All reads gratefully received! If I miss you give me a shout!
All reads gratefully received! If I miss you give me a shout!
Member since:30.04.2003
Reviews:229
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My 5 year old son loves reading Beatrix Potter books so on a recent trip to the Lake District I knew he would love to visit Beatrix Potters house. Hill Top farm is a delightful 17th century farmhouse that was the home of Beatrix Potter for many years.
How to get there. ************** Hill Top farm is situated in the tiny hamlet of near Sawrey.It is 2 miles south Hawkshead. For exact directions you can always use the AA route finder. It is possible to get to Hill Top farm by train although it is a bit of a mission! There is a
train station in Windermere and from here there is a ferry across the lake. A marked off road path leads the 2 miles to the house.
From April until September there is a bus service from nearby Hawkshead. Bike hire is available from Windermere, Ambleside or Hawkshead. There are cycle paths and the scenery is wonderful!
Most people will arrive by car and there is a free national trust car park 150 yards away from Hill Top house. Parking is free.
Hill Top farmhouse.
The ticket office is situated in the car park. It opens at 10am and it is best to arrive as early as possible to ensure you get a ticket. Hill Top farmhouse is very small and visitor numbers are limited each day. You will be issued with a timed ticket and you will have to wait until the stated time to be allowed into the house.
Admission is not cheap at £5.80 per adult and £2.90 per child. The house is owned and administered by the National trust so national trust members are free.
The house is closed on Fridays when you can visit the shop and garden free of charge. The house is open from 10am until 4 pm. For winter opening times I suggest you visit the National trust web site.
From the ticket office you will need to walk a short distance along the road to the small shop. Like many national trust houses entry to the house is through a gift shop! The shop is an interesting place to wait for your admission time to arrive. There is lots of Beatrix Potter merchandise of sale all at high prices! The shop also sells sweets and drinks.
From the shop the path leads to the house. The garden, although small, is lovely. It is clear to see where Beatrix Potter got her idea for Peter Rabbit and the garden looks as if Peter will jump out at any minute! There are rows of cabbages and a watering can just as described in the story. My son loved it!
Entering the house my son was given a copy of Samuel Whiskers to borrow. He was told that he would be able to recognise several of the rooms he was about to see from the illustrations. This is a really lovely touch and certainly brought the house alive for him. The kitchen is a warm and cosy room, and the highlight for my son was being shown an actual rat hole! Apparently the house was overrun with rats when Ms Potter bought it, and this is where the idea for Samuel Whiskers came from. My son was delighted that he could still feel the rough edges of the hole caused by the rat's teeth. He was also shown a bone found in the chimney that was exactly like the one in the books illustration.
Upstairs are several bedrooms all with lots of Beatrix Potters personal possessions. The staff are really helpful and took time to show my son items that appear in the books. There are copies of Ms Potter's books open at the relevant pages in most of the rooms.
I loved the fact that this house feels alive if you understand what I mean. You really do expect to see Ms Potter come through the door at any moment. I like the idea of timed tickets as this means the house is never to crowded. The staff all had time to give you their individual attention. I was impressed with how child friendly they all were too.
Hill Top farm may be difficult for those with limited mobility as the paths are uneven. The are steep stair up to the second floor of the house and a step into the shop.
There are toilets just beyond the shop in the garden. There is a pub (also owned by the national trust) in near Sawrey serving light lunches. We always take a picnic as there are some wonderful walks in the area.
Overall I highly recommend you visit Hill Top farmhouse if you are in the area despite the cost!
Pictures of Hill Top, Ambleside
Beatrix Potters garden
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Sounds nice but a bit too far and a bit pricey for me
patriciat 05.08.2008 13:03
What a good idea to loan the children a book they can look at to relate to the rooms. Pat.t x
blissman70 12.07.2008 23:23
Nice review....I have been here a few times, i do find it quicker to use the Windermere ferry rather than drive round the mad bends... regards,blissman
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