The Write Stuff

Are tourists booking holidays in Yorkshire because of books?

- Jo Haywood

THREE sisters on a wild and windy moor, a vet elbow-deep in disgruntled farm animals and a mysterious aristocrat who’s a sucker for a pretty neck might not sound like natural born crowd-pullers, but this unlikely literary triumvirate are all key elements of Yorkshire’s success story as a national and international tourist attraction.

New research by Visit England has named Yorkshire as ‘the UK’s top county for holidays with a literary link’. In its first ever survey of literary tourism, it found that 20 per cent of trips taken by booklovers were in our region – home of the Brontës, Herriot country and Whitby Abbey, which inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Rebecca Yorke of the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth said: ‘The Brontë story continues to captivate people all over the world and the Museum is proud of the role it plays in promoting Yorkshire across the globe and thus contributing to the visitor economy.

‘We’re building on the success of Charlotte’s bicentenary year and are currently experiencing high visitor numbers. As well as visiting the museum, our visitors spend time in Haworth’s shops, pubs and cafes, which is great news for both the local area and the wider region.’

Interestingly, the Visit England research also revealed that more than half of British holiday makers actively sought out literary attractions while on their travels, while one in four visited a book-related location and a similar number read a novel set in the place they were visiting.

So, what is it about Yorkshire that’s inspired – and continues to inspire – so many authors to put pen to paper?