Haworth

Patrick Brontë became curate here in 1820 and his three surviving daughters wrote their novels in the parsonage at the top of the village, publishing in 1847 under the names Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell; all three and their brother died within a few years, Emily and Anne at twenty-nine and thirty, and the village's water supply, which ran through the graveyard, was reported as dangerously contaminated at the time. The parsonage is a museum with the family's furniture, manuscripts and the tiny books they made as children. The main street is a steep cobbled climb of shops. The moors behind lead to Top Withens, a ruined farmhouse associated with the setting of Wuthering Heights, about five kilometres each way, and to Brontë Falls. The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway runs steam trains to the village.

What you actually see

• The parsonage - the family home with their furniture and small handmade books.
• The cobbled main street - a steep climb of shops to the church.
• Top Withens - a ruined moorland farm linked with Wuthering Heights.
• The steam railway - the preserved Worth Valley line into the village.

When to go

April to October for the moor walks; heather flowers in August. Winter fits the books better and the village is far quieter. The parsonage closes for parts of January.

Honest expectations

Top Withens is a roofless ruin and the association with the novel is traditional rather than documented; the walk is exposed and boggy. The main street is very steep. Haworth trades heavily on the Brontë name and the tourist shops are thick on the ground.

Nearby

Keighley lies down the valley; Hebden Bridge and Saltaire are short drives.