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House museum · Windermere, Inglaterra
Dove Cottage
The house in Grasmere where the poet William Wordsworth lived from 1799 to 1808 with his sister Dorothy, with a sloping garden and the Wordsworth Grasmere museum, which holds manuscripts by the Romantic poets.
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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About Dove Cottage
Dove Cottage is the whitewashed stone house at the entrance to the village of Grasmere where the poet William Wordsworth lived from 1799 to 1808 with his sister Dorothy, and later with his wife Mary and their first children. It was there that he wrote some of his best-known poems, and where Dorothy kept the journal describing the simple life of the house and their walks through the valleys. The house had formerly been an inn called the Dove and Olive Bough.
The guided tour takes you through the small rooms, with low ceilings and dark wood-panelled walls, containing family furniture and belongings, and the sloping garden Wordsworth tended, with a bench overlooking the valley. Next door is the Wordsworth Grasmere museum, refurbished in 2020, with manuscripts, letters, notebooks and portraits of Wordsworth, Coleridge and other Romantic poets, in one of the period's most important collections.
In the village of Grasmere, a 10-minute walk away, are St Oswald's Church, in whose churchyard Wordsworth and his family are buried, and the Grasmere gingerbread shop, which sells a 19th-century recipe from a cottage beside the churchyard. The family later lived at Rydal Mount, about 3 km away.
Grasmere Lake and Rydal Water lie alongside, with short trails around them.
Before you go
Practical information
Cidade Turismo reviews its information regularly, but something may have changed. Check with the place before planning your trip.
How much time to set aside
About 1h30 to 2 hours for the house, garden and museum.
Best time
In the morning on a weekday. In spring, when the daffodils that inspired one of Wordsworth's best-known poems are in bloom. Check opening times on the website; hours are shorter in winter.
How to get there
It's at the entrance to Grasmere, about 7 km from Ambleside and 14 km from Windermere. The 555 bus between Windermere and Keswick stops in Grasmere. By car there are pay-and-display car parks in the village.
Tip
After the visit, walk to St Oswald's churchyard and try Grasmere gingerbread in the little cottage beside it. The short walk around Rydal Water and Grasmere takes about 2 hours.
Official website
Get your questions answered
Frequently asked questions about Dove Cottage
Who was William Wordsworth?
One of the leading English Romantic poets, who lived in the Lake District and made the region a symbol of English nature.
Where is Wordsworth buried?
In the churchyard of Santo Osvaldo in Grasmere, about a 10-minute walk from Dove Cottage.
How do you get to Grasmere?
By the 555 bus, which links Windermere to Keswick, or by car.
Is the visit guided?
The house is usually visited with a guide, in small groups; the adjacent museum is self-guided.