William Wordsworth: Morning Half Day Tour with an Expert Guide
William Wordsworth: Morning Half Day Tour with an Expert Guide
This tour takes you to:• Grasmere Village where William Wordsworth lived.• Church Stile the former inn where William Wordsworth, his brother John and fellow poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge stayed for several days during their Lake District tour in 1797.• Grasmere Gingerbread Shop where Sarah Nelson invented the world famous "Grasmere Gingerbread" in 1854.• The Wordsworth family graves.• St Oswald's Church where the Wordsworth family worshipped.• Dove Cottage where William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy lived from 1799 to 1808.• Views of Grasmere, the beautiful lake the Wordsworths knew so well.• Rydal Mount William Wordsworth's best loved family home from 1813 to his death in 1850.• Rydal Hall Gardens where Wordsworth admired the waterfall from the "grot" viewing house.• Rydal Church built on the site chosen by William Wordsworth which also inspired two of his poems.• Dora's Field bought by William Wordsworth in 1826.• Views of Rydal Water, one of the smaller lakes.
Book This ExperienceA glimpse of the journey
Your Itinerary
A curated journey through the experience
St. Oswald's Church
Grasmere is also the name of a lake just outside the village itself. 'The loveliest spot that man hath ever found' is how Wordsworth described this most beautiful area of the Lake District. The small island in the middle of the lake was a favourite place which he often visited while he was living at Dove Cottage.
35 minutesAllan Bank
Wordsworth's family quickly expanded, with the arrival of three children in four years, and so they left Dove Cottage in 1808 to seek larger lodgings at Allan Bank on a hill overlooking the village. We will get to see this from the outside.
The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop
Next to St Oswalds is the Grasmere Gingerbread Shop. We will take a quick look at it as we pass by.
5 minutesWordsworth Grasmere
We now move on to Dove Cottage on the outskirts of Grasmere village. Dove Cottage is where Wordsworth set up home with his sister Dorothy in 1799. There are big changes happening at the Wordsworth Museum and entry to Dove Cottage will be erratic in 2019. There will be times when the cottage is open and other times when they will have a virtual tour instead. Entry to Dove Cottage is not included in the price of this tour.
30 minutesWordsworth Grasmere
The museum will be closed all year.
Lake Grasmere
We drive along the shore of Grasmere
Rydal Water
Our road now heads south passing Rydal Water and Nab Cottage. This was once home to Thomas de Quincey and later, Hartley Coleridge, the son of Wordsworth's old friend, Samuel Taylor Coleridge who rented the house in 1840 until his death there in 1849.
Rydal Mount & Gardens
After the death of two of their children, the Wordsworth family felt that they had to move away from Grasmere Rectory with its constant view of the graveyard where they were buried. In 1813, they moved to Rydal Mount. This was William Wordsworth's best loved family home for the greater part of his life from 1813 to his death in 1850 at the age of 80. The house with its beautiful gardens were a focus for romantic literature. They continue to be owned by descendants of William Wordsworth and retain the feel of a lived in family home. The house dates from the 16th century and was enlarged over the intervening centuries, and also by Wordsworth himself. It contains a selection of the family's prized possessions and portraits. Wordsworth was a keen landscape gardener and the five acre garden remains very much as he designed it. It consists of fell-side terraces, rock pools and an ancient mound. Entry to Rydal Mount is included in the price of this tour
1 hourRydal Hall Gardens
There is an opportunity to visit the beautiful and tranquil Rydal Hall Gardens. Built in the 16th Century, Rydal Hall was the home of the le Fleming family, Wordsworth's landlords at Rydal Mount. The house has subsequently been much altered, including the addition of a Victorian south range. The formal garden at Rydal Hall was designed in 1909 by the Arts and Craft garden architect Mr Thomas Mawson. It is a splendid example of the work of the leading Arts and Crafts garden designer, whose work is world famous. The garden is of particular historic interest for the extensive use of exposed aggregate precast concrete, instead of more usual stone, to form the main elements in the design, a very early use of concrete in this way. The Carlisle Diocese in association with The Cumbria Gardens Trust and in consultation with English Heritage are restoring this lovely formal garden. There are mosses, native flora and trees, including a 500 year old Sweet Chestnut tree with a girth of 36 feet. From the formal garden the sound of rushing water can be heard. Water crashes over a series of high waterfalls down a rocky ravine, through the banks of a wooded garden. The oldest 'viewing house' in the country was built below the lower fall in 1669.
15 minutesDora's Field
The Rash field next to the churchyard is a plot of land which was bought by Wordsworth who originally intended to build on it. The house never materialised. After his daughter Dora died in 1847, William went down to this field, and together with his wife and gardener, planted hundreds of daffodils as a memorial to Dora.
10 minutesBridge House Rydal Road
As we finish the tour and drive into Ambleside we pass the iconic Bridge House
Windermere
This is one of our pickup points
Bowness-on-Windermere
This is one of our pickup points
Ambleside
This is one of our pickup points
Included
- Entry into Dove Cottage is included in the price
- Entry into Rydal Mount is included in the price (not Fridays and Saturdays)
- Relaxed and friendly small-group tour of no more than 7 guests
- Professional Guides share their expertise of all the fascinating facts and stories in English
- Departure and return to convenient, centrally located meeting points
- Comfortable minivans with air-conditioning, WiFi and charging points for most mobile devices
- Regular photo / comfort stops
- Entry/Admission - Rydal Mount & Gardens
Not Included
- Food and drinks
Good to Know
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- The English Lake District weather can change quickly, even in the summer months. Please bring a waterproof coat with a hood in case of rain or windy weather
- As there is a little walking involved on the tour, some uphill and on uneven or wet terrain, please wear suitable, comfortable shoes
- Children under the age of 5 can travel on this tour but we do not recommend it
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- All passengers, including children of any age, must have a seat purchased for them
- We will collect you from the departure point linked to your chosen option. Please do not change to a different departure point without informing us in advance as we don't automatically go to every departure point. If we don't know you have changed your departure point we may not pick you up for the tour!
- Most travelers can participate
- Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
- Regularly sanitized high-traffic areas
- Gear/equipment sanitized between use
- Transportation vehicles regularly sanitized
- COVID-19 vaccination required for guides
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 6 travelers
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Tickets & Cancellation
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.