The Queen's Head sits in the middle of Hawkshead, a seventeenth-century inn in a village that is essentially pedestrian and all the better for it. Two writers give this place a claim on English literature out of all proportion to its size: Wordsworth was schooled here for eight years, and Beatrix Potter's husband had his solicitor's practice in the building that now houses her gallery. This guide covers both, and what else the village is good for.
Quick Facts
William Wordsworth came to Hawkshead Grammar School at nine and stayed until he was seventeen, lodging in the village and — by his own later account — running more or less wild across the surrounding fells in between lessons. The school, founded in 1585, is open in season, and his name is carved into one of the desks, done at some point when he should have been working.
It is a small, plain room. Given what the country round it did to his imagination, it is a fair claim that English Romanticism started partly in this building.
A few steps from the inn, in the building where her husband William Heelis ran his solicitor's practice, the National Trust shows original artwork from the tales — rotated regularly because the watercolours cannot take permanent light. Seeing the originals after seeing the printed books is a genuinely different experience: they are smaller, looser and considerably better than reproduction suggests.
Hill Top is two miles south at Near Sawrey — book ahead, entry is timed and it sells out. Esthwaite Water, between the two, is small, quiet and full of wildlife; Wordsworth skated on it as a boy. And Grizedale Forest just south has waymarked walking and cycling trails and a long-running outdoor sculpture collection scattered through the trees — the best answer in the area to a wet afternoon.
You are on the quiet side of Windermere, which is lovely and slightly awkward — the roads are narrow and the ferry queues in August. Our tours carry seven guests at most; private days collect at the door and save the crossing entirely.
The grand sweep: ten lakes, the high passes between them, and an Ullswater Steamers cruise exclusive to this tour. If a celebration stay deserves one great day out, this is it.
See dates & bookCollected at the door, your party only, the day shaped to you — literary landscapes, hidden valleys, or simply the most beautiful roads we know. Well-behaved dogs are welcome aboard in our vehicle crates.
Enquire about a private dayDove Cottage at Grasmere — entry included as standard — and the valleys that made the poems, with Dora's Field carpeted gold in daffodil season. The right literary day for this most Georgian of addresses.
See dates & bookAcross the lake to Hill Top and Near Sawrey, with our illustration-matching walk through the village lanes — back for a long lakeside lunch.
See dates & bookThe afternoon version crosses the lake by boat rather than by road — worth choosing if you'd like the crossing itself to be part of the day.
See dates & bookA slow hall morning, then eight lakes and their valleys at a seven-seat pace — the most civilised way to spend a Lakeland afternoon.
See dates & bookThe same eight lakes as the afternoon tour, run the opposite way round in the morning — ideal if you'd rather keep your afternoon free for the lawns.
See dates & bookA full literary day east to Haworth — the Parsonage, the cobbled village, and the moors that gave Wuthering Heights its weather, newly magnetic with the recent film. Oxenholme pickup available.
See dates & bookInto the Dales for Grassington's "Darrowby", the Wensleydale Creamery, Kilnsey Crag and Bolton Abbey — filming locations brought to life around you with live scene technology.
See dates & bookFrom this side of the water a private day removes both irritations — the ferry queue and the narrow roads. We collect at the door and shape the route around your party. Well-behaved dogs are welcome aboard, travelling safely in our vehicle crates.
Not sure which route suits your plans, or want a day built entirely from scratch — a family reunion, a wedding anniversary, scattering ashes somewhere that mattered? Tell us what you have in mind and we'll design a day around it — see our guide to celebrating a special occasion for ideas, or get in touch directly.
A grammar school founded in 1585 where Wordsworth was educated from 1779 to 1787. His name is carved into one of the desks, and the building is open in season.
About two miles south at Near Sawrey — a short drive, or a pleasant walk across the fields.
Very — Hawkshead is largely traffic-free, with the car park on the edge, which is a large part of why it is so pleasant.
Ambleside library, Windermere station and Bowness Pier 1. On private tours we can usually collect you at the inn.
We are an independent local tour operator. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Queen's Head, Hawkshead.