William Wordsworth: Morning Half Day Tour with an Expert Guide | La Vacanza Travel

William Wordsworth: Morning Half Day Tour with an Expert Guide

Duration: 3 hours 40 minutes
Destination: United Kingdom, England, Windermere
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  • 3 hours 40 minutes
  • Windermere
  • E-Voucher
  • Lowest Price
  • Not-Cancellable

Overview

This tour takes you to:
• Grasmere Village where William Wordsworth lived.
• Church Stile the former inn where William Wordsworth, his brother John and fellow poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge stayed for several days during their Lake District tour in 1797.
• Grasmere Gingerbread Shop where Sarah Nelson invented the world famous "Grasmere Gingerbread" in 1854.
• The Wordsworth family graves.
• St Oswald's Church where the Wordsworth family worshipped.
• Dove Cottage where William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy lived from 1799 to 1808.
• Views of Grasmere, the beautiful lake the Wordsworths knew so well.
• Rydal Mount William Wordsworth's best loved family home from 1813 to his death in 1850.
• Rydal Hall Gardens where Wordsworth admired the waterfall from the "grot" viewing house.
• Rydal Church built on the site chosen by William Wordsworth which also inspired two of his poems.
• Dora's Field bought by William Wordsworth in 1826.
• Views of Rydal Water, one of the smaller lakes.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: St. Oswald's Church, Grasmere England

Our tour starts with a drive to Grasmere Village. Here you will see St Oswald's Church and the Wordsworth family graves which are one of the most visited places in the Lake District.

Grasmere is also the name of a lake just outside the village itself. 'The loveliest spot that man hath ever found' is how Wordsworth described this most beautiful area of the Lake District. The small island in the middle of the lake was a favourite place which he often visited while he was living at Dove Cottage.

Duration: 35 minutes

Pass By: Allan Bank, Grasmere England

Wordsworth's family quickly expanded, with the arrival of three children in four years, and so they left Dove Cottage in 1808 to seek larger lodgings at Allan Bank on a hill overlooking the village. We will get to see this from the outside.

Stop At: The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop, Church Cottage, Grasmere LA22 9SW England

Next to St Oswalds is the Grasmere Gingerbread Shop. We will take a quick look at it as we pass by.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Wordsworth Grasmere, 591 Dove Cottage A, Grasmere LA22 9SH England

We now move on to Dove Cottage on the outskirts of Grasmere village. Dove Cottage is where Wordsworth set up home with his sister Dorothy in 1799. There are big changes happening at the Wordsworth Museum and entry to Dove Cottage will be erratic in 2019. There will be times when the cottage is open and other times when they will have a virtual tour instead. Entry to Dove Cottage is not included in the price of this tour.

Duration: 30 minutes

Pass By: Wordsworth Grasmere, 591 Dove Cottage A, Grasmere LA22 9SH England

The museum will be closed all year.

Pass By: Lake Grasmere, Grasmere England

We drive along the shore of Grasmere

Pass By: Rydal Water, A591, Rydal, Ambleside England

Our road now heads south passing Rydal Water and Nab Cottage. This was once home to Thomas de Quincey and later, Hartley Coleridge, the son of Wordsworth's old friend, Samuel Taylor Coleridge who rented the house in 1840 until his death there in 1849.

Stop At: Rydal Mount & Gardens, A591, Rydal, Ambleside LA22 9LU England

After the death of two of their children, the Wordsworth family felt that they had to move away from Grasmere Rectory with its constant view of the graveyard where they were buried. In 1813, they moved to Rydal Mount. This was William Wordsworth's best loved family home for the greater part of his life from 1813 to his death in 1850 at the age of 80. The house with its beautiful gardens were a focus for romantic literature. They continue to be owned by descendants of William Wordsworth and retain the feel of a lived in family home. The house dates from the 16th century and was enlarged over the intervening centuries, and also by Wordsworth himself. It contains a selection of the family's prized possessions and portraits. Wordsworth was a keen landscape gardener and the five acre garden remains very much as he designed it. It consists of fell-side terraces, rock pools and an ancient mound. Entry to Rydal Mount is included in the price of this tour

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Rydal Hall Gardens, Rydal, Ambleside LA22 9LX England

