cafes

If you’re on your annual Gilmore Girls re-watch and dreaming of an escape to Stars Hollow, without the long-haul flight, then this UK village gives seriously cosy vibes for a day out

Gilmore Girls may just be the perfect autumn show, and when the weather starts cooling off, many fans find themselves binge-watching the comedy-drama about a quirky mother and daughter duo.

And anyone who has watched the show will no doubt have dreamed about visiting Stars Hollow, the cosy Connecticut town where the Gilmores live, full of unique characters, friendly local shops, and of course, great coffee. Sadly, Stars Hollow isn’t a real location – the pilot was filmed in Canada before a set was built on a studio backlot in Burbank, California – but many fans have been looking out for locations that give the same vibes.

If you don’t fancy the flight to New England, British Gilmore Girls fans have been debating where the UK’s answer to Stars Hollow can be found, and one village with long literary associations is often named as the best local dupe.

Taking to TikTok, travel creator @lilyjbet posted a video captioned: “pov: you just found the real-life Stars Hollow in England” showing footage of the quaint village of Haworth in Yorkshire. Her video shows a variety of eclectic shops, cafés, and bookstores that would thrill any Gilmore Girls fan.

Haworth has literary associations that Rory Gilmore would find fascinating. The Brontë sisters lived and wrote most of their novels here, and their former home is now the Brontë Parsonage Museum. Sitting atop a hill, it overlooks miles of countryside, and the view no doubt inspired the rugged backdrops of many of their famous works. Fans of gothic literature can walk to Top Withins, a remote farmhouse surrounded by moorland, which many believe helped inspire the gloomy setting of Wuthering Heights.

The museum is an incredible memorial to the literary sisters, many rooms still holding the original furniture and personal items, as if waiting for the family to return.

Many of the colourful independent shops in Haworth look like they belong in Stars Hollow. Wave Of Nostalgia, a vintage bookshop that also sells unique gifts, would certainly be a place the Gilmores would visit. Cabinet of Curiosities is a kind of old-school apothecary which could easily be from the Victorian era, while Spooks of Haworth, a ‘spiritual emporium,’ is the perfect stop for lovers of autumn and Halloween.

And of course, there are plenty of cafés where you can enjoy cosy mother-daughter chats or simply sit and read your book. Café Verde has a great location with outdoor tables on the cobbled streets, while Villette Coffee House and Bakery offers a range of freshly-baked pastries and Yorkshire specialities.

The perfect way to arrive in Haworth is by train. Not only because riding the vintage steam trains to your location feels like stepping back in time, but also because you can avoid needing to navigate the extremely narrow, steep roads that were built for a horse and carriage. The village is on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, a five-mile heritage railway that runs through the Yorkshire countryside, giving you stunning views on the way to your destination.

Fans of classic movies may also recognise the train line as being the setting of the 1970s adaptation of The Railway Children. In addition to standing in for the Edwardian railway hub, filming was completed around the village in locations including St Mary’s Churchyard.

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This spot, just a short stroll from the Long Beach Museum of Art Downtown, doesn’t bother trying to graft cafe culture onto the cat-visiting experience, choosing instead to double-down on a whimsical cat motif that includes kitty murals and paw prints splashed across interior and exterior walls. (If you need a caffeine fix, there is a Starbucks a few blocks away.) The central element inside the space is a wooden tree-like structure where you’ll find many of the 50-plus cats provided by rescue partner Long Beach Felines lounging or climbing, while others roam about, pouncing on toys, wiggling through fabric tunnels or prancing on a cat exercise wheel the size of a truck tire.

Up to 25 people can kick it with the kitties at any one time, and the 50-minute sessions can be booked online. Other offerings include: Cats & Mats yoga (offered one Friday evening a month), Crochet With Cats (one Sunday afternoon a month) and cat-accompanied sound baths. (An employee I chatted with said the crochet class, with its preponderance of dangling yarn, is particularly popular with the cats.)

Price: $19.99 for 50-minute sessions, which start at the top of the hour

Hours: Monday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Thursday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (reservations end 1 hour before closing)

Pro tip: A shorter and less expensive option — $10 for 20 minutes — is available on a walk-in basis only at the top of the hour, depending on capacity.