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Always wanted to step right into Heathcliff and Cathy’s sort-of-love story? Clearly, you’re not alone.
Since it was released on February 13 one thing Emerald Fennel’s somewhat controversial adaptation of ‘Wuthering Heights’ has done is show just how beautiful Yorkshire can be. As a result, Haworth, a tiny hilltop village in God’s Own County, has been swept up in ‘Brontëmania’. Local businesses and guides have apparently reported a major uptake in bookings since the film’s release.
Not only was the Margot Robbie movie filmed nearby (find all the filming locations here), but source text author Emily Brontë also lived in the local parsonage. While none of the film was set in Haworth, it’s easy to see how Brontë’s 1847 gothic romance – which explores cycles of vengeance and the cost of unfulfilled desire – may have been inspired by its howling landscape.
Fans of the book have been visiting Haworth for hundreds of years. Since the 19th century, fans have been making pilgrimages to the Brontë sisters’ home in Haworth. At the time, their father Reverend Patrick Brontë – who outlived them – used to cut out his daughters’ signatures from letters to give out as souvenirs.
These days visitors can still wander the winding cobbled streets or ramble along the windy moors of South Pennines.
One of the village’s most visited locations is the Brontë Parsonage Museum, where Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë lived. The museum is currently hosting an exhibition on the novel’s various movie adaptations from its silent movie in 1920 to Japanese and Mexican reimaginings.
Mia Ferullo, the museum’s digital engagement officer, told the Independent: ‘So many people are picking up the book for the first time and discovering the Brontës.
‘People come to the house because they want to learn about the Brontës’ lives,’ she continued, ‘but, actually, it’s the moors surrounding them that make people feel as if they’re stepping into the novels themselves.’
Follow a footpath out of the village and you’ll stumble onto the Brontë Waterfall and ruined farmhouse Top Withens, which is said to have inspired Wuthering Heights’ wild and windswept setting.
If you’re hoping to make your own Brontëmania trip, the nearest local station is Keighley in Yorkshire – which is on the East Coast Main Line and a direct LNER train away from London, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh.
Once you’ve made it to Keighley, Haworth is less than an hour ride away on the Brontëbus – yes that’s really what it's called. For only three quid, the bus takes you past iconic Brontë locations (as well as where The Railway Children was filmed).
Ready to go on your own ‘Wuthering Heights’ tour? Check out our guide to all the filming locations in the movie.
Plus: Airbnb launched a stay in Cathy’s bedroom from Wuthering Heights.
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