About Hill Top Farm
In 1905 Beatrix Potter bought Hill Top Farm, from the proceeds of her first book, the Tale of Peter Rabbit. The farm became her sanctuary, a place where she could come to paint and write as well as learn farm management. Some of Beatrix Potter’s best books, such as The Tale of Tom Kitten (1907), The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck (1908) and The Tale of Samuel Whiskers (1908), reflect her delight in the old farmhouse and farming life.
Four years later, in 1909, Beatrix purchased Castle Farm, a second property in Sawrey just across the road from Hill Top Farm. Her ambition to own land in the Lake District and to preserve it from development was encouraged by William Heelis, a local solicitor.
In 1913, at the age of forty-seven, Beatrix Potter married Heelis and moved into Castle Cottage on Castle Farm.
The Heelises were also enthusiastic supporters of land conservation and early benefactors of the National Trust. In 1930 Beatrix Potter became de facto land agent for the Trust, managing some of their farms, as well as her own, over a vast section of the Lake District. From 1905 until 1930 she bought several farms in The Lake District. In her will, she left them to The National Trust. All of these farms Beatrix Potter left are still working farms managed by National Trust tenant farmers, in accordance with her wishes.
The farmhouse was small but bigger than it was when she bought it. Beatrix extended the old farmhouse and furnished it with well-chosen antiques.
The entrance to the cottage is a room in itself. It still has the original stone-flagged floor. The range seen in many of her illustrations was removed but replaced with an identical one in 1983. The wallpaper was reproduced in 1987 from that hung by Potter in 1906 and covers the walls and ceiling. The longcase clock dated ca. 1785, the Chippendale-style chairs, the Georgian-style dresser, a 17th-century oak press cupboard and other furnishings are depicted in some of Potter’s illustrations. The remains of the historic spiral staircase can be seen in the cupboard to the right of the fireplace.
The other room downstairs is the parlour. In the room is an Adam-style chimneypiece installed by Potter. Furniture of the early 19th century dominates the room and 18th-century English and Chinese porcelains are displayed in a hanging wall cupboard. Potter’s 1902 coronation teapot displayed in the cupboard was Ribby’s in The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan.
The sitting room was originally a farmhouse bedroom, Beatrix used this upstairs space to entertain. The room includes a box piano by Muzio Clementi and Co.
The new room was an extension added by Beatrix at the same time as she built the adjoining house. Beatrix referred to it as the library. It contains five large paintings by her brother Walter Bertram Potter. There are also some displays of the stories she wrote at Hill Top. There is a single window which looks out over the village of Near Sawrey, a scene Beatrix drew for The Tale of Samuel Whiskers.
There is only one bedroom in the house which contains an ornate four-poster bed dating from the mid-1600s. Beatrix’s husband William Heelis carved their initials on the fireplace surround. On the bed was a replica of a hand-stitched quilt that Beatrix Potter had made – as well as being an artist she was an accomplished sewer.
The final room we visited was the Collections Room, the smallest room in the house. One floorboard has been cut shorter than the others, which possibly inspired the events in The Tale of Samuel Whiskers. Notable items in the room include a dolls house which contains the ham depicted in The Tale of Two Bad Mice and a display cabinet featuring miniature bronzes of Beatrix’s characters.
Planning your visit
Getting to Hill Top Farm
By road
Take the B5286 and B5285 from Ambleside (6 miles), or the B5285 from Coniston (7 miles).
Parking: Cars and bikes, please use our main car park. If coming by car, you must pre-book your ticket. The car park is small with limited capacity. The car park closed at 17.30. Not suitable for camper vans/mobile homes.
On foot
There is an off-road path from the Windermere car ferry (2 miles), marked along the route. There is also a route (mostly off-road) from Hawkshead (2 miles).
By train
The nearest train station is in Windermere, 4½ miles away via vehicle ferry. You can catch a bus from here, see below for more details.
By bus
Catch the 525 Mountain Goat Bus Service between the Windermere Ferry and Hawkshead, calling at Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top. Runs 18 March through to October £2 per fare. No need to book if travelling to Hill Top by bus. You are guaranteed entry.
The best time to visit England’s Lake District