Dove Cottage in Grasmere

Dove Cottage in Grasmere

This whitewashed cottage near Grasmere was William Wordsworth’s first home in Lancaster.

 

In 1799, while on a walking tour of the Lake District, William Wordsworth saw Dove Cottage in Grasmere and decided to make it his home. He had known the valley as a boy, describing it as ‘paradise’. Within a few weeks, William and his sister Dorothy had moved in and were busily furnishing the home and planning a garden. It was whilst living here that Wordsworth produced most of his best-loved poems, and Dorothy wrote her fascinating Grasmere journal.

 

Now owned by the Wordsworth Trust, the cottage is full of memorabilia, including the poet’s ice-skates, his passport, a pair of his reading glasses and a portrait of one of his favourite dog, Pepper, given to him as a present by Sir Walter Scott.

 

William Wordsworth is Britain’s most famous poet. His thoughts and writing about man, nature and society are so relevant, they could have been written yesterday. Whilst living at Dove Cottage, Wordsworth produced most of his greatest and best-loved poems, and his sister Dorothy kept her fascinating Grasmere journal.

At the back of the cottage is Wordsworth’s "domestic slip of mountain", the half-wild garden where he liked to sit and compose poetry.

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