William Wordsworth

2020 marked the 250 year anniversary of Romantic poet William Wordsworth's birth and you can discover the landscape that inspired him here in the Lake District, Cumbria. England’s best-known and most popular National Park is a postcard landscape of shimmering lakes, craggy hilltops and ancient forests that has enchanted poets and painters since the late 18th century, when the Romantics first had their imaginations stirred by the panoramas that have remained unchanged to this day.

The £6.2million Reimagining Wordsworth project being unveiled at Wordsworth Museum and Dove Cottage in Grasmere presents the poet’s life, family and works in a fresh light for modern visitors. To discover how his childhood shaped the man he would become, a visit to the National Trust’s Wordsworth House in Cockermouth is a must.

Rydal Mount near Ambleside, Wordsworth’s family home for 36 years is full of fascinating personal artefacts and has a delightful landscaped garden. Allan Bank is another National Trust property where Wordsworth lived briefly. You can also dine at the poet’s former workplace, the Old Stamp House - now a Michelin Star restaurant.

For outdoor locations that inspired Wordsworth’s poetry take a day trip to Ullswater to see the ‘golden host of daffodils’ around Glencoyne Bay in Spring, cruise on a heritage ‘steamer’ then walk up to Aira Force waterfall which features in his poem ‘The Somnambulist’. Wander in the footsteps of Wordsworth around Rydal water and Grasmere.
 

Encountering Wordsworth
 

Encountering Wordsworth is an inclusive large-scale music, poetry and multi-media project celebrating William Wordsworth's 250th birthday.

A group of young composers from across Cumbria have been looking into the life of William Wordsworth, where he came from, that landscape and surroundings and how we think about that, writing a brand new piece of music, which is performed by Manchester Camerata and interspersed with poetry and reflections from Cumbrian children.

Watch the film here