Wordsworth Grasmere

About the museum

Dove Cottage in Grasmere was built in the early 17th century, probably as an inn, and is first recorded in 1617 as the Dove and Olive. It stopped being a pub in 1793. William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy moved in at the end of 1799 and lived there until 1808, in what Wordsworth later described as plain living and high thinking. He wrote much of his best-known poetry there, including I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud and parts of The Prelude. He married Mary Hutchinson in 1802, and their family grew until they needed a larger house.

The writer Thomas De Quincey took over the cottage in 1809 and kept it until 1820. The Wordsworth Trust bought it in 1890 and opened it to visitors in 1891, and the cottage has been kept largely unchanged since. The museum next door was founded in 1935 and moved to a former coach house in 1981. The Jerwood Centre, which stores the Trust's collections, opened in 2005, and a redevelopment in 2021 added a café and a shop.

Today visitors tour the cottage with guides and see the museum, which shows manuscripts, journals, letters, published poetry and personal belongings. The fell-side garden and orchard have been restored to match the one that William and Dorothy made, and a woodland beyond it is open for play and exploration.

Highlights

• Dove Cottage, home of William and Dorothy Wordsworth from 1799 to 1808
• Museum with handwritten manuscripts, journals and letters
• Restored Garden-Orchard created by the Wordsworths
• Viewing Station over Grasmere Vale
• Hands-on printing press and quill writing
• Woodland and sensory garden for families

Permanent exhibitions

• Dove Cottage – A guided visit to the cottage where the Wordsworths lived, with rooms evoked through their poems, journals and letters.
• The museum – Manuscripts, journals, letters, published poetry and personal items of the Wordsworth family, with hands-on activities and a viewing station over Grasmere Vale.

Founded

1891

Operated by

Wordsworth Trust

Admission & discounts

One ticket covers Dove Cottage, the museum, the garden-orchard and the woodland, and is valid for 12 months. An annual pass allows unlimited visits for a year. Entry is free for Friends of Wordsworth Grasmere, Historic Houses members, National Art Pass holders, Grasmere residents and people receiving Universal Credit (proof required). Visitors who arrive by bus and show their ticket get 20% off entry.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Dove Cottage is a Grade I listed building with stairs to the first floor; most wheelchairs can reach the ground floor but the upstairs rooms are not accessible. A lift in the café, signposted from the car park, serves the museum and ticket desk, and lifts reach all museum floors. Parts of the garden-orchard and woodland are too steep and uneven for wheelchairs and buggies. Accessible toilets are in the museum, café, learning space and Jerwood Centre. Designated disabled parking bays can be reserved by telephone; normal parking charges apply. The museum has a hearing loop and large print guides, and portable amplifiers can be requested. Sensory maps, access guides, story sacks and explorer backpacks are available, and some rooms in Dove Cottage are dimly lit. Assistance dogs are welcome everywhere.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Playground / play area

Families can follow free trails through the garden-orchard and woodland, borrow sensory explorer backpacks and story sacks, and use handling baskets in the cottage. The museum offers dressing up, sketching, quill and ink writing and a working printing press, and drop-in make and play sessions and weekly Little Wanderers sessions are held. The sensory garden has a bug house and a pond. The museum, café and viewing station are fully accessible with a buggy, and baby changing is in the museum, education space and café.

Getting there & parking

The site is south of Grasmere village on the A591 between Kendal and Keswick; the car park postcode is LA22 9PP and a slate sign marks the entrance.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Lockers

The café and the shop are open during the same hours as the site. Free lockers are in the museum.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit