Sights in Lake District
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Dove Cottage
Originally an inn called The Dove and Olive, this tiny cottage just outside Grasmere is the most famous former home of William Wordsworth. He arrived here with his sister Dorothy in 1799 before being joined in 1802 by his new wife, Mary, and soon after, three children – John, Dora and Thomas – who were born here in 1803, 1804 and 1806.
The tiny cottage was a cramped but happy home for the growing family – a time memorably recounted in Dorothy's diary, later published as the Grasmere Journal – and after they were eventually forced to seek more space at nearby Allan House in 1808, the cottage was leased by Wordsworth's young friend Thomas de Quincey (author of …
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Hawkshead Grammar School
In centuries past, promising young gentleman were sent to Hawkshead's village school for their educational foundation. Among the former pupils was a certain William Wordsworth, who attended the school from 1779 to 1787. The curriculum was punishing: 10 hours' study a day, covering weighty subjects such as Latin, Greek, geometry, science and rhetoric. Hardly surprising young Willie (amongst others) felt the urge to carve his name into one of the desks.
Upstairs is a small exhibition exploring the history of the school.
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Kendal Museum
Founded in 1796 by the inveterate Victorian collector William Todhunter, this mixed-bag museum features everything from stuffed beasts and transfixed butterflies to medieval coin hoards. There's also a reconstruction of the office of Alfred Wainwright, who served as honorary curator at the museum from 1945 to 1974: look out for his pipe and knapsack.
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Brantwood
John Ruskin (1819–1900), the great Victorian polymath, philosopher and critic, was one of the formeost thinkers of 19th-century British society, expounding views on everything from Venetian architecture to the finer points of traditional lace-making.
In 1871 he purchased this impressive house overlooking Coniston, and spent the next 20 years expanding and modifying it. The house is a monument to Ruskin's belief in the value of traditional 'Arts and Crafts' over factory-made materials: he helped design everything from the furniture to the garden terraces, and even dreamt up some of the wallpaper designs. Look out for his enormous shell collection in the downstairs…
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Blackwell Arts & Crafts House
Blackwell Arts & Crafts House is one of the finest examples of the Arts & Crafts movement, distinguished by its simple, elegant architecture and sense of space. The house was designed by Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott in the 19th century for a wealthy brewer, and contains many of his trademark designs, including Delft tiles and some gorgeous 18th-century oak panelling. A collection of antiques and furniture from the Arts and Crafts movement is also on display.
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Lake Windermere
Somewhat bizarrely, Lake Windermere is officially a public highway - giving it the same status as a main road or an intercity motorway - and in the early 19th-century cargo ships carrying coal, lumber, copper and slate were a common sight on its waters. The first steam passenger ferry was launched on the lake in 1845, just two years before the railway arrived in town, and lake cruises quickly became one of the town's most popular pastimes (and biggest earners).
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World of Beatrix Potter
This attraction brings to life various scenes from the author's books using a combination of life-size models and decorated rooms. Among the scenes on show are Peter Rabbit's garden, Mr McGregor's greenhouse, Mrs Tiggywinkle's kitchen, Jemima Puddle-duck’s glade; there's even a themed tearoom. Be prepared for long queues in summer.
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Pencil Museum
In the mid 17th-century, graphite was discovered in the Borrowdale fells, and Keswick became a centre for of pencil production. The old Cumberland Pencil Factory now houses this rather odd pencil-themed museum, whose exhibits include the world's longest pencil (measuring 8m end to end) and a replica of a Borrowdale slate mine. You can buy luxury Derwent colouring pencils in the museum shop.
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Museum of Lakeland Life
The Museum of Lakeland Life is opposite the Abbot Hall Art Gallery. This atmospheric museum retraces the region's past using reconstructed buildings, including an Edwardian street scene, and exhibits on local industries such as spinning, mining and bobbin-making. One room recreates the study of Arthur Ransome, author of Swallows and Amazons.
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Armitt Museum
Artefacts at Ambleside's modest town museum include a lock of John Ruskin's hair, a collection of botanical watercolours by Beatrix Potter, and prints by the pharmacist-turned-photographer Herbert Bell.
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Windermere Steamboat Museum
The Windermere Steamboat Museum will delight closet steamboat Willies, with a marvellous collection of vessels including Beatrix Potter's rowing boat and the Esperance, which doubled as Captain Flint's houseboat in the BBC adaptation of Swallows and Amazons. The museum offers lake trips on vintage boats from July to September.
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Abbot Hall Art Gallery
Kendal's fine art gallery houses one of the northwest's best collections of 18th- and 19th-century art, and recently celebrated its 50-year birthday. It's especially strong on portraiture and Lakeland landscapes: look out for works by Constable, Varley and Turner, as well as portraits by John Ruskin and local boy George Romney, born in Dalton-in-Furness in 1734, and a key figure in the 'Kendal School'.
