hawthorne (bronte & moores) // ambleside

in which I conquer England and then promptly go back to America

Ok, first: two things.

1)   This week has been one heck of a week. Sorry I haven’t gotten to post much. I’ve been consumed with final exams and papers, and I didn’t do a whole lot from Monday to Wednesday.

2)   I am ready to go home. Beyond ready, actually. I just finished hauling my luggage up a three story non-AC lake-house and washing all my underwear in the hostel sink. I’ve been having an allergic reaction to SOMETHING this last week, and my eyes are red and itchy, my neck is breaking out in some sort of rash, and I’m perpetually congested. I’m emotionally, mentally, and physically drained. I miss my family and boyfriend and American food. Chipotle and Chick-fil-A sound so good right now…

But you don’t want to hear me complain. You want to know what I’ve been doing these last few days, right?

Monday: I might have left the hostel once or twice. Honestly, I was just working on papers and studying for exams. Sorry, nothing too exciting.

I popped into York briefly on Tuesday for lunch (four days of the York hostel serving the EXACT SAME (bland) THING for breakfast, lunch, and dinner gets a bit old) at Brew & Brownie again. Afterwards, my friends and I were feeling a bit indulgent so we headed to York Cocoa house for some rich hot chocolate. It was an adorable chocolate café, and the menu is literally a small book—you can order anything from a chocolate and goat cheese scone to Spanish drinking cocoa to cocoa-coated chicken. My three friends and I treated ourselves to a few cups of hot chocolate. It was absolutely delicious and food-coma inducing.

so many chocolatey choices

After that—it was crunch time.

Wednesday, after I finished exams, I walked into York by myself for lunch at Pret and then wondered around the city a bit. Found some wonderful antique store finds, bought some awesome soap at Lush, browsed some used book shops, and made it back in time for class. For dinner, I joined some friends for Indian food in the city. I called my friend who’s Punjabi, and she advised me what to order, so we ate family style, sharing the dishes. We were planning on going on a ghost tour (York is England’s most haunted city, apparently), but it started pouring and didn’t let up for awhile. Unfortunately, we weren’t prepared, so we trudged the mile back to the hostel in a dreary down pour. We were all grateful for the hot showers.

Thursday, we hopped in a bus and headed to Hawthorne, a small town on the Moors. It’s basically famous for one thing: the Bronte parsonage where Anne, Emily, Charlotte, and Branswell (their lesser known brother) resided and wrote their famous novels.  We toured the gardens, the church, and the graveyard behind the house. 

statue to the Bronte sisters

the Bronte house

We also saw the school where Charlotte taught. Inside the house, we weren’t allowed to take photos, however the home is well-restored and chock full of Bronte relics. The couch where Emily died is still there, and you can see their father’s magnifying glass and Anne’s writing desk as well as some of Brasnwell’s paintings and a few first editions of the Bronte’s books. It was an enjoyable experience.

I walked into the town in search of lunch where I ordered a veggie and hummus plate (fresh, healthy food-- what is that anymore?!) at a café before browsing the town with some friends. Unfortunately, due to a mistake on our part, we headed to the wrong spot to wait for the bus. We only realized it was the wrong place after we saw the bus pulling away a few blocks down the street. Yes—they left us. We got stranded in the middle of Hawthorne.

But it’s ok. We problem-solved and headed to a store to call a taxi who drove us the 10 minutes to the youth hostel. The youth hostel was a beautiful mansion built in the 1880’s by a wealthy factory owner. It changed hands several times before being transformed into a youth hostel in the 1970’s. It was large and rather spooky, but it had a ball-room and garden which was impressive.

the hawthorne hostel

We spent the afternoon hiking the moors, which are basically deserted waste-land, barren and rocky, stretching for miles with the occasional body of water pock-marking the land-scape. We climbed around on those for a bit which was pretty entertaining. 

to your left

to your right

stretching on for acres...

This morning, we boarded a bus and headed to Ambleside, the Lake District.

windermere lake

 Our hostel is right on the lake, so that’s a nice view.

ambleside hostel

We couldn’t check into our hostel yet, so we took a boat to a small town on the other side of the lake and spent the afternoon wondering around there. It was a cute touristy town, but I was honestly just exhausted so after browsing a bit, I bought some peaches and iced coffee and sat on a bench in the sun.

i made a friend. he liked my rice cakes.

The bus ride back was nice, calming and warm. 

Dinner: flavorless mushy vegetables in a gray (gray! how did they get the color gray?!) sauce over rice. I can't. 

Tomorrow, we’re headed to explore Wordsworth’s houses. And then—Manchester. And then—home.

You have no idea how bad I want to be home right now.