Haworth, June 9th

It's been a busy week with lots we have seen and done. I have been trying to update here quickly, but not very thoroughly with the hope that I will record where we have been before I forget and the pictures end up in a big pile of English cities, churches and castles without any rhyme or reason. 

After leaving Stratford, Nic and I navigated the M60 north toward Manchester. Nic still has his English driver's license, which qualifies him for these English roads and drivers. Rob will happy to know that we still have both side mirrors and we not hit anything yet. Traffic into Manchester was a bit hairy, but I really enjoyed having a long stint of time with Nic in the car and no other distractions. One thing I have noticed from driving along the big roads is that there is so much greenery it is really hard to see the countryside. As we got more north some of the thick greenery fell to the side and the land opened up into more rolling countryside. Where once the land was very flat and thick with vegetation, it now was open, rolling hills with rock walls.

We arrived in Manchester an hour later than we had hoped, but Vince had dinner almost ready for us as we walked in the door. He and his wife, Jackie, are charming and the best hosts. Their dog Archie is also a doll. I love him.

Due to Vince and Jackie's work commitments, Nic and I have been entertaining ourselves in the day. Yesterday we went to Haworth, home to the Bronte sisters. Since I was 16 I have talked about going to see the moors and wandering the moors to feel the air that my beloved Brontes felt and to know the land that inspired them. It was everything I hoped for and more. Although I was happy to Shakespeare's home and excited, the Bronte home was even more significant to me.

Haworth is a little village wound deeply into the moors and dales (different things and important to know there is a distinction. I am still unclear. One is the top of the hill, the other is the valley. This is important to English people). Although one might think the moors are flat, or rolling hills, they are, in fact, huge hills. The villages are wound in and around these hills and dales. The driving in these villages is even more intense than to the south.

Nic has tracked along with me, mapped out and researched all of the weird villages I need to see in order to complete my literary bucket list. Here he is leading the way up the hill toward the Bronte Parsonage. The village was quaint and cute and too touristy. We were there on a Thursday in early June, which probably helped.

We found a bakery, of course. Nic has a list of foods we must eat while here, so we are on the lookout for his must-haves. Here we found scones with cream, and a curd tart. I have also been snapping as many food pictures as I can for Bella. We ended up coming back here for our lunch later in the day for the meat pie pasty Nic set his heart on as we passed.

Here is a view of Haworth from the top of town. You can see the moors in the background, the steep hill the village has wound itself up, and the remnants of Jubilee decorations.

The homes in the village had tiny yards. Here I snapped a fairy garden complete with a napping cat. Cats here are more commonly seen roaming the city than at home. This little garden seemed perfectly designed as her home. 

I wasn't 100% sure I needed to go into the house because I was a little bit disappointed by how much we paid for Shakespeare's house and what we actually got, but Nic insisted we go in. He reminded me that this was a bucket list moment and 10 pounds was probably not going to make or break our lives. We had also traveled thousands of miles to get here, and it was just a few more steps. So in we went. I do love this guy!

I now have a year long membership to the Bronte Parsonage Museum.

There was, of course, a tiny, beautiful garden outside the Parsonage.

We saw the rooms and some of the clothes Charlotte Bronte wore. I was happy to have been. Once again my understanding of the Brontes was deepened and context was given for their lives that I had not had prior to going. 

These are the moors outside of the Parsonage.

We found my hero laid to rest quietly just steps outside the home she lived in most of her life. And then we went and had some lunch on the steps of a shop. Nic had his pasty and I had a vegan cauliflower roll. We topped it off with a cream scone. It was incredible.

I have started taking lunch pictures of us.

And a curd pie. Neither of us liked that as much as we thought we would.

We found this little foreshadow for our weekend. Nic has dreamed of a Whit Friday brass brand experience for years. Here we found evidence of what is to come...!

The other part of my Bronte experience required that I wander the moors. Nic is always down for a good wander, and so we wander we did - in the rain. It was spectacular. The rain misted down us, the wind rushed over our skin and whipped my hair. Sheep wandered in and around old stone walls, birds soared overhead. It was incredible.

The moors are not easy to walk on, especially if you leave the path. Here you can see the heather, which is the weird, scruffy, purplish foliage. It is not a long willowing grass. It took about a 5 minute conversation between Nic and I to clarify what was heather and what I thought heather ought to be. The grass and heather form big tufts that are uneven and hard to navigate. It is not smooth walking. Under these tufts are often pools of water. If you step and press through the ground cover, you will have a very wet foot. I know. I did it.

Nic turned his ankle on this walk, so I hope it is not too hurt for the upcoming trip to Scotland or our Lake District adventures later this month.

We took this picture toward the end of our romp. It might be one of my favorite pictures of us ever. Neither of us look great, but here we are adventuring in England together.

Sylvia Plath is buried in a village near Haworth, but we opted not to go to her grave. I saw a photo of the grave and it has been vandalized and neglected. I love Sylvia and I couldn't bring myself to go stand in the place she was most miserable or see her further injured by vandals and time. It felt wrong and sad. She is a friend of my soul and somehow it felt wrong.

We rounded the day out with a lovely evening out in Manchester with Jackie and Vince. We ate at a vegetarian restaurant. Nic ordered vegan black pudding. It was really quite good. The food was delicious. The company was great and we may have drank 3 bottles of wine - which means we had a slow start to our morning today!

Today is brass bands and Saddleworth! I hope it is everything Nic has waited for all of these years. I am going to go take some pain killers and mentally prepare.