Beatrix Potter's Cottage: Tales From Hill Top
A cottage in the fells of the Lake District that inspired the treasured stories created by Beatrix Potter is truly magical, and for those familiar with her children's books, it is comfortingly recognisable too.
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| The garden gate with the cottage in the background |
The Garden & the Tales
The sage gate in front of the cottage sparks a flicker of familiarity, "I've seen this before" a visitor will think. Enter through the gate and you'll find an illustration among the rhubarb from The Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck, showing the very same gate and the very same vegetable. The connection between the garden and the cherished children's books of Beatrix Potter is brought to life by these cleverly positioned illustrations, which are sign-posted throughout the garden. Hill Top remains Potter's 'personal museum', fully furnished and untenanted; the flowerbeds and vegetable patches growing the varieties planted when she lived there.
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| Jemima Puddle Duck illustration |
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| Illustration from Tom Kitten in front of the cottage |
Beatrix Potter & the Lake District
Potter was born in London in 1866 and brought up in typically restrictive Victorian-fashion. It was on family holidays to the Lakes and Scotland that she felt most happy. She wrote ‘my brother and I were born in London, but our descent, our interest and our joy were in the north country.’
Through her literary career she found financial freedom untypical for women of that era, purchasing Hill Top when she was nearly 40 with the proceeds of her early books. However, it was far from an easy feat to get her stories out into the world. After years of rejection, Potter took control and self-published The Tale of Peter Rabbit, to immediate success. It was only a matter of months before one of the publishers who previously rejected the book was selling thousands of copies. Thus Peter, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail were 10 years old by the time the books were widely published, having been conjured-up by Potter in 1893 when writing to a friend's sick child.
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| The flowerbeds as you walk up to the house (seen in the background) |
Beatrix Potter & Conservation
As the inspiration for Beatrix Potters' books, it seems the debt owed to the Lake District was felt most keenly by the author herself. Using the money from the sales of her books, Potter acquired farms and land in the Lake District with a view to long-term preservation.
Hill Top was left to the National Trust when Potter died in 1943, along with the 4,000 acres of land and 14 farms. Potter had worked with the National Trust for many years prior to this, supporting efforts to protect country-side under threat of development.
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| The cafe |
Need To Know
1. Covid-19 & Social Distancing
Unfortunately, the house is closed due to Covid-19 rules, however the garden remains open with measures in place to ensure visitors are safe and still have an enjoyable time.
Except the gift shop, at the moment the site is entirely outdoors, including the lovely cafe housed under a large, open-sided tent, with excellent coffee served from a shepherd's hut! Timed entry is to be booked in advance and a one way system guides you through the garden. Visitors are welcome to walk around as many times as they please and stay until closing.
Tickets can be booked here.
2. Village Pub
There is a lovely pub in the village called the Tower Bank Arms, which is featured in The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck. Their website is here.
3. Getting There
I drove a beautiful and winding route from the south of Coniston but it is easy to get there from the direction of Windermere. You can even get the chain ferry across the lake, which is a half an hour walk to Hill Top.
Sources
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/beatrix-potters-hill-top
https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/dec/17/beatrix-potter-peter-rabbit-self-publishing
https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/biography-of-beatrix-pottergclid=CjwKCAjw8MD7BRArEiwAGZsrBXs9zielGs0wLfB4l6jPgupgY2miBhiLfYWs9gjNuZ1cTbTBk8wAixoCzhkQAvD_BwE