Have just returned from a visit to Yorkshire and delighted that the posts I set to appear on a certain date at a certain time, turned up OK. Never done that before so good to know it works.
Crammed an awful lot of visiting in the two days I and a couple of friends were in Bronte country and, once again, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of Yorkshire. Of course it helped that the sun was shining and we hit the most glorious weekend. All the places visited, Haworth, East Riddlesden Hall, Skipton Castle and Bolton Priory brought back memories as the last time there I was with my husband and children and it brought back recollections of happy days. When I came across the stepping stones across the river in Wharfedale by Bolton Priory I got quite choked up at the thought of my two gorgeous daughters hopping across these and shrieking in fright in case they fell in. It was all lovely.
Over the next few weeks I will post pictures but for today I will concentrate on Haworth and the Parsonage. Each visit to the home of the Brontes is as if I was seeing it for the first time, I never fail to be overwhelmed by the feel and atmosphere which hits you as soon as you enter. The noisiest of visitors and children fall silent and walk round quietly, almost as if everyone was in a church. There is the table in the parlour around which the girls walked each night talking about their work and reading their poetry, there is the study where Patrick Bronte sat each night and read his paper and then went up to bed telling his girls not 'to stay up too late', there is the sofa on which Emily died, there is Charlotte's wedding veil (which I held in my hands on a visit to Haworth many moons ago, posted about here), the tiny little books with the miniature writing, the view of the churchyard from the windows, oh all simply breathtaking and never fails to bring a lump to my throat.
Haworth itself is full of the usual Bronte tea rooms and Villette coffee houses and yet it still retains its integrity. Perhaps because it was later in the season but it did not seem too crowded (I have been there over a Bank Holiday weekend when it was horrendous), and we were one of the first visitors to the Parsonage so had the place in peace and quiet for an hour. In fact this seemed to happen wherever we went over the two days, we seemed to arrive at a quiet time which made it all so much more enjoyable.
I will have to go back again next year and do it all over again...
