Vesna Armstrong Photography

Branwell Brontë (1818 - 1848) was the brother of the famous Victorian literary sisters - Charlotte, Emily and Anne. He appeared just as talented a writer and artist as his better known sisters, but sadly he squandered his talents through becoming addicted to alcohol and drugs, which resulted in his untimely demise at the age of 31.  There are a few Brontë connections in the Lake District, the most significant probably being the one of Broughton-In-Furness, a small historic town on the Duddon estuary in the southern part of the Lake district. Branwell Brontë lived and worked here in the first half of 1840. This is what Branwell said about Broughton in a letter to a friend, John Brown: " I am fixed in a little retired town by the sea-shore, among woody hills that rise round me - huge, rocky and capped with clouds ".  Branwell worked as a tutor to two small boys for the Postlethwaite family who lived in Broughton House, a large, impressive building which is used as offices today...

  Highlights from my first visit this year to my spiritual home, Haworth, the home of the Brontë Sisters. It was a beautiful weekend day with early spring in the air and cheering and uplifting signs of nature awakening all around. A much needed day for both my body and soul. 

Brontë Parsonage Museum is one of the most fascinating and well preserved former literary homes in the world. It was the home of the Victorian Brontë sisters - Charlotte, Emily and Anne whose novels belong to the classics of English literature and are still widely read and enjoyed today.  The parsonage is situated in the village of Haworth, West Yorkshire, at the top of Main Street and on the edge of bleak, broody but beautiful heather moorland which inspired the sisters' writing. There were no trees in the graveyard when the Brontës lived here. The sisters lived in the parsonage from the early childhood to their untimely and tragic deaths, with their brother Branwell, father Patrick and aunt Elizabeth Branwell (there were also two older sisters who died very young). Brother Branwell was just as talented as his sisters, but sadly succumbed to alcohol and drugs abused which prevented him from becoming an acclaimed writer/artist. Aunt E. Branwell came to look after the children when ...

  At this time of the year when the countryside is usually a bit too muddy for pure enjoyment I like to visit pretty villages or small towns and have a good explore and stroll around them. I regularly pass through the town of Bingley on my travels to Haworth, and  this quiet New Year Bank Holiday seemed a perfect time to actually stop there and have a gentle tour. Bingley is a great place for walkers and nature lovers. It lies both on the River Aire and Leeds-Liverpool canal. Right in the centre there is the entrance to the huge and very beautiful Myrtle Park, but the best thing for me is St Ives Estate, a 550 acres Country Park full of features and surprises which I will no doubt be returning to later on in the year.  

  Since, sadly, there is no Christmas market this year in Leeds, the town I live in, I was very pleased to learn there is one taking place in York, one of my favourite cities and most certainly one of the most beautiful towns in the UK and beyond. I hadn't been there for quite a while and was very excited to walk around the town's old, historic and charming streets festooned with Christmas lights and decorations. There is a lot of Christmas related events happening there at the moment, too, and the city very much exudes the magic of the season.   

  Last weekend I stayed in my beloved Haworth, for what could be the last time till spring. Yes, I will be going back soon, of course, but probably just for a day visit until days get longer again. Apart from a couple of brief sunny spells it was a very wet weekend, which prevented me from venturing out on the moors, but I still had a good and relaxing time staying in the village.  It was a Halloween weekend. I personally don't care much about Halloween; what interests me a lot more is Samhain, a pagan Earth festival that usually starts on the 31st October. Samhain marks the end of harvest season and the beginning of winter according to the Celtic calendar. For me winter does start in November when all the autumn colours slowly disappear, the trees become bare, the nights are drawing in, and there is that wintry chill in the air.  This short video is about the change in seasons - the transition from autumn to winter.     

  I have been walking Haworth and Stanbury Moors in Brontë Country for many years now, but I have never had or seized a chance to be there on a beautiful summer sunset evening until last week. Oh my, the magic of it makes me want to witness the beauty as many times as possible in the future. On this particular occasion the sunset may have not been as spectacular as it can possible be, but nevertheless, the experience of being on those bleak hills as the sun was slowly slipping below the horizon bathing the landscape in warm, soft glow mingled with blue fading light was simply sublime.  Etsy Shop

  I am so lucky and grateful to live not far from the town of Otley and the wonderful forest park high up above it called Chevin. It is easily the most beautiful woodland area I have been to; full of character, history, lots of most breathtaking distant views and interesting features such as The White House, Dibbs Cottages, dry stone wall maze, Vacca Wall, to mention just a few. It is a perfect place for a refreshing stroll, reflection and a spot of connection with nature.  It was very cold on this early May morning, but the light was beautiful and the air crisp and scented with spring growth. Etsy Shop 

  The long, long, eagerly awaited day had arrived and the excitement at the prospect of being back to my beloved Haworth was overwhelming as I rode on the bus that would take me there. It was a beautiful, unforgettable day in every way; even the weather could have not been better for a leisurely, refreshing hike on the moors - warm, but not too hot, wall to wall sunshine and surprisingly, hardly any wind at all.  From the Brontë Parsonage I headed towards Penistone Hill via Balcony Lane; I walked towards the cricket club and down the path leading onto the road at the village of Upper Marsh. On Moor Side Lane I turned left by the sign for Drop Farm. After the farm I joined the track called Farm Road which leads to Harbour Lodge Farm. From the farm I followed the faint path across open moorland to Brontë Falls. I returned to Haworth by Enfield Side Road, Penistone Hill and Dimples Lane. Etsy Shop

