Showing posts with label Bronte. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bronte. Show all posts

Monday, 13 June 2016

Bronte Yorkshire - 5 Top Bronte Attractions on a trail from Holdsworth House

2016 marked the 200th anniversary since Charlotte Brontë's birth. Sisters Charlotte (the eldest of the surviving girls born to father Patrick and mother Maria), Anne and Emily lived in Haworth, West Yorkshire, with their brother Branwell. Their parsonage home, adjacent to the church where Patrick preached, is now a world-class museum dedicated to preserving the Brontës' artefacts and works.

If you're London-based then we suggest you hop on a Grand Central train and take the direct journey from Kings Cross to Halifax, West Yorkshire to combine a luxury short break with visiting the Bronte sights first hand. Stay at Holdsworth House in Halifax and you'll have the perfect base from which to explore.

There are some brilliant Bronte Places listed on the Bronte website, but here are our Yorkshire recommendations to enhance your literary trail:

Bronte Parsonage, Haworth
1. The Bronte Parsonage Museum, Haworth. 
A 20 minute car ride from Holdsworth House takes you across the rolling landscapes to the beautiful town of Haworth and the Brontë Parsonage Museum. Feel goosebumps as you wander their halls, see their writing desks, jotters, drawings, paintings, clothes and artefacts. In Haworth you'll find plenty of coffee shops, the Black Bull pub that was frequented by Branwell and the famous cobbled street that was the scene for the Tour de France Grand Depart in 2014. (N.B.Brontë Parsonage closed each January).
2. Visit the film locations of the latest chapter in the Bronte story.

Filming of Sally Wainwright's To Walk Invisible 2016 Brontë drama, written for the BBC, took place on Penistone Hill - half a mile from Haworth (around 20 minutes drive from Holdsworth House). Out on the moors a fake parsonage was built for filming. Penistone Hill makes a wonderful visit if you're a walking enthusiast; it boasts 179 acres of undulating grass and heather moorland with many rough paths and breathtaking views; you'll see the actual landscapes that the Brontë sisters wrote about and cast your eyes where theirs once fell.

To Walk Invisible was a drama about the lives of the Brontë sisters and brother Branwell. It took the viewer on an unmissable journey through the Brontës' everyday struggles - as Emily, Anne and Charlotte attempted to get their works published under male pseudonyms.



The fake parsonage for the BBC drama To Walk Invisible

3. Top Withens - Haworth Moors. Thought to be the most likely inspiration for Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights house. A lonely farmhouse (now ruins) that you can walk to from Haworth along the well-marked path which runs past the Brontë waterfall. For more description and directions click here.

Red House, Gomersal
4. Red House, Gomersal is 30 minutes from Holdsworth House by car. This Grade II* Listed 1830s cloth merchant's home has fascinating Bronte connections and is featured in Charlotte Bronte's novel Shirley. As well as seeing the restored house and outbuldings you can wander the beautiful gardens.

5. The Lord Nelson Pub, Luddendon is just five miles from the hotel and was the drinking place of Branwell whilst he was station master at Luddenden Foot Railway Station and where he met with the Luddenden Reading Society. Here you'll get another good Yorkshire pint in an lovely country setting. 

Book a Holdsworth House Bronte Break from £135 per room for one night including tickets to the Bronte Parsonage Museum, or book our Best Available Rate online for the number of nights you need.
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Monday, 7 March 2016

Charlottle Bronte's Bicentenary Year

If you're a Bronte fan you'll be excited that 2016 marks the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Bronte's birth. The Bronte Parsonage Museum, in nearby Haworth, West Yorkshire, has lots of events taking place to mark the special occasion on April 21st, the same celebration date as the Queen's birthday.

As well as wreath laying and a party in Charlotte's name, the Museum is hosting a brilliant exhibition curated by novelist Tracy Chevalier. You'll be able to see the Bronte's writings, their household artifacts, their clothes and of course where they lived and wrote many of their world-famous novels.

WHERE TO STAY - BRONTE COUNTRY

Holdsworth House is a beautiful country manor hotel, on the outskirts of Halifax and a scenic 20 minute drive to the centre of Haworth, where you'll find the Bronte Parsonage Museum. Built in 1633 Holdsworth House was once owned by the Wadsworth family.

BRONTE CONNECTION?

In the early half of the 1800s Holdsworth House was lived in by Elisabeth Wadsworth whose family was of a similar standing to the Brontes. Whilst Elisabeth's precious diaries, which are with the Halifax library, do not mention meeting the Brontes there is reference to Elisabeth seeing the famous violinist Paganini. It is believed that the Brontes also went to a performance of Paganini - perhaps it was the same one, we will sadly never know.