A joint ticket with the Museum of Lakeland Life & Industry costs £8.30.
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Ruskin Museum
Coniston's museum explores the village's history, touching on copper mining, Arthur Ransome and the Campbell story. There's also an extensive section on John Ruskin, with displays of his writings, watercolours and sketchbooks.
The new Bluebird Wing currently houses the recovered engine from Donald Campbell's Bluebird K7 boat, but it's eventually hoped that the whole boat will be displayed here when (and if) it's finally restored.
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Aquarium of the Lakes
Aquarium of the Lakes is at the lake's southern end, and recreates over 30 freshwater habitats, including an underwater tunnel through Windermere's lakebed, complete with pike, Arctic char and diving ducks. As usual, though, the mischievous otters steal the show. The best way to arrive is by boat from Bowness or Ambleside.
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Cars of the Stars Motor Museum
This museum houses a fleet of celebrity vehicles: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mr Bean's Mini, a Batmobile, KITT from Knight Rider, the A-Team van and the Delorean from Back to the Future, as well as lots of Bond cars.
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Beatrix Potter Gallery
As well as being a bestselling children's author, Beatrix Potter was also a talented botanical painter and amateur naturalist. This small gallery (housed in the offices of Potter's husband, solicitor William Heelis) contains a collection of delicate watercolours depicting local flora and fauna. She seems to have been particularly fascinated by mushrooms.
There's discounted admission if you show show your ticket from Hill Top.
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Puzzling Place
If you're a fan of brainteasers, the Puzzling Place is a real treat, with a maze of rooms crammed with holograms, optical illusions and a truly befuddling anti-gravity gallery.
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Wordsworth Museum & Art Gallery
Next door to Dove Cottage, the new Wordsworth Museum houses a fascinating collection of letters, portraits and manuscripts relating to the Romantic movement.
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Wray Castle
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Lakeland Motor Museum
Now installed in a purpose-built home two miles south of Newby Bridge, this car museum houses a wonderful collection of antique cars: classic (Minis, Austin Healeys, MGs), sporty (DeLoreans, Audi Quattros, Aston Martins) and downright odd (Scootacars, Amphicars).
A separate building explores the history of Donald & Malcolm Campbell's record attempts on Coniston Water, with replicas of the original 1935 Bluebird car and the 1967 boat, Bluebird K7.
The museum is on the A590 from Newby Bridge towards Kendal. The X35 (hourly Monday to Saturday, thee on Sunday) from Newby Bridge to Ulverston and Kendal stops nearby.
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Grasmere Lake & Rydal Water
Quiet paths lead along the shorelines of Grasmere's twin-set lakes. Rowing boats can be hired at the northern end of Grasmere Lake from the Faeryland Tea Garden, a five-minute walk from the village centre.
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Gowbarrow Park & Aira Force
This rolling park stretches out across the lakeshore halfway between Pooley Bridge and Glenridding. Well-marked paths lead up to the impressive waterfall of Aira Force, a 66ft casacde that tumbles down a wooded ravine. Another waterfall, High Force, can be seen further up the hillside. Apart from the charge for the car park, the park is free to visit.
A little south of Gowbarrow Park is the inlet of Glencoyne Bay, where the prodigious springtime displays of daffodils inspired Wordsworth to pen the immortal lines: 'I wandered lonely as a cloud/That floats on high over hills and dales/When all at once I saw a crowd/A host, of golden daffodils…'
February and March are…
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Galava Roman Fort
The foundations of Ambleside's ruined roman fort, built c AD79, can be seen just west of the Waterhead jetties. The land is now owned by the National Trust; it's possible to make out the fort's general layout and the shape of some of its grain stores and internal rooms.
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Fell Foot Park
At the southern end of Windermere, 7 miles south of Bowness, this 18-acre lakeside estate originally belonged to a manor house. It's now owned by the National Trust, and its shoreline paths and grassy lawns are ideal for a sunny-day picnic. There's also a small cafe (open 10am to 5pm), and rowing boats are available for hire.
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Dove Cottage
This tiny, creeper-clad cottage on the edge of the village famously belonged to William Wordsworth. He arrived here with his sister Dorothy in 1799 before being joined in 1802 by his new wife, Mary, and soon after, three children – John, Dora and Thomas – who were born here in 1803, 1804 and 1806.
The tiny cottage was a cramped but happy home for the growing family until 1808, when it was subsequently rented by Thomas de Quincey (author of Confessions of an English Opium Eater).
Like nearby Rydal Mount, the cottage's cramped rooms are full of artefacts: keep your eyes peeled for the poet's passport, a pair of his spectacles and a portrait of his favourite dog Pepper,…
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