Book your visit
Please note you need to book tickets to Hill Top. You can book for today up until 8am. Every Thursday time slots will be available for the next 14 days.
Hill Top
Beatrix Potter's farmhouse retreat: the inspiration for her little books.
Near Sawrey, Hawkshead, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 0LF
Important notice
Hill Top house is now closed for the season. The shop and garden will be open on 13, 14 and 15 December 10am - 3pm. No pre-booking required.
Opening times for 8 December 2023
Asset Opening time House Closed Garden 10:00 - 15:00 Shop 10:00 - 15:00 Please note pre-booking is required for everyone to guarantee entry to Hill Top House & Garden.
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Ticket type Gift aid Standard Adult £16.50 £15.00 Child £8.30 £7.50 Family £41.30 £37.50 Family 1 Adult £24.80 £22.50 Become a member and discover more than 500 places
Assistance dogs only
Assistance dogs only in the house. Dogs on leads are welcome in the garden.
Shop
Car park
Toilet
Unfortunately there is no wheelchair or step free access to the upper floor of the house. A video of the upstairs rooms are available on a tablet. Some steps into and out of the garden and uneven surfaces. Braille & large print guides are available from house entrance. Tactile tour available also. Please ask at house front door if you would like this. Ramp available for shop entrance. Ear defenders are available if you'd like to use them.
Accessible toilet
Narrow corridors
Designated parking
Seating available
Drop-off point
Steps/uneven terrain
Induction loop
By road
Take the B5286 and B5285 from Ambleside (6 miles), or the B5285 from Coniston (7 miles).
Parking: If coming by car or cycle, please use our main car park. 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
You can get a Stagecoach bus to Hawkshead from Ambleside or Coniston and walk to us from there. The distance between Hawkshead and Hill Top is approximately 2.2 miles, so approximately a 45 minute walk. The seasonal Cross Lakes Shuttle is currently suspended.
By bicycle
By ferry
2 miles from the Windermere Ferry drop off on the west shore of the lake. Once disembarking follow the waymarked path to Hill Top, approximately 2 miles.
Windermere Lake Cruise Boat
Shuttle service from the heart of Bowness village to the western shore of Windermere (April - October): https://www.windermere-lakecruises.co.uk/cruises-fares/bowness-to-ferry-house-cross-lakes-shuttle Once disembarked, follow the way marked path to Hill Top, approximately 2 miles.
Planning your visit
Article
Visiting Hill Top with your dog
Find out which areas of Hill Top you can explore with your dog. Hill Top is a one pawprint rated place.
Highlights
House
Beatrix Potter's farmhouse retreat: the inspiration for her little books. Full of her favourite things, it was the place that inspired her stories and her love for the Lake District.
Garden
Informal flower beds planted in the English cottage-garden style, with flowers and vegetables. Look out for scenes from Beatrix Potter's little white books.
Joey's Café (independently run)
Cosy coffee cabin in Beatrix Potter’s orchard, serving baked goods, savoury snacks, locally roasted coffee, teas and hot chocolate.
Shop
A small treasure trove of unique products. Every penny that you spend in our shop helps us to look after Hill Top for everyone, for ever.
Second Hand Bookshop
Pre-loved hardbacks, paperbacks, magazines and children's books for sale in the Ticket Office Second-Hand Bookshop. All money raised goes directly back into looking after Hill Top.
Things to see and do
Article
Things to do in Hill Top house
See Beatrix Potter’s house as she wanted you to see it. It’s filled with her belongings and you can match up illustrations from her books with scenes there today.
Article
Things to do in Hill Top garden
Discover Beatrix Potter's garden, restored to how it was in her time, with the carefully tended vegetable plot and views of the pretty cottage garden from the famous path.
Trail
Beatrix Potter's Moss Eccles Tarn walk
Discover one of Beatrix Potter's favourite places, Moss Eccles Tarn, in the Lake District, Cumbria that inspired her writing.
Shopping
Article
Shopping at Hill Top
The Hill Top shop has a variety of gifts inspired by Beatrix Potter and her life in the Lake District.
Places to stay
Tanner Brow
Sitting on the western shore of Lake Windermere this first floor apartment is a cosy retreat.
High Strawberry Gardens
This comfortable lakeside retreat on the west shore of Windermere has its own jetty directly outside the cottage.
Low Strawberry Gardens
A two-bedroom lakeside retreat on the shores of Windermere with its own jetty.
Trees
A 1930s log and stone cabin high above Lake Windermere with a sun terrace and great views.
Rose Castle Cottage
A two-bedroom cottage just above Tarn Hows with heaps of character in the heart of the Lakes.
Low Wray Campsite
Lakeside or mountain-view pitches for tents and campervans, along with pre-pitched tents and pods, on Windermere, England’s biggest lake.
The Summer House
A cosy house in the old kitchen garden of Wray Castle with views of stunning scenery all around.
About Hill Top
Enjoy the tale of Beatrix Potter by visiting Hill Top. Full of her favourite things, it was the place that inspired her stories and her love for the Lake District.
The lovely cottage garden is a haphazard mix of flowers, herbs, fruit and vegetables. Make your way up the garden path to the front door and see for yourself why Beatrix loved this place. Bought in 1905 with proceeds from her first book, the Tale of Peter Rabbit, she used Hill Top itself and the surrounding countryside as inspiration for many of her subsequent books.
Advanced booking is required to guarantee entry to the House & Garden. Tickets go on sale each Thursday and you can book two weeks in advance. See 'What's On' to book online. Please contact 0344 2491895 for booking queries.
History
Article
Beatrix Potter
Discover how Beatrix Potter’s Victorian upbringing and fascination with animals culminated in a successful career as an author and illustrator and a passion for conservation.
Support us
Volunteer with us
Search for live volunteering opportunities, or register your interest with Hill Top.