BRONTE WATERFALL WALK, HAWORTH
Take a trip back in time on this popular Howarth waterfall walk…
Start: Bronte Village, Haworth, BD22 8QN
Distance: 5 miles
Duration: approx. 2 hours
Elevation: 400 feet
Navigation: follow the route here
Lace up your walking shoes and let the echoes of Wuthering Heights guide the way as you explore the landscape that inspired some of the most iconic works in English literature.
Haworth
The village itself is home to many quaint tea rooms, souvenir shops and a few quirky pitstops you can’t afford to miss. Our favourite is The Cabinet of Curiosities, a traditional shop that’s been restored it to it's former glory as a Victorian druggists and apothecary shop.
Cabinet of Curiosities
The museum-like shop truly is like stepping foot in an old apothecary store, warmly lit by glass globes, fragranced with exotic oils, and packed from floor to ceiling with rich mahogany and glass display cases. Over the years the family-run business has taken on a true labour of love, salvaging many of the shops fittings from chemists, grocery shops and museums to replicate the ‘wonder-rooms’ of a time gone by.
You could easily spend a full day here, but we were dying to check out Bronte Waterfall and Top Withens, a ruined farmhouse which is thought to be the inspiration for Heathcliff’s home in Wuthering Heights.
Bronte Waterfall and Top Withens
The Bronte Waterfall is a great place to rest on your way to Top Withens (Wuthering Heights), Alcomden Stones or Ponden Kirk (The Fairy Cave). Top Withens (also known as Top Withins) is a ruined farmhouse near which is said to have been the inspiration for the location of the Earnshaw family house in Wuthering Heights.
Originally known as ‘Top of th'Withens’, Top Withens is thought to have been built in the second half of the 16th century by George Bentley. At the time of the Brontës, it was inhabited by Jonas Sunderland and his wife Ann Crabtree (from 1811) and then their son, Jonas, with Mary Feather (from 1833). It was last inhabited by Ernest Roddy in 1926.
On 18 May 1893, Top Withens was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm. Holes were made in the wall, the roof was partially torn off, flags were cracked, and around 30 windows were almost completely removed. Today, it attracts literary fans from across the globe, each wanting to take a peek at Heathcliff’s house.
Nature, literature, and history truly converge in this short walk, inviting you to experience the setting that inspired some of the most enduring works in English literature. Let the words of the Brontës echo in the Yorkshire winds—here, among the moors and waterfalls, the stories truly come alive.
Fancy giving this one a go? Follow the route here
