I've just had the most wonderful experience of my life this weekend. I've done things I never thought I would do--seen things I never thought I would see. I'm a different person now because of the experiences I've had this weekend. Let me start with the boring stuff...
We went to Stonehenge. It was okay, but there's not really anything to say about it--we saw it, we walked around it, then we left. It was cold and rainy. Here's a picture of me with it.
Then we went to Salisbury Cathedral. I'm not even going to post any pictures of that. It's beautiful, and it's kind of cool because they have one of the four original copies of the Magna Carta, but other than that, it was no big deal, really.
Professor Rutledge, Bobby, Ben, Rebecca, Shradha, Miranda, and I left the group and got a train to Haworth instead of returning to London. For those of you who don't know, Haworth is the home of the Brontes, and it's literally the ends of the earth. We had to get a train to Leeds, then a train from there to Keighley, then get a taxi to a hostel in Haworth to even get close to the Bronte house. Then we had to walk up cobblestoned hills to see the parsonage where they grew up and lived. They've turned the parsonage into a wonderful museum dedicated to the Brontes; they have the actual couch Emily died on! Needless to say, I was speechless and emotional when I was there. They also had some costumes from the most recent Wuthering Heights adaptation, including the Heathcliff outfit that Tom Hardy wore. They had Charlotte's dresses and gloves, locks of her hair, her shoes....everything really. Here I am in front of it.
Now this is where it gets exciting. Our destination was Top Withens, the supposed inspiration for Wuthering Heights. However, they told us it would take more time than we had to walk there, so we opted to stop at Bronte falls and return, so we could catch our train. We somehow got on the wrong footpath to the falls (let me take this opportunity to say that you cannot drive to the falls. Thankfully, they have not developed this area, and the moors are just as lonely and isolated as when Jane Eyre and Catherine Linton wandered on them. When trying to define the moors, I said, "They are the complete and total absense of everything"). This wrong footpath led us to places I never thought I'd go. Through sheep farm after sheep farm, crawling through fencing, climbing over ladders, traipsing through sheep poop, mud, bogs, creeks. It was the most pastoral I've ever been, and ever want to be for that matter. I wasn't miserable though, and in fact, I later asked Bobby if I had been whiny or acted like a diva and he said no, but he had been waiting on when I would start. The trek to the moors made Hazard look like a metropolis, and I got closer to sheep than anyone besides a shepherd should. I had a sheep bah in my face! The hills were beasts, but through some miracle, I kept up with everyone. Here's me (pretending to be) lost on the moors.
When we realized the error of our ways, we climbed up to the footpath we were supposed to be on and soon after that, found Bronte Falls. It was beautiful, and I just couldn't believe I was actually there. Where they used to go as children and make up stories. It really is just like the books make it sound--a lonely, scary place but with a certain romantic quality that attracts people. It's always in the back of your mind that if something were to happen to you (like, I don't know, being attacked by sheep) no one would be able to get to you to help you, and even though I was with a group of 7, I somehow felt so alone. I lay in the grass next to the falls, and I was so happy. I didn't need any outside sources to be happy, just me and my surroundings. I really loved it there, and I want to go back. Here are some pictures of the falls.
This is me on what they call Bronte Bridge. Obviously their only claim to fame is the Brontes...
We went to Stonehenge. It was okay, but there's not really anything to say about it--we saw it, we walked around it, then we left. It was cold and rainy. Here's a picture of me with it.
Then we went to Salisbury Cathedral. I'm not even going to post any pictures of that. It's beautiful, and it's kind of cool because they have one of the four original copies of the Magna Carta, but other than that, it was no big deal, really.
Professor Rutledge, Bobby, Ben, Rebecca, Shradha, Miranda, and I left the group and got a train to Haworth instead of returning to London. For those of you who don't know, Haworth is the home of the Brontes, and it's literally the ends of the earth. We had to get a train to Leeds, then a train from there to Keighley, then get a taxi to a hostel in Haworth to even get close to the Bronte house. Then we had to walk up cobblestoned hills to see the parsonage where they grew up and lived. They've turned the parsonage into a wonderful museum dedicated to the Brontes; they have the actual couch Emily died on! Needless to say, I was speechless and emotional when I was there. They also had some costumes from the most recent Wuthering Heights adaptation, including the Heathcliff outfit that Tom Hardy wore. They had Charlotte's dresses and gloves, locks of her hair, her shoes....everything really. Here I am in front of it.
Now this is where it gets exciting. Our destination was Top Withens, the supposed inspiration for Wuthering Heights. However, they told us it would take more time than we had to walk there, so we opted to stop at Bronte falls and return, so we could catch our train. We somehow got on the wrong footpath to the falls (let me take this opportunity to say that you cannot drive to the falls. Thankfully, they have not developed this area, and the moors are just as lonely and isolated as when Jane Eyre and Catherine Linton wandered on them. When trying to define the moors, I said, "They are the complete and total absense of everything"). This wrong footpath led us to places I never thought I'd go. Through sheep farm after sheep farm, crawling through fencing, climbing over ladders, traipsing through sheep poop, mud, bogs, creeks. It was the most pastoral I've ever been, and ever want to be for that matter. I wasn't miserable though, and in fact, I later asked Bobby if I had been whiny or acted like a diva and he said no, but he had been waiting on when I would start. The trek to the moors made Hazard look like a metropolis, and I got closer to sheep than anyone besides a shepherd should. I had a sheep bah in my face! The hills were beasts, but through some miracle, I kept up with everyone. Here's me (pretending to be) lost on the moors.When we realized the error of our ways, we climbed up to the footpath we were supposed to be on and soon after that, found Bronte Falls. It was beautiful, and I just couldn't believe I was actually there. Where they used to go as children and make up stories. It really is just like the books make it sound--a lonely, scary place but with a certain romantic quality that attracts people. It's always in the back of your mind that if something were to happen to you (like, I don't know, being attacked by sheep) no one would be able to get to you to help you, and even though I was with a group of 7, I somehow felt so alone. I lay in the grass next to the falls, and I was so happy. I didn't need any outside sources to be happy, just me and my surroundings. I really loved it there, and I want to go back. Here are some pictures of the falls.This is me on what they call Bronte Bridge. Obviously their only claim to fame is the Brontes...After we walked back, through a much easier way than the one we came on, we took the steam engine to Keighley and from there back to London. It was a long, difficult trip, but totally worth every second. Here's me hanging my head out of the steam train.
Anyway, it was a great weekend. Probably the best I could ever hope to have. Today, I'm just hanging around campus and catching up on some homework and studying.
Love as always.
so excited that it was so wonderful!
ReplyDelete