Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top Farm
Beatrix Potter’s 17th-century farmhouse at Hill Top Farm (Hawkshead, Near Sawrey, Ambleside LA22 0LF) is sure to be on most tourists’ list. This National Trust property is a time capsule of her life. The cottage garden is a haphazard mix of flowers, herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Mind the rabbits and make your way up the garden path to the front door and see for yourself why Beatrix loved this place. She bought it in 1905 with proceeds from her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and used Hill Top itself and the surrounding countryside as inspiration for many of her subsequent books.
The weathered stone house is filled with her favorite things, as if Beatrix had just stepped out for a walk. If you feel as if you’ve been here before, it might be because every room contains a reference to a picture in one of her tales.
It will take a half-day to travel to the farm. Visitors on a short schedule or with children may choose to visit the easily accessible and very commercial World of Beatrix Potter in Windermere, where the characters from Mr. McGregor’s garden come to life through puppetry and theatre.
To learn more about Hill Top Farm, visit nationaltrust.org.uk/hill-top or dial +44 15394 36269.
