The village of Haworth (known for being the home of the literary Brontë sisters) usually pulls out all the stops at Christmas, with all sorts of festivities during December. They have torchlit parades, markets, carol singing, a nativity and the tradition of 'scroggling the holly' (don't ask!), all mainly designed to attract people to spend time and money in the village. (See HERE for a description of past years).
This year it will all be much reduced, as we try to navigate through the pandemic. Instead of events, they have concentrated on making the Christmas lights extra sparkly, with lots of little Christmas trees all over the village. I was passing nearby on my way home one evening, so I stopped off in the village to take a look. It started raining hard after a while and I struggled to keep my lens clear of rain spots, though it did have the bonus of giving some nice effects on the wet cobbles.
The top photo shows one of the village pubs, the Black Bull, reputedly haunted. It is famous for being where Branwell Brontë, the sisters' troubled, alcoholic and drug addict brother, spent much of his time. Sadly many pubs are currently closed but it still looked cheerful and cosy with all the lights on.
The church looked rather nice with flood lighting and Christmas trees at its gate. The Brontës' father, Patrick, was the minister here from 1820 to 1861 when he died. (His wife and children all predeceased him). The present church was, however, largely rebuilt around 1880.
The village has many small shops that cater mainly to tourists. I guess they've had a hard time of it this year. They were putting on a lovely festive show, beautifully decorated and lit.
Beautiful decorations...and yes, you did well to capture the wet pavement which just enhanced the photo. Our shops have attracted many tourists (though not in numbers like regular years). Unfortunately they walk around unmasked. Many put their masks on to enter a shop or restaurant (where take out is encouraged.)
ReplyDeleteSome great night time shots there with the wet cobbles adding to the vintage feel. I suspect that Emily would have coped with lock-down better than Branwell!
ReplyDeleteIt all looks so lovely, especially with the wet reflections.
ReplyDeleteJenny, you have successfully given these photos such a genuine "Dickensian" feel. The bright windows look so inviting. Mrs.Beighton's sweetshop is exactly the one I had in mind yesterday!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully lit.
ReplyDeletewow stunning photos, they should be on a Christmas card.
ReplyDeleteThese are all lovely, jennyfreckles. And taken with a real camera! I always struggled to get decent night photos with my DSLR, so I use my iPhone these days. (I have no shame.)
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