD22 8DR
Route Summary A circular walk from historic Haworth Village, treading moorland paths once familiar to members of the Bronte family. Returning, after a steep climb beside the falls, along tracks, quiet lanes and ginnels used by local inhabitants over centuries.
*move mouse over graph to see points on route
Getting there

Parking information: Shirley Street Car Park, behind St Michaels Church, or the car park at the top of Weavers Hill off Sun Street.

Public Transport:   Bus Route 500 travels through Haworth between Keighley and Hebden Bridge - see http://www.keighleybus.co.uk 

Description

[1] The walks starts from St Michaels Church, close to the (A) Parsonage Museum. With the church tower on your left follow the path, and go through the kissing gate, turning right onto a paved path with allotments and then a car park on your left.  Take the first turning right up a narrow lane between buildings to Dimples Lane. Cross and take the path on the left up into Penistone Country Park.  At the signpost keep going straight uphill, but soon take the path on right to the Trig Point, which should be just visible. From the point turn sharp right down to the Bronte Way, turning left along the Way, enjoying the views.

[2] Staying on the Way, turn right at a signpost to Bronte Falls and Top Withins. Cross Moorside Road onto the path opposite, soon turning left following a track (Enfield Side Road) along the valley.  Eventually the valley becomes narrow, more wooded, and quite rocky as you descend to the Falls. Here, do not cross the bridge unless you wish to visit Top Withins (believed to be the inspiration for Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights). This adds another 2.5 miles. If you do, return to this point.

[3] At the bridge, turn left up the steep hillside path alongside the (B) Bronte Waterfall (not signposted but just visible).  At the summit the path becomes paved.  On reaching Harbour Lodge, follow the signpost left to Haworth along a well defined wide track on Haworth Moor.  Continue for quite a distance, until you come to a signpost. Follow the less well defined path down to the right towards Leeshaw Reservoir. At the bottom turn left along a wall, and then take the path signposted right (over a stile). This takes you downhill, passing Westfield Farm on your right, to Lee Lane. 

[4] Turn left to the road junction, and then right, down Moorside Lane. Cross and follow the track (signposted on your left), past Pin Hill End Farm.  Go straight ahead along a double walled ginnel, over a stile and take the left of the two stiles in front of you around an old house. At the end bear left through a ginnel in front of some cottages and through a metal kissing gate to an old path.  At the end turn right into a lane and bear left behind cottages and through a gate. Cross a field and go along the road, turning left at the end, up Moorhouse Lane to Marsh Lane.

[5] Turn right and take the first left up Old Oxenhope Lane.  At the bend turn right (signposted), through a stile by the side of the farm gate and follow the wall left. Continue to field junctions, and go ahead but with the wall now on your right. Go ahead through a narrow gate at the end and follow the narrow (overgrown) path around the back of houses and cross a lane. Follow the path ahead through two fields. Turn right  through the gate at the end onto an old stone walled path around Sowdens Farm. This brings you back to the path where you began.  Retrace your steps to St Michaels Church.

To continue to the steam trains of (C) The Keighley and Worth Valley Railwaywalk down Main Street from the church, cross diagonally through Central Park , then across Belle Isle Road to a footbridge over the rail line into the station.

POI information

(A) Bronte Parsonage Museum - www.bronte.org.uk

(B) Bronte Waterfall was very popular with the Bronte Sisters as shown by Charlotte Bronte's  description of the falls in 1854 as 'a perfect torrent racing over the rocks, white and beautiful' (although I don't think that this is it's normal state!) to be found on the Haworth Village website:  http://www.haworth-village.org.uk/brontes/places/bronte_falls.asp

(C)  Keighley and Worth Valley Railway (steam trains) - www.kwvr.co.uk  

Notes

Map: OS Explorer Map: OL21. 

Visitor Information: at the top of Main Street http://www.visitbradford.com

Eating and drinking: There is a choice of cafes and pubs in Howarth

 

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to The Crowood Press. http://www.crowood.com/default.asp  for their permission to include this walk on the Ramblers Routes website.  The walk is based on an updated walk from their book ‘100 Walks in Yorkshire’ - part of their 100 walk books series - soon to be published.  The Ramblers of South Yorkshire and North East Derbyshire have been asked to assist in updating a number of the walks.

Also many thanks to Visit Bradford Tourist Information http://www.visitbradford.com for permission to use the following photographs: The bridge below Bronte Fall, Haworth Main Street, Penistone Hill trig point, and Looking back towards Bronte Waterfall (on route to Top Withins).

And finally, thank you to Lawrence (Larry) W Dowdy for the photograph of Bronte Waterfall http://www.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/~dowdy/sabbatical.html

  • Haworth Main Street
    Haworth Main Street
    By - Bradford Tourist Information
  • The Penistone Hill trig point
    The Penistone Hill trig point
    By - Bradford Tourist Information
  • Looking back towards Bronte Waterfall (on route to Top Withins)
    Looking back towards Bronte Waterfall (on route to Top Withins)
    By - Bradford Tourist Information
  • The bridge below Bronte Fall
    The bridge below Bronte Fall
    By - Bradford Tourist Information
  • The Bronte Waterfall
    The Bronte Waterfall
    By - Lawrence W Dowdy
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