On Tuesday we visited the village
of Haworth; a small village roughly
3 miles south-west of Keighley, and 10 miles west of Bradford.
Haworth is
perched high up in the Pennines, and due to its
literary connections as the home of the Brontë sisters (Charlotte, Emily and
Anne), is a popular tourist destination. (Some might say it's too popular with
tourists - more of that later.)
We drove up to Haworth with Mrs PBT's
cousin and her husband. Cousin Kathleen was born in the village, and spent her
formative years there, so not only was she able to act as our guide, but she
could tell us what the place was like before it was overrun by tourists.
She told us that back in the sixties, Haworth
was still a working village and was pretty much self-contained, with plenty of
local shops (including several bakers and grocers, plus a Co-Op), a couple of
banks, village schools, a garage and doctor's surgery. The only thing Haworth
didn't have, was an opticians.
Now, as can be imagined, the village is a collection of tea
shops, souvenir outlets, art galleries and establishments offering alternative lifestyles
(New Age sort of stuff). In short, Haworth is no longer the working and
"lived-in" village it once was, as even most of the remaining
cottages have been turned into second homes, or holiday lets.
Drinkers will be pleased to know there are still a fair
number of pubs; most of course catering for visitors rather than the few
remaining locals. We didn't visit any, as neither Kathleen and her husband are
drinkers, and I was driving anyway, but I would like to go back and try a few.
It is possible to reach Haworth by a combination of
public transport and the Keighley & Worth Valley Heritage Railway.
Despite the "dry" day, we had a really enjoyable
look round. The weather was kind and, although a cold wind was blowing, we were
blessed with wall-to-wall sunshine. It was especially good to have been shown
round by someone who had lived in the village and could recount at first and
what it had been like to have grown up there.
Before going any further, here's a quick few words about how Mrs PBT's came to
have family connections with "God's Own
Country". WWII is to blame, as
during that conflict her mother's brother was posted for a while to Keighley.
He met a local lass there and after returning safely from the war, married her
and settled down in the area.
I'm not quite sure how they ended up living in Haworth, but
they spent the first two decades of married life there. The couple moved from the
village when it started to become overrun with tourists. We met my wife's' aunt earlier this week, she is 95 years old and still quite sprightly, even
accompanying us for a walk along the famous Bingley Five Rise locks, on the
Leeds-Liverpool canal.
Returning to Haworth, we enjoyed a spot of lunch in one of
the many cafés - the Cookhouse, before returning to the top of the village. Our
visit was particularly good for Mrs PBT's continued recuperation, as she accomplished more walking
than she has done since her discharge from hospital.
The fact that for much of the time she was walking along
chatting to her relatives, meant she didn't really notice we'd descended from
the top of Haworth, almost to the station at the bottom of the hill, before
climbing all the way up again. This was without any encouragement from me, which
had to be a plus!
So an excellent day out, made all the more enjoyable by the
services of a local guide. As for Haworth's famous former residents, I'll leave
you to make your own minds up about them. I'm certain though that the sisters
never imagined quite how famous they and their works would be in years to come.
Whatever their thoughts though, I think they'd be horrified by what happened to
their village during the late 20th Century.
If you ARE interested in those Brontë girls, then buy a
£9.00 ticket and queue up with all the other tourists, for a tour around the Brontë Parsonage Museum.
If you think I did this, then you are wrong, but back in the late 1970's, and
in a different life, I confess that I actually did step inside the place.
13 comments:
"She told us that back in the sixties, Haworth was still a working village"
Interesting. I wonder if television played a part it in becoming a tourist attraction?
(from what I hear, the same is true over here with Japanese tourists descending in hordes every year on the location for Anne of Green Gables).
"It is possible to reach Haworth by a combination of public transport and the Keighley & Worth Valley Heritage Railway."
I notice on that website even the bus has "Bronte" written on the side. ;)
"It was especially good to have been shown round by someone who had lived in the village and could recount at first and what it had been like to have grown up there."
Lucked in there. :)
"as she accomplished more walking than she has done since her discharge from hospital."
Excellent news.
"I think they'd be horrified by what happened to their village during the late 20th Century."
Not to be too reflective but that could well be true of many a place... in Europe more so than here. :)
Cheers
Quite a few "Howarths" in there, including the title 🙁
And as villages go it's actually a pretty large one.
Well spotted, Mudge. Corrections duly made, plus a slight alteration to the title. I'm surprised Russ didn't spot the typos!
Haworth is a surprisingly large village; it even had its own secondary school, back in the day - albeit a small one.
Just an "anorak" point here for your consideration Paul.
I read that members some of the crow family live to well in excess of a hundred years old, some to a hundred-and-sixty.
It might not still be true these days, but there would have been a time quite recently, when visitors to the Brontë parsonage would have been squawked at from the sycamores, by a few of the very same birds which raucously greeted the Brontë family too.
Cheers,
E
"I'm surprised Russ didn't spot the typos!"
I confess I usually don't take notice of place names. ;)
Interesting about the crows and their longevity, Etu. I can just imagine them squawking up in those trees, on a bleak winter’s afternoon.
Russ, it wasn’t until Mudge pointed out my inconsistent spelling of the word Haworth, that I realised I didn’t take much notice of the place name either.
There's a village in Yorkshire called "Havercroft" which many lay people might imagine on first glance was a misspelling of "hovercraft".
Lovely photos there Paul. In my experience, you missed not a lot pubwise. The pubs all seemed very tidy but food-led, with few featuring in the Beer Guide over the years. I think Haworth looks smaller than it actually is due to part of it being at the foot of the hill, and the main shops being quite concentrated on one street.
Hey, Mudge. I always mistake "Farage" for a misspelling of a***hole. It's easily done eh?
Are comments like the one above considered acceptable on your blog, Paul?
Mudge, much as I enjoy some of your blog posts and the comments relating to them, you do seem rather to me to be trying very, very hard, to create a Safe Space for those who share your often quite narrowly-particular points of view.
Paul's blog, for me, demonstrates one of the very best of British Values. That is, of giving differing opinions a fair hearing.
Incidentally - here's a challenge - can you cite a British Value, which is not also shared by any modern, rule-of-law democracy?
But yes, my previous remark was a bit slapstick maybe.
Cheers,
E
Gentlemen, having been guilty on several occasions of posting the odd “off topic” comment on other people’s blogs, it would be rather hypocritical if I banned them on my own.
However, to prevent the comments degenerating into a runaway spat between a small number of people, I would prefer it if we could keep things broadly on the subject in question.
For the record, and to demonstrate how things can get out of hand, a couple of months ago I had to delete a rather insulting and very personal remark posted by that old Fleet Street hack, Professor Pie Tin. He seems to have taken exception to this, and has made several digs about it; most recently on Retired Martin’s blog.
I experience considerable difficulties my contemplations on substance, however I truly felt I ought to here. Your article is truly awesome. I like the way you composed this data. Boxing Day 2019
Post a Comment