Leaving Hebden Bridge, having replenished our supply of snacks, we climbed steeply out of the valley, up rocky tree covered slopes. We crossed farmland before finally joining the Pennine Way. It was an easy path to follow, with the ubiquitous flagstones for long stretches of the otherwise boggy path, at times monotonous, especially as it was a dull, cloudy day. The monotony was broken by the occasional becks we needed to cross and the reservoirs we circled. The highlight for me was reaching Top Withens, the ruined farmhouse which supposedly was the inspiration for Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ – although this has been disputed. By now it was windy and bitterly cold, and it was easy to imagine Heathcliff riding across the bleak moors! From this point we left the path to descend into Haworth, where the Bronte sisters lived and wrote their novels, and where we were to stay the night.

A Backward Glance

We climbed a thickly wooded escarpment out of Hebden Bridge to a wide rocky ledge which we traversed with tall trees reaching up to us offering false security on our exposed flank. Views through trees onto the village and valley below added to our enjoyment of the extraordinary path with interesting rock formations providing home to noisy crows. Soon we were out of the woods and heading across fields towards the moor again with a biting wind in our faces. We met a couple of other walkers and an older couple who were behind us for a mile or two until we stopped for a break when they passed. Later we noticed that they were backtracking towards us just as Kamoot was taking a shorter route cutting a corner off The Pennine Way. When we arrived back on the Pennine Way again the couple reappeared about half mile in front of us! We came across ‘Top Withens’ a derelict farmhouse that has the reputation for being the inspiration for the Earnshaw family residence in Wuthering Heights novel by Emily Brontë. I’ve heard the book described as ‘a masterpiece of literary genius that is incredibly unpleasant to read’, so I think I’ll give it a miss. Our walk to Haworth where we stayed the night took us past ‘Brontë Waterfall’ where a lot of people were spending their afternoon off work. The Bronte family may have enjoyed this beautiful spot; an oasis in a bleak landscape and time.