Hill Top
Beatrix Potter's 17th-century Lake District farmhouse, kept as she left it, with her furnishings, her dolls' house and a cottage garden.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Hill Top is a 17th-century Lakeland farmhouse in the village of Near Sawrey, close to Hawkshead. Beatrix Potter bought it with its working farm in 1905, using the earnings from her first illustrated books including The Tale of Peter Rabbit. She used it as a retreat from London and as a place to write and draw, and in 1906 she added a wing for the farm manager and his family.
The house, the garden and the village appear in many of her later little books, and visitors can compare panels showing her illustrations with the real rooms, such as the staircase that features in The Tale of Samuel Whiskers. After she married William Heelis in 1913 she moved to nearby Castle Cottage but kept Hill Top as a place to work, entertain and display her collections. The farm has always remained a working farm.
Potter left Hill Top to the National Trust when she died in 1943. It opened to the public as a museum in 1946 and is shown as she knew it, with her own furniture, china and personal belongings. Rooms include her oak bedroom, the treasure room where she kept souvenirs and her coded journal, and a display that centres on her recently conserved dolls' house, which inspired The Tale of Two Bad Mice. The informal cottage garden is planted in the style seen in her illustrations.
Highlights
- Beatrix Potter's dolls' house from The Tale of Two Bad Mice
- Rooms shown with her own furniture, china and belongings
- Real settings that appear in her little books
- The oak bedroom and the treasure room with her coded journal
- Cottage garden planted in the style of her illustrations
- Working Herdwick sheep farm attached to the house
Permanent exhibition
- Beatrix Potter's house – Rooms kept as Beatrix Potter furnished them, with her dolls' house, her treasure room and panels showing the real places behind her illustrations.
- Founded
- 1946
- Operated by
- National Trust
Admission & discounts
| Adults | £17 |
|---|---|
| Children & teens | £8.50free up to age 4 · Child ticket for ages 5 to 17; under 5s are free. |
| Families | £42.50Two adults and up to three children. A ticket for one adult and up to three children costs £25.50. |
The prices are for the house and garden without Gift Aid; with Gift Aid the adult ticket is £18.70. Visitors who come by car must book in advance, and parking is free only with a pre-booked ticket. Visitors on foot or by bicycle do not need to book, but walk-up tickets can be limited at busy times. Admission and parking are free for National Trust members, who must also book a slot if they come by car.
Accessibility
- Partially wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: not available
- Accessible restroom
- Accessible parking
- Service dogs welcome
- Tactile models & exhibits
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
There is no wheelchair or step-free access to the upper floor of the house, but a video of the upstairs rooms can be watched on a tablet. Four steps lead into the site, the path to the house is cobbled, and a smoother alternative route is available. An all-terrain wheelchair can be borrowed at Visitor Reception. A step-free toilet is in the car park and a radar key is available from Visitor Reception. Accessible parking and drop-off are at the farmhouse. Braille and large print guides and a tactile tour are available, there are induction loops at the till points, and ear defenders and fidget toys can be borrowed. Assistance dogs are the only dogs allowed in the house.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 4 |
|---|---|
| Family ticket | £42.50 · Two adults and up to three children. A ticket for one adult and up to three children costs £25.50. |
- Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
- Hands-on stations
Children can follow a trail looking for felted mice in the house, open a modern dolls' house in the Pets to Page display, and look for the real settings of Beatrix Potter's illustrations. The Christmas display from 7 November to 13 December is aimed at families. Baby items are available free in the toilets.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Windermere station
There is no direct bus to Hill Top. The nearest railway station is Windermere, 4½ miles away via the vehicle ferry across Windermere. A seasonal lake cruise (23 May to 27 September 2026) runs from Bowness to Ash Landing, and Hill Top is 2 miles from the jetty.
By car
Parking available
The small car park is for pre-booked visitors only, has a maximum stay of 2 hours and closes at 17:30. It cannot take campervans or motorhomes. An accessible space is at the farmhouse.
- Accessible parking
From Ambleside take the B5286 and B5285 (6 miles), or the B5285 from Coniston (7 miles). The what3words location of the car park is ///tunes.midfield.kindest. A mainly off-road path of about 2 miles leads from the Windermere car ferry or Ash Landing jetty, and another of about 2 miles from Hawkshead. The vehicle ferry between Ferry Nab (Bowness) and Ferry House takes about 10 minutes. Bike racks are in the car park.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Café
- Museum shop
JOEY's Café, a cabin in the orchard, is run independently. The shop and a second-hand book nook are on site. Picnic benches are in the orchard.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | Farm tours run by the tenant farmers take place on selected dates and last about 90 minutes; they can be booked at Visitor Reception. Dogs on leads are welcome in the garden but not in the house. The house can feel busy at popular times, and the afternoons after 14:30 tend to be quieter. |
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