A Cultural Day in Breathtaking Wordsworth-Country

As part of my continuing quest this year to visit (as a minimum) 30 National Trust properties this year, I decided to head over to the Lakes, as I could box off a couple of places I needed to revisit along side said National Trust property, so over to Grasmere I went on what started off as a nice sunny day, but ended in fine drizzle.

First port of call was Allan Bank, which was William Wordsworths second house in the area, he moved into this house when he outgrew Dove Cottage and spent a couple of years as a tenant here.

The house itself has quite a history following Wordsworth moving out, with many notable residents spending time there with the last being Canon Rawnsley (co-founder of the National Trust) and his wife Eleanor Foster Simpson.

What I like about Allan Bank is that it is not too pretentious about itself, things can be touched, moved about and generally enjoyed, it’s a house for experiencing rather than viewing like a museum.

The second port of call, whilst in the village of Grasmere had to be a quick stop to St Oswald’s Church to visit Wordswoths Grave (although I think I may have taken a photo of the wrong one, as there are multiple Wordsworths in the plot!)

Last and perhaps most importantly, a visit to Dove Cottage, which was Wordsworths first family home between 1799 and 1808, a home he shared with his wife Mary and his sister Dorothy (and later also several children, Dora, Thomas and Catherine).

The house itself is quite small, especially considering the number of family and guests who must have been popping by, so it’s no wonder he moved out after a period of 10 years, even though he had much love for the place.

The house is quite dark, even on a sunny day which makes taking photos quite a challenge, but as the tour I was on was not particularly busy (yes, you have to do a guided tour which lasts 20 mins or so – guided in that you are taken there, but you are free to wander round by yourself during the timeslot) I had time enough to get the photos I wanted to.

One of the best things about visiting is that the entrance fee you pay is actually a year pass, meaning you can go as many times as you wish during the subsequent year for free.