The Brontë Waterfall and Bridge, Haworth

In the afternoon after visiting the Brontë Parsonage and church I decided to further wander in the footsteps of the family by walking the trail that goes from next to the Parsonage to the so called Brontë Waterfall and Bridge where the sisters in particular liked to walk.

The weather was quite hot – reaching around 27C that day – so I decided that I would take it very easy and not rush too much as there is really no shade anywhere along the route. After therefore stocking up on some food and drink to take with me from the local shops and making sure to reapply my sunscreen I headed out. Doing the route as it passed by the Brontë Parsonage is a very easy walk, clearly laid out. The first part of the route takes you through the small gap above and across a field which when I left was empty but on my return had a lot of cows in it so I walked along the road on the way back (do not wander into fields with cows in them especially if they’re blocking one of the exits out of the field!) Also note that the way out of this field is by the narrowest kissing gate I’ve ever encountered.

The scenery was gorgeous of course with lots of lambs and sheep roaming about. Worth noting that the first stage is a road with no pavements but its not very busy and large enough to walk at the side safely (always facing the traffic coming towards you!). If you’re driving there are places to park for free along the route. Also, once you get further along this route there isn’t anywhere to stop for a rest on the way and the grass is rather full of sheep droppings so I wouldn’t recommend sitting on that!

The walk should take roughly an hour there so a two hour round trip – it took me a little longer as it was very hot and I wasn’t walking particularly fast.

The route next to the road starts off like this

before you need to walk by the side of the road

until you reach this area and continue straight ahead (you can of course branch off here and explore more of the moors that way).

It was very peaceful and quiet though not completely isolated – there were frequent walkers coming back from the waterfall but I was the only way headed down that way for most of the route.

Things do get a little tricker the closer you get to the waterfall – steeper but also larger stones and narrower paths to navigate. It can also be surprisingly damp and muddy even on a very sunny day.

Now, don’t be disappointed, but this is what the waterfall looked like on my visit – a week later Yorkshire was declared to be in drought – but even so it is not a particularly large waterfall at any time.

Make sure to take note of this interesting shaped rock as you step towards the waterfall – the sisters, but particularly Charlotte, used to sit here composing their works. I didn’t try to sit on it myself but I did give it a friendly pat as I walked by.

The bridge is just a few steps from the waterfall. The original was destroyed by a flash flood in 1989 so this one is a replacement installed in 1990.

It was near here that I took a much needed sit down and had a drink and a bite to eat. This walk is part of the Brontë Way which encompasses 43 miles passing through places that touched the lives of the Brontës in one way or another from inspirations for places in their novels to the house where they were born. A little further away from the Bridge and Waterfall is Top Withens, suggested as inspiration for Wuthering Heights but I was far too hot and tired at this point to go any further knowing I had a long trek back ahead of me.

It really is a very easy walk and impossible to get lost. There are occasional signposts that direct you to other parts of the moor and trails to follow if you want to go a bit off the beaten track but I certainly didn’t have time for that and just stuck to the main path. As long as you’re reasonably fit and wearing sensible shoes it should be fine, it wouldn’t be good for wheelchairs or pushchairs particularly the closer you get to the waterfall. Naturally there is no fee for visiting.