Dove Cottage

Grasmere, Co. Cumbria

This quaint little whitewashed cottage, was once the much-cherished home of William Wordsworth and today can be visited. It is dedicated to the famous Cumbrian poet of the great Romantic era.

Set in the tiny Lakeland town of Grasmere in the heart of the Lake District , Dove Cottage was originally a 17th Century Inn. In 1799 William Wordsworth moved to Dove Cottage with his sister Dorothy. Here he spent his most important and prolific years as a writer, while Dorothy wrote her famous journals also at Dove Cottage. As a key writer in the Romantic movement of the 18th Century, Wordsworth was inspired by the wonderfully scenic surroundings of Windermere , Troutbeck Valley and Elterwater.

A beautifully preserved Lakeland house, Dove Cottage is furnished with many of Wordsworth’s belongings and houses an interesting exhibition on the life and works of the poet laureate and of the history surrounding the British Romanticism of the time. The cottage's collection includes family portraits, original manuscripts and early paintings of the Lake District by some of the most foremost artists of the day and Dove Cottage sees a steady stream of visitors.

The tiny churchyard of the 13th Century Church of St Oswald’s in the town of Grasmere is where Wordsworth is buried, alongside his wife Mary and sister Dorothy.