  This year I spent my birthday with my beloved in laws who live in Newark, Nottinghamshire. The weather was lovely on the day and G and I enjoyed taking our doggie for a walk in the beautiful nearby  woodland. Etsy Shop 

My new video comes as highlights through a selection of photographs and video clips of my recent, extremely enjoyable two night stay at my beloved Haworth in Brontë Country.   A very special thing that happened was that my dear photographer friends, Helen and George Coupe came from Lancaster to meet me and it was such a pleasure to spend quality time with them chatting, walking, taking photos and having a meal together.   The places featured in the video are Ponden Kirk and Stanbury Moor, Top Withens and Haworth Moor, Penistone Hill Country Park and Brontë Parsonage Museum. The purple moorland heather, which was my main point of interest on this particular visit, was still very beautiful, but it had already started to go over.  The best thing about the video is probably my encounter with a grouse. What a beautiful and interesting bird it is! I really don't understand how people can go out and shoot them for fun. I'd never seen a grouse from such a close distance...

Now I have very much taken to creating videos on my iPhone I decided to pair my videography with my love and appreciation of nature by creating a short seasonal movie for each month of the year. Each of the movies will consist of a selection of video clips on nature around me which I took that month. The movies, which I will share from my new YouTube channel , will be accompanied by some still images also taken during the same month.  I am pleased I start my new project with the month of August, the last summer month, characterized by a sheer riot of colour in nature. There is an abundance of  great variety of flowers out there, and berries and autumn fruit are starting to ripen. It is certainly one of my favourite months of the year. Most of the still images were taken in Golden Acre Park, a park in north Leeds I am lucky to live not far from. I love going there at any time of year, but August is an absolute must as the colourful tended gardens are at their very best. 

Today's post is about the video of the fourth and final day of my recent stay in Haworth, Brontë Country. I'd saved Ponden Kirk, my most loved and cherished place, to visit last. I started my walk from Ponden Reservoir, and after a quick catch up with my dear friends Julie and Steve at Ponden Hall, I took the familiar track past their home leading up onto the moors and to Ponden Kirk. It was a great day both for walking and for photography, the moors looking characteristically broody and remote under the overcast, somewhat menacing sky, and the heather that just started turning purple waving in the wind. Ponden Kirk, a gritstone rock set on the top of Ponden Clough hillside, is mentioned in Emily Brontë's novel "Wuthering Heights" as Penistone Crag, and it is the spot where the protagonist lovers Cathy and Heathcliff meet. The views from the rock are breathtaking, for me the most beautiful and impressive I have ever seen. I feel a strong bond with this magical pla...

Here is my new video which is about a beautiful day out walking around Chatsworth House Gardens during our recent short break in Derbyshire, Peak district with our dear friends. The House, which was a filming location for the 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen's "Pride And Prejudice", was still closed due to Covid 19, but there was so much to see and enjoy in the wonderful 105 acre garden that it was more than enough to make our day fulfilled. Photos from the trip can be seen here

On the third day of my last month's stay in Haworth I walked to Top Withens, the iconic Brontë related location; the farmhouse ruin the location of which was the inspiration for the location of the Wuthering Heights house, the home of Cathy and Heathcliff in Emily Brontë's novel. I wanted to visit Ponden Kirk on the same day - another landmark from the novel, but the paths from the south and west seemed invisible and the terrain rather hazardous looking, so I decided to leave Ponden Kirk for the following (last) day. Walking from Top Withens in the north-west direction I could see Alcomden Stones in the distance, so I made my way towards them. It was an easy, clear and not very long path, and I was pleased to have visited the stones even though I didn't plan to do so. I walked back to Top Withens and returned to Haworth via Brontë Bridge and Falls and Cemetery Road. It was a pleasant, not too sunny day, with spells of some beautiful lighting. I could not have been happier a...

In this post, which took a bit longer to create due to the fact I have been away on a short break, and also the fact that now I am learning about managing a YouTube channel as well as learning videography, I am sharing an iMovie of day 2 of my recent stay in the beautiful village of Haworth, the home of Brontë sisters. It was raining more or less all day, so I decided to spend the day shopping and visiting some of my favourite shops on Main Street and saying hello to my shop owner friends. In the evening I enjoyed walking around the Brontë Parsonage, Haworth Church and the graveyard capturing with my iPhone the distinctive romantic and melancholy mood enhanced by the rain. It was a beautiful day, inspired by the quaint vibe of the village and the ever present spirit of Brontë Sisters, my perpetual muses.   Day I

Here is the first in the series of four iMovies I have created from video clips I took on the first day of my recent stay in Haworth. All the short movies, created on my iPhone XS Max, will be made as a result of my deep love and passion for the countryside around Haworth that strongly inspired literary Victorian Brontë sisters, who lived and wrote here. The movies will convey my endless love and appreciation of nature and changing seasons, and they will be visual stories of the individual days I spent in the place that has become my haven and my spiritual home. Day1 started with my checking into Weavers Guesthouse , which together with Ponden Hall , is my favourite place to stay in Haworth. It stands in the very heart of the village, overlooking the Brontë Parsonage Museum, which sadly remains closed for now. My beautiful "Pennine View" room has a view to the Parsonage which at this time of the year is hidden behind the thick foliage of the trees. I soon set off on my f...