The Hamlet of Lumbfoot, Haworth, Bronte Country, April 2015

Since it takes a lot less time to take photos than to edit them and write about them I always have a lot of old images "waiting to see daylight" and be dealt with. On this occasion I'd like to share a beautiful circular walk around Lumbfoot G and I went for about this time last year.
The map of the route can be found on the "Four Countryside Walks from the Pennine Village of Haworth" leaflet available at the Tourist Information Centre in Haworth. It is such an exhilarating and easy walk and quite different from other walks around Haworth in that it runs through the river Worth Valley countryside which differs in appearance from the famous adjacent moorland, adding to the varied beauty of the landscape around Haworth.

The wonderful view greeted us very soon after leaving Haworth Main Street with a dry stone wall on our left, Lower Oldfield Farm in mid distance and rolling hills beyond.



Lower Oldfield Farm - such a welcome encounter. Just love the rural setting and detail, all looking so appealing in the interplay of spring sunshine and shadow.

It was such a glorious late April day, perfect to explore this part of Haworth countryside. I felt so alive and buzzing with a liberating feeling.

One of the joys of springtime is lots of cute lambs all over fields. Loved this little scene with the lamb chilling in the shade snuggled up against its mother.

This must be one of the most idyllic and magical spots I have ever been to. When the old bridge came into view I just gasped with incredulity. The charming packhorse bridge over the river Worth, Grade II listed building, is paradoxically called "Long Bridge" as it is anything but long, although it may have been long by the standards of the time it was built in (date uncertain). The area around it is very peaceful and tranquil, and all you can hear is the murmur of water and all you can see delightful rolling countryside. G and I lingered here for a while soaking in the beauty and peace. It was a weekday, and there was nobody about. We had this amazing place all to ourselves. I decided I must come back here with a picnic blanket and book of the Brontes' poems, and I will make sure it does happen this summer.

The chimney stump and engine house of the demolished Lumbfoot Mill.

Lumbfoot is such a little gem in the Bronte Country. There is only a private road leading to it and a public footpath. I marvelled at the handful of lovely, tucked away houses thinking how peaceful and idyllic it must be to live here.

An attractive row of cottages at the end of the hamlet. One of them had its stable door open on this beautiful spring early afternoon (how I love stable doors!!!), and as we passed we could here from within the clinking of cutlery against plates as the inhabitants had their lunch. It all looked and felt like a bliss to me.

This lovely sign at the entrance to the hamlet made me smile. It tells you not only how many people live there but also how many dogs and cats. Lumbfoot was twinned with Lhasa, Tibet as part of the 1989 declaration of independence from the UK following a dispute between its villagers and those of the nearby Stanbury. It is a piece of history which I find rather bizarre.

We left the hamlet by a narrow, very steep, walled foothpath leading towards Stanbury with some lovely elevated views.

Lower Laithe Reservoir near Stanbury. With it's Victorian sluice house it is quite an attractive feature in the Bronte Country, especially in panoramas with dramatic light.

A breathtaking view over Sladen Valley, near Cemetery Road, Haworth. The wonderful vista stretches for about three quarters of a mile, and it is one of the most captivating I have ever seen.