There is an opportunity to visit the beautiful and tranquil Rydal Hall Gardens. Built in the 16th Century, Rydal Hall was the home of the le Fleming family, Wordsworth's landlords at Rydal Mount. The house has subsequently been much altered, including the addition of a Victorian south range. The formal garden at Rydal Hall was designed in 1909 by the Arts and Craft garden architect Mr Thomas Mawson. It is a splendid example of the work of the leading Arts and Crafts garden designer, whose work is world famous. The garden is of particular historic interest for the extensive use of exposed aggregate precast concrete, instead of more usual stone, to form the main elements in the design, a very early use of concrete in this way. The Carlisle Diocese in association with The Cumbria Gardens Trust and in consultation with English Heritage are restoring this lovely formal garden. There are mosses, native flora and trees, including a 500 year old Sweet Chestnut tree with a girth of 36 feet. From the formal garden the sound of rushing water can be heard. Water crashes over a series of high waterfalls down a rocky ravine, through the banks of a wooded garden. The oldest 'viewing house' in the country was built below the lower fall in 1669.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Dora's Field, A591 Rydal Church near Rydal Mount, Rydal, Ambleside LA22 9LX England

Near to Rydal Mount is Rydal Church. The chapel of St Mary was built by Lady le Fleming, of Rydal Hall in 1824. William Wordsworth helped to choose the site, which was originally an orchard. The Wordsworth family and the family of the English poet Matthew Arnold, from nearby Fox How, worshipped here. Their family pews are on each side of the aisle at the front of the church. Wordsworth was church warden from 1833-1834, and there is a memorial plaque to him.

The Rash field next to the churchyard is a plot of land which was bought by Wordsworth who originally intended to build on it. The house never materialised. After his daughter Dora died in 1847, William went down to this field, and together with his wife and gardener, planted hundreds of daffodils as a memorial to Dora.

Duration: 10 minutes

Pass By: Bridge House Rydal Road, Ambleside LA22 9AN England

As we finish the tour and drive into Ambleside we pass the iconic Bridge House

Pass By: Windermere, Windermere, Lake District, Cumbria, England

This is one of our pickup points

Pass By: Bowness-on-Windermere, Bowness-on-Windermere, Lake District, Cumbria, England

This is one of our pickup points

Pass By: Ambleside, Ambleside, Lake District, Cumbria, England

This is one of our pickup points

Inclusions
  • Entry into Dove Cottage is included in the price
  • Entry into Rydal Mount is included in the price (not Fridays and Saturdays)
  • Relaxed and friendly small-group tour of no more than 7 guests
  • Professional Guides share their expertise of all the fascinating facts and stories in English
  • Departure and return to convenient, centrally located meeting points
  • Comfortable minivans with air-conditioning, WiFi and charging points for most mobile devices
  • Regular photo / comfort stops
  • Entry/Admission - Rydal Mount & Gardens

Exclusions
  • Food and drinks
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Most travelers can participate
  • The English Lake District weather can change quickly, even in the summer months. Please bring a waterproof coat with a hood in case of rain or windy weather
  • As there is a little walking involved on the tour, some uphill and on uneven or wet terrain, please wear suitable, comfortable shoes
  • Children under the age of 5 can travel on this tour but we do not recommend it
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • All passengers, including children of any age, must have a seat purchased for them
  • We will collect you from the departure point linked to your chosen option. Please do not change to a different departure point without informing us in advance as we don't automatically go to every departure point. If we don't know you have changed your departure point we may not pick you up for the tour!
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 6 travelers
  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Departure Point

1: Windermere LA23, UK
2: Bowness-on-Windermere, Windermere LA23, UK
3: Ambleside LA22, UK


Return Details

Returns to original departure point

Voucher info

You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.

Duration

3 hours 40 minutes


User's Reviews

BAKHTAVAR_M

07 May, 2023

Everything about this particular trip was lovely. The tour guide was excellent and very knowledgeable.

RA_H

01 Sep, 2022

The Wordsworth museum plus being able to actually go into his homes was amazing. Thank you English Lake Tours.

maryeb_74

30 Aug, 2022

One of the best parts of our tour was not necessarily the tour itself (which really was fantastic!) was that these two old friends really played off each other so well while Gill was giving us historical, interesting bits of information. They've known each other for many, many years and the sweet friendship is so evident between them. The tour was so lovely - lots of great info, explained in a thoughtful, unassuming way. I had studied Wordsworth in the Lake District 27 years ago through a study abroad, so our guide was excited for me to rediscover and remember little "spots of time"- which I did! Being somewhat introverted, my partner and I so appreciated being able to go at a somewhat slow pace and ask questions as we had them, instead of getting too much info all at once. Highly recommend!

Kevin P

15 Jul, 2022

We went there today. Love the garden.and house. Nice to learn about his life. And see were he lived . Like the house. The garden was my favourite as I am a gardener.

Jumbo-7

18 Oct, 2021

We were so impressed by the depth of knowledge of our guide (Tim). He was obviously interested in the topic and had spent much time in research. We fitted in a great deal in half a day, but it did not feel rushed. Even if one knows very little about Wordsworth and his fellow poets, one could not fail to enjoy this tour in one of England's most beautiful tourist areas.

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