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• Holiday Accommodation Wanted In The Lake District

The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction Bowness on Windermere the Lake District

One of the most popular attractions in the Lake District is the World of Beatrix Potter at Bowness-on-Windermere. Visitors from all corners of the world flock to the Lake District to see Beatrix Potter´s famous children´s books recreated at this impressive attraction.

A visit to The World of Beatrix Potter transports visitors on a journey through the life and work of the author, who set most of her children´s books in the Lake District, where she grew up.

Situated in one of the most beautiful areas of the Lake District, a range of stylish accommodation is on the doorstep in Windermere and Bowness-on-Windermere, including elegant boutique hotels, spa hotels and themed hotels for visitors who plan to stay longer than a day.

Providing great fun for all the family, the show begins with a short film, introducing visitors to all 23 of Beatrix Potter´s tales. Next you are taken through indoor re-creations of Beatrix Potter tales, including Mr Tod´s underground home and Jemima Puddle-Duck´s woodland glade. A trip through Peter Rabbit´s Garden follows, and visitors then find themselves in the magical kitchen of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. Virtual walks follow in the footsteps of Beatrix Potter, and Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny are brought to life in 3-D.

Hill Top Farm Sawrey the Lake District

The inspiration for many of Beatrix Potter´s tales, Hill Top Farm is the 17th Century farmhouse where the author bought in 1905. It was initially used as a holiday home and later a permanent residence. Many of her ´treasures´ are still on display, and Hill Top Farm was the model for Samuel Whiskers illustrations and many others included in her books. A shop specialises in Beatrix Potter gifts and Hill Top was recreated for the major hit film, Miss Potter, which was released in December, 2006. Visitors are welcome to look around the farm and get a feel of how Beatrix Potter lived and worked in the early 1900s.

Each room contains something that appeared in her books, and when she died, she left the house to the National Trust, on the condition that the general public could look around it and that the house remained exactly as she left it. For Beatrix Potter fans, this is one attraction not to miss.

Beatrix Potter Gallery Hawkshead the Lake District

Hawkshead was where Beatrix Potter´s husband, William Heelis had a solicitor´s practice. The practice can still be viewed, along with information about the author´s later life, including sheep farming, conservation and her support for the National Trust.

The gallery is also home to original illustrations and paintings from The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, and a display of the materials used in the film, Miss Potter. Free children´s activity sheets are also available.

The Life and Times of Beatrix Potter and the Lake District

Beatrix Potter became famous after writing her children´s books featuring animal characters such as Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck, but she was also well known in the Lake District for her conservation and mycology work (mycology being the study of fungi).

Born in London on July 28th, 1866, to strict parents, Beatrix Potter grew up isolated from other children and was educated by governesses at home. Beatrix had one brother, Bertram, who was educated at boarding school, which left his sibling very much home alone with her many pets. She had two rabbits called Benjamin and Peter (an inspiration for her later books), frogs, newts, ferrets and a pet bat.

Her father, Rupert Potter, although trained as a barrister, spent most of his days in the gentlemen´s clubs of London and rarely practised law. Her mother, Helen Potter, was the daughter of a cotton merchant, and spent most of her time receiving visitors. The family was supported by both parents´ inherited incomes, which were substantial.
Holidays in the Lake District

Each summer, between 1871 and 1881, Rupert Potter would rent a country house in Perthshire Scotland, and later rent a cottage for holidays in the Lake District. Through many holidays spent in Cumbria and Scotland, Beatrix fell in love with the landscape, the flora, fauna and wildlife of the countryside, which left a lasting impression. The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes and Pigling Bland were later illustrated in the Lake District.

The Potter family met local vicar, Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley in 1882, who was worried about the increased industrialisation and effect of tourism on the Lake District. He later went on to found the National Trust in 1895, which helped protect the rugged and wild countryside of Cumbria. What Beatrix Potter learnt about conservation in those early days can be attributed to Canon Rawnsley, who taught her the importance of looking after the natural landscapes of the region.

Her parents discouraged any intellectual development and, as a young woman of 15, she was required to supervise the household. From the age of 15 to 30, she wrote a daily diary in her own secret code, which was only decoded 20 years after her death.

Beatrix Potter watercolours in Ambleside

Although Beatrix eventually found fame as an author, her watercolours of fungi also led to her being widely respected in the field of mycology, and her uncle attempted to get her a place as a student at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Her application was rejected because she was female. Her set of 270 detailed watercolours of fungi is in the Armitt Library at Ambleside, the Lake District.

Many of Beatrix Potter´s stories were based on the small animals she managed to smuggle into her house during family holidays, and in a letter dated 1893, she sent a story about rabbits to Noel Moore, the five year old son of her last governess. She was encouraged by her ex-governess to publish the book and the rest, as they say is history.

Beatrix published The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1901, when she was in her thirties, and this was followed in 1903 with The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin.

