England: A Writer’s Pilgrimage
My next destination was Manchester, a city I chose not for its vibrant university feel or football team, but for its proximity to Haworth. I was determined to visit the home of the Brontës. With that being said, I enjoyed Manchester much more than I expected. The diversity of the university and its international students was reflected in the restaurants and cuisine available here. I had some amazing congee and dim sum in Manchester’s Chinatown.
Manchester University
It was mid October. The leaves had changed color and were beginning to fall in a strong breeze - a cascading symphony of movement. Walking through Manchester, amid the crowds of students, the museums and galleries, the collegiate feel of it was like imagining another life. I did indeed go to university, twice, but anytime I visit another campus, I am brought back to that time in my own life. And while a world away in both time and space, the essence is the same - the knowledge, the power, the naïveté.
My second day in Manchester I began the long journey to Haworth, taking a train first to Leeds and then on to Keighley before catching a Brontë bus to the Parsonage Museum. While Manchester exceeded my minimal to nonexistent expectations, Haworth crushed what were very high hopes for my visit. Not the museum, that was lovely. I saw the room where Charlotte sat and composed Jane Eyre. I viewed the contents of her writing desk. I poured over Emily’s manuscript of Wuthering Heights. My mind wandered and tripped over the artistic disarray of Branwell’s room. I even tried a cask ale at the Kings Arms - a blonde named after Anne.
The Brontë Parsonage Museum
The Brontë Parsonage Museum and the small town of Haworth were indeed lovely; what was not was the weather that day. Rainy and blanketed with fog, I could see nothing of the sweeping pastoral views I had imagined. Where were the windswept, rocky moors? The landscape that inspired the tumultuous love of Cathy and Heathcliff or the soul-wrenching pining of Jane for Mr. Rochester? I could see none of it.
After a few days in Manchester, I headed back down south to Dover to view the white cliffs. While not as on-the-nose as my other literary destinations, Dover is indeed a site of major historical significance both in medieval and modern war times. And it was from Dover that I took a day trip to Canterbury, my final literary destination.
THE HIGHLIGHTS FOR ME WERE:
One of the largest university museums in the country, this natural history museum houses a range of zoological and archeological exhibits. My favorite part of the museum was the South Asia Gallery. In partnership with the British Museum, this permanent gallery was at first a bit jarring. It is hard sometimes for my mind to not look at an exhibit of this kind without thinking about British colonial rule. So, I entered the gallery with trepidation, but as I went through, my heart lightened. It was curated with such care, insight, and honesty.
Manchester Chinatown
While I do enjoy trying and eating regional cuisines when I travel, every few days or so I crave something Asian. Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Fusion - I am here for all of it. I search out Asian grocers and always explore an international district or Chinatown. I went to a dim sum place in Manchester, Pinwei Chinese Restaurant. The prices were inexpensive, and the menu was extensive. I perused and ordered enthusiastically, and the waiter looked at me like I was crazy. Six dishes for one person? That’s too much! I was talked down to three, and he was indeed right. It is only in those instances when I miss having dining companions - to try more dishes.
During my visit, the gallery was showcasing a fashion and design exhibit, entitled “Unpicking Couture.” Though my favorite exhibit was “Out of the Crate: Investigating the Sculpture Collection.” It felt like I was getting a sneak peek at the inter-workings of the museum. While a curated exhibit like the rest, it seemed almost more authentic, grounding the art in physicality - objects being packed, moved, and positioned. I also enjoyed the Late 19th Century exhibit and was able to view another painting by Rossetti - “Astarte Syriaca.”
I have mentioned before that I was an English Lit major, but I failed to mention that I took an entire course just on the Brontë sisters. As a teenager, I had read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, but like most readers, that is where I stopped. The Professor, Shirley, Villette, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and Agnes Grey - during that semester, I became immersed in all of their works, even meeting Anne for the first time. It was an awakening time for me, to fully meet the authors I had so admired.
It can then be no surprise that I was most eager to visit Haworth and see for myself where they wrote. Maintained by the Brontë Society, the Parsonage Museum allows you to walk through the entire house, each room preserved in time. Across from the parsonage is a graveyard, and a short walk brings you to the Haworth Church where the family is buried.
The medieval castle at Dover holds together the many and varied fabrics of British history, from the Roman Pharos and the Great Tower to the Secret Wartime Tunnels. My favorite part of the castle was the guided tour through the war tunnels. Often when visiting historic sites, especially ancient or medieval, the stories surrounding them seem almost surreal because of the space between then and now. But World War II is not so removed in time. Exploring the different parts of the castle, both above and below ground, felt like wandering through time, bringing history closer - not story but real.
Click HERE to explore Dover Castle with me.
While I have read Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, that was not the reason for my visit to Canterbury, at least not the main reason. When I was planning my trip, I sought the advice of a good friend of mine, and she insisted that I should include Canterbury. I trusted her judgement implicitly, so I added it to my Dover itinerary. Founded by St. Augustine, Canterbury is the UK’s oldest cathedral and is a world heritage site. The exterior is striking, albeit severe, as a gothic church is apt to be. The interior is breathtaking - the high vaulted ceilings and stained glass had me constantly looking up. In keeping with the theme of pilgrimage that Canterbury is known for, the cathedral held a special exhibition called Cross-Currents, created by artist Frances Carlile.
My pilgrimage to Canterbury took me from the cathedral to the city’s center and then along the river to the Westgate Gardens. I ate lunch at The Corner House and ended my day at The Foundry for a beer flight before taking the train back to Dover.
Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens
The last leg of my travel journey brought me full circle and back to London, this time in Hounslow. Just a short bus ride from my hotel, I spent my last day in England at Kew Gardens. If you have watched the Netflix show Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, you will understand why I wanted to go to Kew. It was a delightful way to end my trip. I wandered the gardens, the Victorian glass houses, and the tree-top walkway. I even treated myself to one last afternoon tea.
Click HERE to read a poem inspired by the gardens, “To Birds, with Love.”
WHAT I WAS WATCHING: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The King, The Big Bang Theory
