MARCH 2023
Visiting the Beatrix Potter house & gardens were my first introduction into the Lake District. The Lake District is an incredibly lush area in the United Kingdom, that definitely should be included in your itinerary. In this blog post I explain how to visit Hill Top, which is the farmhouse that was owned by famous illustrator Beatrix Potter. An absolutely lovely visit!
Practical information
We were looking for a fun activity to do in the Lake District and stumbled upon the house of illustrator Beatrix Potter. Beatrix owned a lovely cottage in the Lake District and this is where she was inspired for her Peter Rabbit drawings. Beatrix had a big love for nature and gardening and her old home and gardens are maintained beautiful, to show how this place historically looked like. It is always fun to step back into time, so I added the Beatrix Potter house, called Hill Top, to our UK itinerary. If you want to visit Hill Top, you must make reservations in advance via the website of the National Trust. If you are a member, entrance is completely free. The amount of parking spots is limited, so you musn’t come early. If you don’t have a National Trust membership, the entrance costs 15 pounds, which is steep, but a good way to support the National Trust.
Hilltop house & gardens
The house is incredibly little, which is why the amount of visitors is limited. The rooms are very small, so don’t fit many people. Because this is organized very well by the National Trust, your visit will be comfortable and relaxed. I loved browsing through Hill Top, admiring all the design choice that Beatrix had made. She had an excellent use of color in the property, using beautiful patterns throughout.
Unfortunately, we got to visit on a rainy day (which probably is not an exception in the very wet Lake District), so we couldn’t fully enjoy the gardens. I didn’t love the exterior of the house, though I can imagine it looking lovely when the wisteria is in bloom. The gardens are very beautiful and well designed and don’t feel too pristine, they feel like they actually were somebody’s garden!
Overall, our visit to Hill Top was very authentic. There wasn’t a ton of information on Beatrix Potter, but you could really feel how she was inspired by the Lake District. The National Trust staff was absolutely lovely, as I have learned to expect, which only adds to the fun experience.
