Where does this route start and end?

The route runs from Leeds, West Yorkshire to Leeds, West Yorkshire in West Yorkshire, England.

When is the best time to travel this route?

The best time to travel this route is May to September.

How active is this route?

Activity level: Easy-going. Easy-going and accessible for most fitness levels.

What transport do I need for this route?

A car is the primary way to get around on this route.

What budget do I need for this route?

Mid-range spending — expect comfortable accommodation and a mix of dining options.

What type of accommodation suits this route?

Mixed accommodation works well along this route.

What is the pace of this trip?

Relaxed — plenty of time to linger at each stop.

What type of trip is this?

This route is well-suited to: Scenic, Culture, Nature, Classic road trip, City hop.

West Yorkshire: Bronte Country and the Industrial Pennines Loop from Leeds

Q: How long is the West Yorkshire: Bronte Country and the Industrial Pennines Loop from Leeds route?

This route takes 8 days taking in 6 stops.

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The route · 6 stops

1
Leeds
1 night
Yorkshire's largest city and the unofficial capital of the North, Leeds was transformed by Victorian prosperity into an architectural showpiece. The Royal Armouries national museum and Kirkgate Market, the largest covered market in Europe, anchor a first day. The Corn Exchange, a domed Victorian trading hall, now houses independent shops.
Yorkshire's largest city and the unofficial capital of the North, Leeds was transformed by Victorian prosperity into an architectural showpiece. The Royal Armouries national museum and Kirkgate Market, the largest covered market in Europe, anchor a first day. The Corn Exchange, a domed Victorian trading hall, now houses independent shops.
Royal Armouries: free, open daily. Kirkgate Market: closed Sundays. Leeds station has direct trains to London King's Cross and Manchester. Roundhay Park, 3 miles north, is free.
2
Saltaire
2 nights
The model industrial village built by mill owner Titus Salt in 1851, Saltaire is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the best-preserved Victorian planned workers' town in England. Salts Mill, the largest industrial building in the world when built, now houses the 1853 Gallery with a major David Hockney collection.
The model industrial village built by mill owner Titus Salt in 1851, Saltaire is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the best-preserved Victorian planned workers' town in England. Salts Mill, the largest industrial building in the world when built, now houses the 1853 Gallery with a major David Hockney collection.
Salts Mill: free, open daily. Saltaire village streets are free to explore at any time. Saltaire station is on the Wharfedale line (15 min to Leeds). Bradford is the nearest city for accommodation.
3
Haworth
2 nights
The Bronte sisters grew up at Haworth Parsonage, now the Bronte Parsonage Museum, in this austere Pennine village on the edge of the moors. Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte wrote Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall here. The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway runs steam trains down the valley.
The Bronte sisters grew up at Haworth Parsonage, now the Bronte Parsonage Museum, in this austere Pennine village on the edge of the moors. Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte wrote Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall here. The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway runs steam trains down the valley.
Bronte Parsonage Museum: book tickets online; popular in summer. Top Withens (the ruin linked to Wuthering Heights): 4-mile walk across the moor. Worth Valley Railway timetable varies seasonally.
4
Hebden Bridge
1 night
An old weaving town in the Calder valley, Hebden Bridge climbs steep hillsides in terraces of weavers' cottages, some stacked on each other to form the double-decker houses unique to the area. Hardcastle Crags, a wooded National Trust valley two miles north, offers the best walking on this route. The Rochdale Canal runs through the town.
An old weaving town in the Calder valley, Hebden Bridge climbs steep hillsides in terraces of weavers' cottages, some stacked on each other to form the double-decker houses unique to the area. Hardcastle Crags, a wooded National Trust valley two miles north, offers the best walking on this route. The Rochdale Canal runs through the town.
Hardcastle Crags (NT): car park at Midgehole Road, pay-and-display. Heptonstall village: 10-minute walk uphill from Hebden Bridge, free. The Rochdale Canal towpath is flat and well-surfaced.
5
Halifax
1 night
The Piece Hall (1779) is one of England's finest Georgian buildings: a colonnaded cloth trading hall of 315 rooms around a central cobbled courtyard, now a cultural venue with independent shops, restaurants and an events programme. Dean Clough, a former carpet factory, is a quarter-mile north with galleries.
The Piece Hall (1779) is one of England's finest Georgian buildings: a colonnaded cloth trading hall of 315 rooms around a central cobbled courtyard, now a cultural venue with independent shops, restaurants and an events programme. Dean Clough, a former carpet factory, is a quarter-mile north with galleries.
The Piece Hall: free courtyard access; book ahead for events. Wainhouse Tower: open on Bank Holidays only. Dean Clough: free galleries, open Mon-Sat. Park at Eureka car park on the A629.
6
Leeds
The loop closes in Leeds. A final morning at the Corn Exchange or a walk along the Aire to Leeds Dock completes a journey through the West Riding's wool and textile heritage, its literary monuments and its Victorian industrial confidence.
The loop closes in Leeds. A final morning at the Corn Exchange or a walk along the Aire to Leeds Dock completes a journey through the West Riding's wool and textile heritage, its literary monuments and its Victorian industrial confidence.
Leeds Bradford Airport is 8 miles north-west of the city centre. Leeds station has direct trains to London King's Cross (2 hrs 15 min), Edinburgh (2 hrs 30 min) and Manchester (55 min).

