This tiny, creeper-clad cottage was famously inhabited by William Wordsworth between 1799 and 1808. On the edge of Grasmere, described by Wordsworth as "the loveliest spot that man hath ever found," the cottage has cramped rooms full of artifacts, including the poet's passport, spectacles, dinner set and a portrait (given to him by Sir Walter Scott) of his dog, Pepper. Entry is by prebooked group.
Wordsworth lived here happily – initially with his beloved sister Dorothy, and later his wife Mary and first three children, John, Dora and Thomas. Much of his early work was composed at the cottage, often with the help and support of Dorothy, who penned her Grasmere Journal while living at the cottage – a fascinating work in its own right for Wordsworth students. In 1808 when the family moved to a nearby house at Allen Bank, the cottage was subsequently rented by Thomas de Quincey (author of Confessions of an English Opium Eater).
Around the house is the delightful cottage garden, which Wordsworth described as his own "little domestic slip of mountain."
Tickets also include admission to the excellent Jerwood Museum next door, which houses one of the nation's main collections relating to the Romantic movement, including many original manuscripts, Dorothy's original journal and a huge collection of letters and rare editions by leading Romantic figures.
