Tours & tickets

Wray Castle

Head to London Euston station to enjoy a relaxing train journey to Oxenholme in the spectacular Lake District National Park. On arrival at Oxenholme you will be met by a local guide, who will take you on your tour of the Lake District. This tour is the ideal way to explore the best of the Lake District, which is famous for its Beatrix Potter and Wordsworth connections.  Enter the National Park and travel north alongside Lake Windermere to the medieval village of Hawkshead. Explore this fascinating village where Wordsworth went to school. Visit Hawkshead and Hill Top the famous lakeland home of Beatrix Potter. (The property is not open Fridays outside of the UK school holidays or between November - February). When Hill Top is closed we will visit the World Of Beatrix Potter in Bowness to learn more about the author and the characters she created. Continue on towards the renowned beauty spot of Tarn Hows for a photo stop before driving through Yewdale, passing Yew Tree Tarn, used in the film Miss Potter. Next journey into the famous mountainous valleys of the Langdales, which have been carved by glaciers to form spectacular u-shaped valleys. Arriving at the lakeside village of Waterhead you will join a lake cruise on England’s largest lake, Windermere, and sit back and enjoy the views of the Lakeland Fells (local word for mountains). Arriving at Bowness Bay, enjoy a cream tea at the Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel, once owned by Beatrix Potter. You will then be taken back to Oxenholme Station for the train back to London.

Your tour starts with a visit to Wray Castle for spectacular scenery and lake views. This is the holiday home where Beatrix first visited and fell in love with the landscape and culture of the Lake District. You then visit Near Sawrey. This village features in many of her "little books" illustrations, the Tower Bank Arms is immediately recognisable as the place where Kep, the collie-dog goes looking for the two fox-hound puppies to rescue Jemima Puddle-duck. You will be amazed when you see it, exactly like it is in the book! Hill Top Farm was bought by Beatrix with the profits from publishing Peter Rabbit. She often visited Hill Top and wrote many more books here which were inspired by the people and the places around her in this beautiful part of England. Entrance to the gardens of Hill Top and the House are included in this tour. William Heelis was a solicitor who advised Beatrix about her land purchases. His offices were in Hawkshead village. Today, these offices house the Beatrix Potter Gallery where many of Beatrix's documents are kept, including the copy she made of her original Peter Rabbit letter. The gallery is not included in the tour. Your guide will take you on a short tour of the most picturesque village in the Lake District. Beatrix bought a lot of land in the Lake District and owned the beautiful spot of Tarn Hows, known as one of the most beautiful places in the Lake District. You have a photo opportunity here and then, after a short scenic drive, Coniston Water comes into view. Coniston Water is the third largest lake in the Lake District and is the straightest. You will have a short stop here to admire the view and see the famous fell of Coniston Old Man towering over the village and the lake - beautiful scenery which Beatrix knew well. Beatrix also owned a lot of farms in the area and as you travel down the Yewdale Valley back to Ambleside, you will see Yew Tree Farm, famous as a location in the film "Miss Potter".