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William Wordsworth Tour: Explore Grasmere Village, Church Stile, and Dove Cottage in a Half Day

5.0

7 Ratings

Windermere

Immerse yourself in the world of William Wordsworth on this half-day tour. Explore Grasmere Village, Dove Cottage, and Rydal Mount, and discover the landscapes that inspired his poetry.

Duration: 3 hours, 40 minutes

Cancellation: 1 day learn more

Highlights

St. Oswald’s Church - Our tour starts with a drive to Grasmere Village. Here you will see St Oswald’s Church and the Wordsworth family graves which are one of the most visited places in the Lake District.\n\nGrasmere 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.\n- Allan 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.\n- 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.\n- Wordsworth 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.\n- Wordsworth Grasmere - The museum will be closed all year.\n- Lake Grasmere - We drive along the shore of Grasmere\n- 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.\n- 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\n- Rydal 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.\n- Dora’s Field - Near to Rydal Mount is Rydal Church. The chapel of St Mary was built by Lady le Fleming, of Rydal Hall in 1824. William Wordsworth helped to choose the site, which was originally an orchard. The Wordsworth family and the family of the English poet Matthew Arnold, from nearby Fox How, worshipped here. Their family pews are on each side of the aisle at the front of the church. Wordsworth was church warden from 1833-1834, and there is a memorial plaque to him.\nThe 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.\n- Bridge House - As we finish the tour and drive into Ambleside we pass the iconic Bridge House\n- Windermere - This is one of our pickup points\n- Bowness-on-Windermere - This is one of our pickup points\n- Ambleside - This is one of our pickup points

What's Included

Small-group tour with a maximum of 7 guests
Air-conditioned minivans with WiFi and charging points
Frequent photo and comfort stops
Includes entry to Dove Cottage
Expert guides sharing insights in English
Includes entry to Rydal Mount (except Fri & Sat)
Convenient central meeting point for departure and return

What's Not Included

Food and drinks

Additional Information

This expedition ventures to various notable locations such as:
• The home of poet William Wordsworth, Grasmere Village.
• Church Stile, a former inn that lodged William Wordsworth, his sibling John, and esteemed poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge during their tour of the Lake District in 1797.
• Grasmere Gingerbread Shop, the birthplace of the internationally acclaimed ‘Grasmere Gingerbread’ concocted by Sarah Nelson in 1854.
• The burial site of the Wordsworth family.
• St Oswald’s Church, the place of worship for the Wordsworths.
• Dove Cottage, the shared home of William Wordsworth and sister Dorothy from the years 1799 to 1808.
• Views overlooking Grasmere, the splendid lake acquainted by the Wordsworths.
• Rydal Mount, the adored family residence of William Wordsworth from 1813 until his passing in 1850.
• Rydal Hall Gardens housing the waterfall admired by Wordsworth from the ‘grot’ viewing home.
• Rydal Church, constructed on William Wordsworth’s selected site, which also inspired a pair of his poems.
• Dora’s Field, a piece of land purchased by William Wordsworth in 1826.
• Vistas of Rydal Water, categorized as one of the smaller lakes.

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!

Location

Windermere

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

5.0

(7 Ratings)

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Bakhtavar_m

May 7, 2023

Everything about this... - Everything about this particular trip was lovely. The tour guide was excellent and very knowledgeable.

Review provided by Viator

Ra_h

Sep 1, 2022

Wordsworth tour - The Wordsworth museum plus being able to actually go into his homes was amazing. Thank you English Lake Tours.

Review provided by Viator

Maryeb_74

Aug 30, 2022

Wonderful Wordsworth tour and guides - One of the best parts of our tour was not necessarily the tour itself (which really was fantastic!) was that these two old friends really played off each other so well while Gill was giving us historical, interesting bits of information. They've known each other for many, many years and the sweet friendship is so evident between them. The tour was so lovely - lots of great info, explained in a thoughtful, unassuming way. I had studied Wordsworth in the Lake District 27 years ago through a study abroad, so our guide was excited for me to rediscover and remember little "spots of time"- which I did! Being somewhat introverted, my partner and I so appreciated being able to go at a somewhat slow pace and ask questions as we had them, instead of getting too much info all at once. Highly recommend!