Wordsworth House and Garden

About

The boy who grew up to be one of the world’s best-loved nature poets and a pivotal figure behind the creation of the National Trust and the global conservation movement was born in this lovely Georgian townhouse 250 years ago.

House

A new exhibition for 2022 will challenge us to rethink the basis of our relationship with the fells. Titled Scree, the exhibition is co-created with Cockermouth poet, photographer and writer Lucy Burnett, encouraging us to respond personally to this most loved of landscapes and the impact we as humans have on it. It features film, photography and poetry, with loans from Tullie House Museum and Gallery and the Wordsworth Trust, and will be supplemented by a series of workshops and events.

Wordsworth House and Garden is Cumbria Tourism’s Small Visitor Attraction of the Year. With real food on the table and a real fire in the grate, it offers an unforgettable chance to experience life in the 1770s.

Take a guided or audio tour, listen to a talk or explore the working kitchen and other hands-on rooms at your own pace. Discover the weird and wonderful details of Georgian life, from what the Wordsworth family ate to how often they washed.

The children’s bedroom is full of toys and dressing up clothes. There is a daily trail, and holiday activities range from wild art workshops to family garden adventures.

On Wednesdays and Saturdays in term-time and throughout the holidays, the maids are hard at work – and always keen to stop for a chat.

Garden

Wordsworth House’s walled riverside garden was William’s secret childhood playground. It was here that he learned the love of nature that turned him into one of the world’s favourite poets. It’s packed with 18th-century vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers.

Beneath the foliage-shrouded terrace where he and his beloved sister Dorothy used to play, the Derwent, his ‘fairest of all rivers’, gurgles by.

Round off your visit with a trip to the gift shop to browse for books, treats and souvenirs.

The ground floor of the house, garden and shop are wheelchair accessible – the house and refreshment area via a lift. There is no wheelchair access to the upper floor of the house or the cellar.

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