9 May 2019
May is National Walking Month, and what better time to tell you all about the Wordsworth-themed walks that we have in store for you this year? We at the Wordsworth Trust are very excited to be partnering with the Lake District National Park on these walks, which offer you the wonderful opportunity to explore some of William Wordsworth’s favourite places and bring greater pleasure to his writing – and they’re all free!
Dove Cottage's garden filled with bluebells.
The majestic landscapes and hidden corners of the Lake District were a source of inspiration for Wordsworth throughout his life. These walks will introduce you to Ullswater, home to the daffodils that inspired ‘I wandered lonely as a Cloud’ in 1802; Hawkshead, where Wordsworth attended school from 1779-1787; and Grasmere, where Wordsworth and his sister moved in 1799 and in which he came upon ‘the loveliest spot that man hath ever found’. Lake District National Park Volunteer Walk Leaders, alongside staff from the Wordsworth Trust, will take you on a journey in Wordsworth’s footsteps, sharing stories about his life and writing and giving you the opportunity to hear his poetry read aloud in the places that inspired him.
Wordsworth produced his most famous and best-loved poems while living at Dove Cottage in Grasmere, and his sister Dorothy wrote her fascinating Grasmere Journal. Today, the Wordsworth Trust cares for Dove Cottage and the historic hamlet of Town End, as well as an internationally important collection of over 68,000 manuscripts, books, personal belongings and artworks relating to the Romantic era, with the Wordsworth family manuscripts at its heart.
William Wordsworth's home, Dove Cottage.
It is a very exciting year for the Wordsworth Trust. Our Re-imagining Wordsworth project, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other funders, is well underway: this year the Wordsworth Museum will be expanded and modernised; Dove Cottage will undergo an authentic restoration, bringing it closer to the home that the Wordsworth's would have known; and we will create a new café, Learning Space, open up a woodland space, and create a new sensory garden – all leading up to Wordsworth’s 250th birthday in April 2020. We remain open to visitors throughout 2019, with a full programme of events and experiences, but we advise you to check ahead before you visit.
This year is a wonderful opportunity to join in as we head out and about around the county. You’ll not only have the chance to learn more about Wordsworth and the Lake District, but also to talk to staff and volunteers from the Wordsworth Trust and the Lake District National Park about the exciting work that we do at the heart of this incredible World Heritage Site. We look forward to seeing you there!
There's even more to discover in the Lake District. Take a look at all of the Lake District National Park Authority's guided walks.
Book your walk nowGuest Blogger
As well as Dove Cottage and its neighbouring historic buildings, the Wordsworth Trust look after an important collection of works by Wordsworth and the other writers and artists of the period.
