HAWORTH will receive a royal visit on Friday as the Duchess of Cornwall drops into local tourist attractions.

Camilla, wife of Prince Charles, will tour the Brontë Parsonage Museum and travel by steam train on the Keighley and Worth Valley Line (KWVR).

During her mid-afternoon visit to the railway, Her Royal Highness will visit the locomotive maintenance facility in Haworth and meet a new generation of volunteers working on steam locomotive restorations.

She will travel by steam train to Oxenhope in the Old Gentlemen’s Saloon, which featured in the classic film, the Railway Children which made the line famous in the 1970s.

Matthew Stroh, chairman of the KWVR Preservation Society, said the anniversary year was partly designed to celebrate the achievements made by volunteers over the past five decades.

He said: “We are delighted to be hosting a visit from Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall in our 50th anniversary year. Our volunteers work incredibly hard to preserve our railway heritage and are excited to showcase their efforts.”

Also on Friday the Duchess of Cornwall will visit the Brontë Parsonage Museum, the place where the Brontë sisters lived and wrote famous novels like Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the museum in Haworth Parsonage, as well as the 200th anniversary of Emily Brontë’s birth.

During her visit, Her Royal Highness will be guided through the historic rooms of the parsonage by Principal Curator, Ann Dinsdale.

Her Royal Highness will have a close-up viewing of some of the ‘treasures’ relating to Emily Brontë in the museum library.

A spokesman said: “During 2017, over 10,000 visitors participated in Clare Twomey’s Wuthering Heights – A Manuscript project, which set out to create a new version of Emily Brontë’s long-lost manuscript by copying it out one line at a time.

“Her Royal Highness will also meet Clare Twomey before writing the last line of Wuthering Heights into the newly-created manuscript in the very house where Emily wrote the original.

“The visit will also involve a private reception where Her Royal Highness will meet museum staff and volunteers and local school children who recently took part in a creative writing competition organised by the museum.”

The Duchess of Cornwall is an avid reader and undertakes a number of engagements to promote the importance of supporting literacy both to children and adults alike.

The Duchess has been Patron of the National Literacy Trust since 2010 and is also Patron of other organisations including Book Trust, The Wicked Young Writers Award, Beanstalk, First Story and BBC Radio 2’s 500 words competition.

Kitty Wright, Executive Director of The Brontë Society said, “It will be an immense honour to welcome Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall to the Museum and we are looking forward to sharing our world-class collection with her.

“All the staff are looking forward to the visit and we can think of no better start to Emily Brontë’s bicentenary celebrations.”

“Robust” security checks will be in operation during the Duchess’s visit to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

Haworth Railway Station car park will be close to the visit, and alternative parking will be available a very short drive from the station. An amended train timetable will operate on Friday.