Holdsworth House offers a Bronte Break, which includes an overnight stay with breakfast and two adult tickets to the Bronte Parsonage Museum. If you're a Bronte fan and attending any of the bicentenary events then come and stay here.

Wednesday, 19 August 2015

MAKE A BREAK FOR IT TO YORKSHIRE...


...AND MAKE HOLDSWORTH HOUSE YOUR DISCOVERY BASE

There's so much to see and do this August and September in Yorkshire so we've picked our top five experiences that will give you a taste of the county's culture, heritage and landscapes, all within easy reach of Holdsworth House.

1. GO MAD FOR THE BRONTES:
FREE BRONTE GUIDED WALKS, TALKS AND TICKETS TO THE BRONTE PARSONAGE MUSEUM
Every Tuesday throughout August
At 11am and 2pm every Tuesday throughout August the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth (about 15-20 minutes drive away ) are offering free talks or guided walks covering a variety of topics connected to the Brontes and their works. The museum is open everyday and whenever you stay at Holdsworth House on our Bronte Break you'll get two tickets to the brilliant, eerie museum - the Brontes' home.

Or visit for the Bronte Festival of Women's Writing, 4th - 6th September with plenty of famous names, events and activities on offer.

2. EXPLORE THE ART FUND'S 2014 MUSEUM OF THE YEAR:
FREE ENTRY TO THE YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK
Across rolling hills, along miles of countryside paths and meandering rivers and beneath architecturally sublime galleries you'll discover majestic, world-renowned art. Just a stone's throw from the M1 (40 minutes drive from Holdsworth House) is the Yorkshire Scultpure Park. Outdoor displays of contemporary and moden art include those by Yorkshire born Henry Moore, whilst current indoor artists include Robert Ryan's Listen to the World papercut and prints, Laura de Santillana & Alessandro Diaz de Santillana's glassware and Sir Anthony Caro's sculptures. Free entry to the exhibitions and displays, just pay for car parking. It's a full day out.

3. SPECTACULAR SUNDAYS
Sundays in August and September just got exciting. Every Sunday you can stay 'Chez Nous' enjoying all our home from home comforts that make a relaxing break perfect: two course home cooked dinner, a wonderfully comfortable sleep, full breakfast in bed and a lazy late Monday check out... It's time to put your feet up and rest.
BOOK A BREAK 'CHEZ NOUS' >>

On Sunday 13th September we're running another Knit and Natter event. So if knitting, crocheting or sewing is your thing then bring your project and join other like minded people for a full afternoon tea (and a cocktail!)
BOOK THE KNIT AND NATTER >>

4. SALTAIRE FESTIVAL
11 - 20 September 2015
This annual celebration of the heritage and arts of Saltaire, Bradford offers a plethora of arts and craft activities, food and drink stalls, musicians and bands, comedy and dance, film and theatre. The Saltaire Festival is a great event to experience and you'll discover the history and unique story of Salts Mill in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Saltaire, built by Sir Titus Salt and now housing plenty of original David Hockney canvases - another brilliant gallery with FREE admission!

5. GET ACTIVE:
SOUTH PENNINES WALK & RIDE FESTIVAL
12th - 27th September
The South Peninnes is an area where Yorkshire and Lancashire collide. It has steep-sided valleys, heather-covered moorland, canals, rivers and packhorse trails and covers some of the most interesting towns nearby including Hebden Bridge, Haworth and Todmorden. You can come and take part in scores of events from Chi Walking or Guided Walks of Roman Forts to Night Navigation. Or bring your bike (safe storage available at Holdsworth House) and join a cycling event - like the Tour de France climb famously named Up the Buttress! There are tons of outdoor activities planned - so stay for a few nights to experience the best Yorkshire has to offer. Remember dogs are welcome at Holdsworth House too! Download the Walk & Ride Festival brochure

You can book a room at Holdsworth House on 01422 240024 for any of the events listed above, subject to availability.

Tuesday, 1 October 2013

Recommended in The Guardian

CalderdaleWinter sunshine on Calderdale. Photograph: Alamy
Holdsworth House made the national press on Saturday 28th September 2013.
"The Calderdale Way, West Yorkshire
The Calderdale Way is a 50-mile circular walking route around West Yorkshire, offering every type of view: windswept Brontë moorland, meandering canal towpaths and autumnal woodland, plus some of Yorkshire's best little towns, with great names like Lumbutts and Mankinholes. It's champion. Enjoy a good Yorkshire cream tea en route, such as the one at Holdsworth House) in Halifax."