A Walk on the Moors

"Little girl, a memory without blot or contamination must be an exquisite treasure — an inexhaustible source of pure refreshment: is it not?" - Mr. Rochester

My Class and Tutor

Wycoller Hall

This weekend I had the pleasure of rambling the moors surrounding Haworth - the "Bronte land" of England.  On Friday, I traveled with my Nineteenth-Century Women Novelists class first to see Wycoller Hall (the inspiration for the secluded Ferndean Manor in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre), where we had a picnic lunch and a nice walk around the countryside.  We then drove over to Haworth, and toured the local church and the Bronte Parsonage Museum.  The entirety of Haworth is devoted to the tourism that comes from the Brontes - most shops have some sort of Bronte-related words in their names, etc.  But the town is still very cute to see nonetheless.  Dinner was followed by a viewing of the Lawrence Olivier version of Wuthering Heights and a walk down to the local pub, The Bronte Hotel (they are really original about their names in Haworth haha).

Outside the Bronte Parsonage Museum

The next morning, we embarked on a six-to-seven mile hike around the moors.  Putting the cold, wet, and muddy aspect of this venture aside, the walk was magnificent!  The fields are covered in heather (which sadly was not in bloom), and there are sheep EVERYWHERE (which always makes me think of the board-game Settlers of Catan).  We explored the ruins of Top Withens, the supposed inspiration of Wuthering Heights (the building in reality bears no resemblance to the one described in the novel), as well as waterfalls and hills.

Top Withens

Bronte Falls and the Moors

After a five hour bus ride back into Bath, the second half of my weekend began!  Tasha, my best friend from high school, and her friend Natalie came to spend a couple of days with me over their spring break!  It was wonderful to see them, and I finally got to do some of the more touristy things I've been wanting to see!  We walked around the Roman Baths (the main tourist attraction in Bath), the Art Museum, the Abbey, and went up to the Circus.
This past weekend was definitely a great break from the school work and paper-writing that has been the norm for us ASE students.  I loved having some class-bonding time and getting to see a wonderful friend from home! :)