Today I was going to drive from my last hotel in Harrogate to a new location--a luxury camping pod at a sheep farm at the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. However, I noticed that the town of Haworth was not too far out of the way, so I decided I had plenty of time to stop there on the way.
The road started out great--not too much traffic and an easy drive. Unfortunately, that did not last long. It was only a 30 mile drive, but as I got closer to Haworth, the route took some ridiculous shortcuts through some narrow country roads and then through a hillside collection of homes and through a couple of tiny towns. Following is the first easy drive, and then the horrible shortcut.
It started to get bad a little before this photo below when i missed a turn and did a couple of circles trying to get back on track. I could not take photos of the entire route because I had to watch out for stone walls and sharp turns.
At this point below, I was sure I was on the wrong route, but no, that's where my GPS wanted me to go--through people's back parking areas!
You've got to be kidding that I am supposed to go past this white car and down that stone path!!! And that white car is even sticking out a little.
The next turn was left through this narrow alley.
And down whatever this road is.
It got a little wider here, but it did not last.
Made it to the Bronte parsonage, but my trusty GPS, told me to turn down this road for parking. Ha!
And it got narrower and narrower, but no place to turn around. Had to keep going.
OK, which path would you take, right or left? I ended up going left because it looked a bit wider.
Passed the Bronte church.
And some shops. Plus a lot of pedestrians. Glad to at least see another car there so I knew it was technically a real road.
And down the road, the pedestrians parting as I drove past.
Still not to the end.
Someone who knew where they were going, or another lost soul?
No photos, but I finally got to the end, drove around the block and discovered the parking lot where I should have parked in the first place. Whew! Below is a photo of the inside of the church where the Bronte father was the minister.
To the right of this photo is the church cemetery and the church in the distance. I took this photo from the entrance to the Bronte yard, so you can see how close the parsonage was to the church. Since the church was facing the little village I drove through, you can also see how short a distance it was for the sisters to walk there.
The entrance to the Bronte home.
The front of the parsonage faced the church and cemetery. The left side of the house is where the family lived, and the right part was built after their deaths, so it was a bit newer, although it does not look so.
The downstairs consisted of four rooms, two on each side of a central hallway. The rooms were the kitchen, dining room, father's study, and a room with a piano.
Upstairs were four rooms that are assumed to be a room or two for the girls, one room for a servant, and a playroom when the girls were younger. Following are some of their belongings displayed in the rooms.
Of the sisters, Charlotte was the one who had very poor sight, and here are the glasses she wore. She had to be very close to the paper as she wrote all of her books.
And the father's bedroom. The bed is a replica of one he designed and had built but no longer exists.
A painting of the sisters and their brother.
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