Sunday Walking: From Hebden Bridge to Haworth. . .

When out with my walking group - and especially when doing the harder walk - it's all about the walking, not the stopping.  This is a shame when you go through a pretty town like Hebden Bridge. Nestled in a valley, it was hard hit in the floods last year but hopefully seems to have recovered. From what I could see - as our leader frogmarched us through the streets -  there were lots of lovely shops and cafes.  I think a future day trip needs to be planned to explore in more detail.

Our twelve and half mile walk was a linear from Hebden Bridge to Haworth, home of the Brontes and one of my favourite places to visit. I had never approached it on foot from the south though, and it was a very pretty walk. The first part took us through Hardcastle Crags - mostly woodland owned by the National Trust. We followed this river for a mile or so.

There's still so much vibrant colour in the landscape this time of year.  I don't even mind a bit of mist and grey skies - the other colours seem to pop against it.

About half way through the walk, we reached the moors (my favourite bit), joining the Pennine Way as it snaked around the three Walshaw Dean reservoirs.

And then the sun came out.  Isn't this gorgeous?

This is the approach to Top Withins, the "inspiration", more in location than actual building, for Wuthering Heights. You can just see it nestled near the back of this photo.

Here's a closer shot.

We stopped for some lemon drizzle cake, but it was getting cold, so we marched on.  I had to take one more look back.

I was wearing my toasty Latvian mittens.

And here, in the ever-changing light, are some photos of the famous moors between Top Withins and Haworth itself.

We arrived just as it was getting dark. Haworth is all decked out in its Christmas finery with a big tree at the bottom of its famous, steep hill, and xmas music playing.  We even saw some Morris dancers who were calling it a day after entertaining tourists.

And you can easily catch a bus back to Hebden Bridge if you want to make the trip a circular.  I think it would be a wonderful walk in either direction.