Beatrix Potter: Afternoon Half Day All-Inclusive Tour with an Expert Guide and lake cruise

On this tour you will get to see:
• Wray Castle where Beatrix spent her 16th birthday and first discovered the Lake District.
• Near Sawrey village which Beatrix visited often, used as inspiration for her illustrations and where she happily settled and married.
• Hill Top, the house which Beatrix bought from the money she made from the publication of Peter Rabbit.
• Esthwaite Water where Beatrix fished from her boat.
• Hawkshead village
• Tarn Hows bought by Beatrix  and regarded as one of the most beautiful places in the Lake District.
• Coniston Water with spectacular views of the lake and Coniston Old Man
• Yewdale Valley where Beatrix owned farms and land including Yew Tree Farm used in the film Miss Potter.

Itinerary

This half day tour will take you to all the important places associated with Beatrix Potter in just one afternoon. This is one of our most popular tours and gets fully booked quickly so please book early as we have limited places and dates available. 

 Your afternoon starts with a visit to Wray Castle for spectacular scenery and lake views. This is the holiday home where Beatrix first fell in love with the Lake District. 

While on holiday, Beatrix visited many of the small villages in the area and Near Sawrey became her favourite. This village features in many of her "little books" illustrations. The Tower Bank Arms is immediately recognisable as the place where Kep, the collie-dog goes looking for the two fox-hound puppies to rescue Jemima Puddle-duck. You will be amazed when you see it, exactly like it is in the book! 

One of the reasons why Beatrix visited Near Sawrey so often was because while staying on holiday in the area, the Potter's coachman and his family were lodging at a farm there. That farm was Hill Top and is the one Beatrix later bought with the profits from publishing Peter Rabbit. She often visited her 'holiday home' Hill Top and wrote many more books here which were inspired by the people and the places around her in this beautiful part of England. 

We stop at Near Sawrey and Hill Top for you to see the locations which are so recognisable in the books and the place where Beatrix Potter lived. Entry to Hill Top is not included in the price of this tour but you do have the option to book an entry ticket when you book a place on this tour (see the booking page). 

Close by Hill Top is Esthwaite Water where Beatrix walked while courting her future husband, William Heelis. This was a favourite spot for Beatrix who thought it "the most beautiful of the Lakes". 

William Heelis was a solicitor who advised Beatrix about her land purchases. His offices were in Hawkshead village. Your guide will take you on a short tour of this, "the most picturesque village in the Lake District". 

Beatrix bought a lot of land in the Lake District and owned the beauty spot Tarn Hows. Here you will have a photo opportunity here and then, after a short scenic drive, Coniston Water comes into view. 

Coniston Water is the third largest lake in the Lake District and is the straightest. You will have a short stop here to admire the view and see the famous fell of Coniston Old Man towering over the village and the lake. 

Beatrix also owned a lot of farms in the area and as we travel down the Yewdale Valley back to Ambleside, you will see Yew Tree Farm, famous as a location in the film "Miss Potter".