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Haworth to Bronte Waterfall Walk


Bronte bridge
Bronte Bridge

Discovering Wuthering Heights


There are plenty of walks in and around Haworth, including the 2 3/4 mile Haworth to Bronte waterfall walk. Experience the landscape made famous by the Brontë sisters.



Bronte walk start Haworth church
Start ; St Michael and All Angels' Church

Start by the steps of the church which is at the top of the cobbled main street. Look out for the stocks near the red telephone box.











A sign at the top of the steps will guide you in the right direction past the church





St Michael and All Angels church Haworth
St Michael and All Angels' known as the Bronte church for its links to the literary Bronte family


Follow the path lined either side by stacked dry stone wall covered in moss.



Bronte falls signpost. Notice the Japanese writing
Bronte falls signpost. Notice the Japanese writing

The signpost will direct you up a gentle hill to the moors where you will take a literary journey over Haworth Moor to Bronte falls.


The walk is well signposted on reasonable footpaths but it is not suitable for pushchairs, wheelchairs or small children. Walking boots, food and drink and appropriate clothing and waterproofs are essential. Some parts of the path near the falls are muddy and there is a rocky incline to navigate down to the stream.



At the top of the hill continue over the road.



Walkers on Haworth moor
Walkers on Haworth moor

The walk from here is gentle but a little uneven in places.



Froth pond Haworth moor
Froth pond Haworth moor

The park is mostly open heather moorland, which is abundant with bilberries during summer.] Penistone Hill is scarred with lumps of sandstone and small ponds (known as forth ponds) that were used to drain the moorland when it was being mined for coal. One large pond is thought to be a depression caused by a previous mineshaft


The next sign you come to directs you to Bronte falls in 2 different directions. Continue on the main path. A bit further on you will come to some stone books set into the ground where the path intersects. Continue straight on.



Lower Laithe Reservoir near the Brontë beauty spot of Haworth.


Lower Laithe Reservoir was restored in 2015 as part of a £60m maintenance and modernisation programme by Yorkshire Water. Its embankment is just over 1,000ft long and stands 80ft high. It supports a diversion of Waterhead Lane which used to cross the valley through the middle of the reservoir area. Submerged in the reservoir are Lower Laithe Farm and Bridge and an old worsted mill,



After some distance the path splits, take the path to the right, where after a short distance we meet another path. Again keep right. On your right in a hollow you will see the remains of an old water pump.

The pump was used to draw water from a coal mine shaft that was just along the moor.




Cattle grid with Kissing gate
Cattle grid with Kissing gate



Derelict farmhouse
Derelict farmhouse



First view of Bronte bridge and falls
First view of Bronte bridge and falls

When the Bronte sisters came it wasn't known as their family name but as the meeting of waters. The stone beside the Bridge is known locally as the Bronte chair.

Bronte falls
Bronte falls


People resting by Bronte bridge
People resting by Bronte bridge

Bronte bridge crosses south Dean Beck. The bridge was destroyed in a flash flood in May 1989 and rebuilt in 1990. The top stones of the Bridge known as Bronte bridge for over a 100 years were never found.


Bronte falls stream South Dean Beck
Bronte falls stream - South Dean Beck

South Dean Beck is Known as Sladen Beck nearer Haworth




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