Route highlights

Culture
The Piece Hall Halifax
Built in 1779 for the trading of handwoven cloth from the surrounding townships, the Piece Hall is a remarkable survival from the height of the West Riding's wool trade. Its Italianate colonnaded facade encloses 315 individual trading rooms on three floors around a large central courtyard. Restored in 2017, it now functions as a cultural venue, market and outdoor events space, and remains one of the finest Georgian commercial buildings in England.
Culture
Bronte Parsonage Museum
The Georgian parsonage at the top of Haworth's cobbled main street was the Bronte family home from 1820 until 1861. Charlotte, Emily and Anne wrote their major novels here, and many of their manuscripts, possessions and personal effects are on display. The museum recreates the rooms as they were in the Brontes' time, with the sisters' tiny handwritten notebooks and Charlotte's wedding bonnet among the most affecting objects. Book tickets online; summer queues can be long.
Culture
Salts Mill and the 1853 Gallery
Sir Titus Salt's great industrial mill of 1853 was the largest building in the world at its completion. The 1853 Gallery inside the mill holds one of the most important collections of work by Bradford-born artist David Hockney, including large-scale paintings of the East Yorkshire Wolds and a complete run of his iPad drawings. Entry is free; the mill also contains bookshops, design studios and a cafe. Open daily including Sundays.
Scenic Drive
Top Withens and Haworth Moors
A 4-mile walk from the top of Haworth village across open moorland leads to Top Withens, a ruined farmhouse on the exposed ridge above the Worth Valley. Emily Bronte associated Wuthering Heights with this landscape, though the ruin itself was too small for the farmhouse in the novel. The walk follows the Pennine Way north out of Haworth; the moorland views are the best on this route. Take waterproofs and wear boots regardless of forecast.
Activity
Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
A preserved standard-gauge steam railway running 5 miles from Keighley (on the Airedale main line from Leeds) through Haworth to Oxenhope. The line was used for filming The Railway Children in 1970, and its Victorian station buildings, steam locomotives and period rolling stock are maintained to a high standard by volunteers. Services run most weekends and daily in school holidays. A round trip from Haworth to Oxenhope and back is the most scenic section.
Culture
Heptonstall Village
A hilltop village reached by a steep 10-minute walk from Hebden Bridge, with two churches in the same churchyard: the ruins of the medieval Church of St Thomas a Becket (redundant after a storm in 1847) and the Gothic replacement built in 1854. American poet Sylvia Plath is buried in the churchyard of the newer church. The village's weavers' cottages and cobbled streets are largely unchanged from the 18th century.
Activity
Hardcastle Crags
A wooded National Trust valley two miles north of Hebden Bridge, running up into the South Pennines AONB. The main path follows Hebden Water upstream past beech and oak woodland to Gibson Mill, a cotton mill from 1800 that now operates as an environmentally sustainable visitor centre. There are waterfalls, a millpond and good birdlife including grey wagtail and dipper in the stream. The car park at Midgehole Road is pay-and-display; the valley itself is free to enter.
Culture
Royal Armouries Leeds
The national collection of arms and armour, moved from the Tower of London to a purpose-built museum in Leeds in 1996, with over 70,000 objects. Five permanent galleries cover war, tournament, self-defence, hunting and oriental arms, displayed with full-size figures, horses and period settings. One of the finest free museums in England, and consistently undervisited. The museum is on the south bank of the Aire at Leeds Dock, 15 minutes' walk from the station.

West Yorkshire: Bronte Country and the Industrial Pennines Loop from Leeds

The route · 6 stops

Leeds

Saltaire

Haworth

Hebden Bridge

Halifax

Leeds

Route highlights

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West Yorkshire: Bronte Country and the Industrial Pennines Loop from Leeds

The route · 6 stops

Leeds

Saltaire

Haworth

Hebden Bridge

Halifax

Leeds

Route highlights

Photos & videos · 0

No photos yet

Frequently asked questions

Ratings & reviews

Comments · 0

No comments yet

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