Organiser – Gary Box
Where – YHA Haworth, Longlands Drive, Lees Lane, Haworth, Keighley BD22 8RT
When – April 8th-10th 2016 (Fri-Sun)
Cost – £79.00 (includes 2 nights accommodation and guided walks)

Summary

For this weekend we will be staying at YHA Haworth, a Victorian Gothic mansion. We have booked a total of 16 beds in 3 rooms, bedding provided. It overlooks the town of Haworth which is famous for its connection to the Bronte sisters who lived here, most are also buried in the local church. The place where they lived and where they wrote their famous novels is not the Bronte Parsonage Musuem. Haworth is a popular location for filming period dramas because of the cobbled streets and steam railway.

YHA Haworth

We will depart London Friday evening (car sharing options announced nearer the time). You will need your own food for breakfast and packed lunch which you can bring to the meeting point or buy on the journey at a services stop.

On Saturday our walk starts from the hostel door. A long route of about 25km (16 miles) will see us walk through Haworth village to Penistone Hill Country Park. We then cross Haworth Moor and head for the ruins of Withins Top which is the building which was the inspiration for the Earnshaw family home in Wuthering Heights. This is also the Pennine Way long distance path which we continue on to Walshaw Dean reservoir to see the lower dam. Next we cross Wadsworth Moor to Walshaw with views of Calderdale, Hebden Vale and Heptonstall Church. Our route back to the start is then via the Haworth to Hebden Bridge long distance path. Once back at the hostel we will have showers, get changed and head out to a local pub for our evening meal.

On Sunday once we leave the hostel we will drive the short distance to Hebden Bridge, a very touristy and popular market town. Our walk today is about 14km (8.6 miles) and like yesterday offers lots of great scenery. From Hebden Bridge the walk heads to impressive Stoodley Pike Monument, which at 121 feet high dominates the landscape and is also on the Pennine Way. The return route for this circular walk will see us follow the towpath of the Rochdale Canal, passing colourful canal boats, especially when we finally reach Hebden Bridge again.

Stoodley Pike Monument

After a little time to explore Hebden Bridge it will be time to say goodbye and drive back to London, expected time of arrival around 7:30pm.