YHA Haworth (Partner) - January 2025

Top Withens, as viewed from a crook by a creek.

January’s chill (and what a chill it is even now, here in the UK) could not deter my thirst for good walking. So it was that my partner and I ventured out into the frosty landscape, bound for the wily, windy moors. For this is, of course, Brontë country. YHA Haworth, in the West Yorkshire village made famous for its association with that literary family, is a grand Victorian Gothic mansion, with all the trappings of former wealth you might expect from a building of that era. Painted glass and ornately carved oaken inner balconies abound.

As undeniably beautiful as the building itself is, the surrounding moor surpasses it. The first evening of our short stay, we gained our bearings and explored Penistone Hill, Lower Laithe Reservoir, and the village itself, even spotting the heritage steam train (the 45212 LMS ‘Black 5’ to be precise) on its way from Haworth station on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway line. The walking routes are very well signposted, and the winter chill keeps the moisture locked away in frost - a suitable trade for icy surfaces, so long as you go with care.

The famous 45212 LMS ‘Black 5' at Haworth station.

The next day, we set off in the crisp morning air, our first stop the Brontë Waterfall, accessible by travelling over Penistone Hill and down the south side of the valley, past the reservoir. It is a fairly short walk of around 45 minutes from Haworth, although the ice prompted a more cautious approach, and I always allow a little more time to appreciate the view! The Falls themselves are fairly tame, though picturesque, complete with a small stone bridge (no prizes for guessing its name. Hit a theme and stick with it, here).

Moorland on Penistone Hill.

From the bridge, the climb up to the sunny side of the valley is a lovely one, offering sweeping vistas back over the route below. As the path wound onwards, we espied our next destination: Top Withens, a ruined farmhouse and the supposed inspiration for Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (the novel as a whole, as opposed to the Earnshaw home itself, as the plaque erected at the site is at pains to point out). It’s an arresting image, even from afar, standing proud on the bare landscape, the neighbouring two trees its sole company.

Top Withens, viewed from the path to the east.

In fact, the rambler is spoiled for dramatically-framed views of the building on the path leading up to it. Once you have arrived, the views out over the moors are similarly striking, although the popularity of the spot somewhat detracts from any musings on your romanticised, Heathcliff-like solitude.

Inside the ruined farmhouse itself.

Winter daylight being what it is, the turn back to Haworth via Ponden and Stanbury worked out perfectly in terms of usable day, and the low Sun, that winter mainstay, never ceases to produce dramatic views to entertain and delight.

YHA Haworth (Partner) verdict: Excellent!

A stately building, well-appointed and warm, perfectly situated in prime walking country.