This weekend I made my first trip down to Haworth in West Yorkshire, to visit the Brontë Parsonage Museum for the annual Women’s Writing Festival.
On Saturday, Twitter was abuzz with writers and literary types all enjoying the beautiful weather and the chance to attend talks and network. I couldn’t make the first day, but drove across on Sunday for a poetry workshop in the graveyard at the parsonage.
Unfortunately, by Sunday morning the weather had turned and I drove across the moors through sheets of rain and a dark sky. The workshop was moved indoors, to the Brontë sisters’ schoolroom, where poet Clare Shaw delivered a session inspired by place and by some of the stories found in the graveyard.
One of those stories belonged to Lily Cove, a young woman who travelled the country performing acrobatics beneath a gas filled balloon, before parachuting to the ground. While performing in Haworth, she fell to her death and was buried in the cemetery there.
The workshop group all seemed really engaged with the session and Clare’s strategy of moving round the circle while each person read their work in turn without comment proved to be immersive. By the end, I was caught up in the spirit of the place.
Afterwards, the rain had stopped, so I spent some time wandering through the graveyard. The day had turned misty and still, perfectly atmospheric. Despite the beautiful sunshine the day before, I was glad to visit Haworth on a grey, autumnal day that was made for introspection. It made it easier to imagine how the place might have been when the Brontës lived there and to understand how it influenced their writing.
I made a quick solo stop to a nearby café and then returned to spend an hour exploring the museum. It’s a relatively small space, but it’s beautifully restored and curated and it’s fascinating to see how the family lived. I particularly liked the dark cave of Branwell’s room, a dark, chaotic space that reflected his troubled life.
Spending the sometime alone, exploring in a creative bubble made for a wonderful, memorable Sunday.
Thanks to the Brontë Parsonage Museum for inviting me along.