Hill Top Farm at Sawrey the Lake District

In 1905, Beatrix became engaged to her publisher, Norman Warne. This caused a huge rift with her parents, who felt she had married beneath her social status. Her fiancée sadly died of pernicious anaemia before the wedding could take place. After Warne´s death, Beatrix purchased Hill Top Farm in the village of Sawrey in the Lake District. With the steady stream of income from her books, she started to buy land and property with the guidance of local solicitor, William Heelis.

Potter then began writing and illustrating children´s books full time, and was able to become financially independent from her parents, and buy a farm in the Lake District. In 1913 at the age of 47, she married William Heelis, and they both moved into Hill Top Farm. 

The couple had no children but the farm was alive with dogs, cats and a multitude of pets including a hedgehog called Mrs Tiggy-Winkle. Beatrix continued to run her farm while writing and and illustrating books for children.  A total of 23 books were published in all, and are still read throughout the world in multiple languages. A ballet and several films have also retold her stories in every corner of the globe.
Beatrix Potter the farmer

In addition to her story-telling, Beatrix Potter became known as a respected farmer in the area and a breeder of the famous Herdwick Sheep. When her parents died, Beatrix and William bought more farms and land, and eventually moved to Castle Cottage at Sawrey. Local children knew her for her grumpy demeanour and she was increasingly concerned with the preservation of the Lake District and World War II.

Beatrix stopped writing in around 1920 when failing eyesight meant it was almost possible to do the illustrations. The Tale of Little Pig Robinson was published in 1930 but was actually one of the first manuscripts to be written. Beatrix Potter died in 1943 and left almost all her property to the National Trust.  She was cremated in Blackpool and her ashes were scattered in Sawrey, the Lake District.

What to do in Windermere on Bowness and the Lake District

The main Beatrix Potter Attraction is situated close to Lake Windermere, at Bowness, and there is no better place to stay than in the heart of the Lake District if you plan to travel around the region.
Enjoy the local pubs, award-winning restaurants, fine home-brewed ales and organic, locally produced food at Windermere, and discover some of the most diverse and fun attractions in the Lake District.
Recommended places to stay in Windermere

If you are planning to stay in Windermere-on-Bowness, also known as Bowness or in Windermere itself, there is a great choice of accommodation on offer.

If you are looking for stylish accommodation which won´t break the bank, we would highly recommend boutique hotel, 21 The Lakes, which is situated between Windermere and Bowness. If you are looking for elegant and luxurious accommodation in Windermere that won´t break the bank, this stunning boutique offers hot tubs, award-winning suites, aqua spa massage baths and delicious locally-sourced food. Probably the best hotel of its kind in the Lake District.

The Aphrodites Hotel, also situated near Bowness and Windermere, is fast becoming known as the ´hip´ hotel of the Lake District, and attracts celebrity visitors from all over England. With the emphasis on style, comfort and delicious organic food, this themed hotel is quite unique. Not only does the hotel adhere to an eco-policy, it also boasts an incredible fountain in the outside dining area, which is a miniature of the famous dancing, music and light fountain outside the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. For style, comfort and fun, you won´t find better accommodation in the lakes.

If location is everything then these two hotels have it all. Guests can stroll down through the village of Bowness with its variety of shops, country inns, restaurants and wine bars or enjoy a day on Lake Windermere with a lake cruise.

Good hotels near Windermere also include: Beaumont House Guest House, which is an elegant Victorian property located in a quiet area close to Windermere village. This upmarket guest house provides superb accommodation in a perfect location.

Wheatlands Lodge is situated at Windermere, and provides luxury bed and breakfast accommodation plus elegant bedrooms with good facilities. Spacious rooms and attractive gardens combine to make this one of the more popular bed and breakfast choices in Windermere.

Whether you are looking for cheap accommodation, hotel deals or luxury hotels in Windermere, there is plenty to choose from. Bowness-on-Windermere hotels are among the best in the Lake District, and you can enjoy luxury stay in a boutique hotel or make the most of the outdoor hot tubs and open fires at an elegant themed hotel.

If you are planning your first visit to the Lake District, Bowness-on-Windermere is the perfect base. All the major attractions are situated close by, and some of the most beautiful lakes in the area, apart from Windermere are within easy driving distance. Whatever your budget, there will be accommodation to suit you and your family, and Windermere hotel deals are among the best in the Lake District. Bowness hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation is plentiful, and look out for the late deals online.

You may be visiting the lakes to see the wonderful Beatrix Potter attractions, or simply touring the beautiful county of Cumbria. Whatever reasons you have for being in the Lake District, you will not be disappointed with the wide range of things to see and do. In addition to Hill Top Farm, the Beatrix Potter Attraction at Bowness-on-Windermere and the Beatrix Potter Gallery at Hawkshead, there are plenty of other award-winning attractions in the area to suit all the family. Not only is this area one of great natural beauty, it is a walker´s paradise, and whatever your ability or fitness, you will find a wealth of walks, tours and trails to explore during your stay.

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