Ashmount Country House

I HALF EXPECTED TO SEE HEATHCLIFF striding through the front door as we arrived at Ashmount Country House in the village of Haworth – home of the famous Brontë sisters. Instead, it was a couple of fluffy ducklings who had waddled up from the garden – a welcome sign that we’d be getting fresh eggs for breakfast!

There’s a real touch of Wuthering Heights about this impressive Victorian house set in an acre of gardens. Ashmount is the former home of Dr Amos Ingham – the physician who tended the famous Brontë sisters – and has plenty of associations with Britain’s most literary family.

Set on the edge of the Yorkshire moors, the house is only minutes from the Brontë family parsonage and the cobblestone village. You can see how these wild and windy moors inspired the sisters' wildly romantic novels – though they would be astonished to peep inside today and see how these once austere Victorian surroundings have been transformed into a seriously indulgent place to stay.

Brontë country plus plus

I’m talking double jacuzzi baths, outdoor hot tubs ready-made for after-dark starlit soaks with your bottle of bubbly, big four-posters and power showers with more body jets than you know what to do with. This is Brontë country plus plus.

There’s a welcoming feel everywhere at Ashmount – and not just as you enter the lovely sunshine-yellow hallway with its fresh flowers, original Victorian tiled floor and stained glass windows. Owners Ray and Gill Capeling go the extra mile to make all their guests feel at home – whether lending us a brolly to wander round the village or being as nice as pie when we turned for our scrambled eggs next day just as breakfast was finished.

No sooner had we arrived than we were off again… to check into our suite at Number 21, the former housekeeper’s cottage across the road. And this is definitely a place to call in the champers and put up the Do Not Disturb sign.

There’s a bouncy kingsize canopied bed, squashy sofas and private garden. You’ll also find a decanter of sherry and home made shortbread to nibble on. And where do I start with the bathroom? A whirlpool bath for two with music and mood lighting, not to mention lots of Gilchrist & Soames bubbly stuff and a flatscreen TV that we were soon watching while under the suds sipping an essential glass of champagne!

Ashmount is tailor-made for romantic getaways, and spotless rooms – all different – have been done up in luxurious period style with contemporary finishes. Most come with crisply dressed four-posters, softest bed covers and maybe a handsome Victorian dresser or velvet covered armchair.

The owners have clearly put enormous effort into beautifully restoring the house with huge attention to detail. Wander through the gardens, and you can gaze at the moors that inspired the famous Brontë novels. Or simply pull down the shutters and hop into one of those wicked baths with your very own Heathcliff.

© Room for Romance