THIS walk lets you follow in the footsteps of the Brontë sisters to the reputed setting for Emily Brontë’s world-famo us novel Wuthering Heights.
Start your walk across the renowned moors from Penistone Hill car park on Oxenhope-Stanbury road (Moor Side Lane) a mile west of village.
Crossing straight over the road, a path runs the short way to a kissing-gate in a fence and heads across Haworth Moor.
After an early moist section a good path bears very gently right to merge into a wallside track.
Continue along past ruinous Far Intake, narrowing into a path as the moor opens out.
The wall drops away and your now rougher path slants down to Bronte Bridge on South Dean Beck. Just before it is the seat-shaped stone known as Bronte Chair.
Across the bridge take the steep path climbing away, through an old wall to a kissing-gate in a fence.
Here the path forks: go left, slanting up, part flagged, through old walls to a sturdy wall.
The path now runs left on a level stroll parallel with the beck below.
Through a stile at the end you pass along the base of a lush sheep pasture, and at the end a kissing-gate puts you back onto moorland.
The left-hand wall drops away and your path runs grandly on.
Just before the path curves right to stepping-stones on a sidestream, note a guidepost sending a thinner path doubling back left: this will be your return route.
For now keep on to a confluence, across which commence a part-flagged climb towards Top Withins.
The path meets the flagged Pennine Way at a meagre ruin, turning left for two minutes to rise to Top Withins, regarded as the Earnshaw home in Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’.
Retrace steps to the guidepost shortly after the streamlet, and bear right on a lesser path between the main path and the stream.
This quickly arrives at two footbridges.
Across the second on Crumber Dike, the path ascends above the sidestream, soon easing to run on through heather.
As the clough fades, the path runs alongside a reedy hollow to a path junction.
Keep straight on through this neat little pass, the path swinging left to reveal Harbour Lodge just below.
Passing left of its confines the path concludes through a moist section to join another path.
Turn right over a small footbridge, above which is the farm access road.
Turn left away from the farm, and on for some time until beyond an appreciable kink.
As the road levels and straightens, advance on until a minor brow.
Here a marker post sends a thin but clear path slanting off to the right.
This angles gently down, and after an early moist section it improves to meet a wall along the moor edge.
A good path runs along to the left, with Drop Farm (occasional refreshments) passed en route.
Keep straight on its drive to the road, then go left back up onto Penistone Hill.
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