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Booking your visit

The Parlour at Hill Top, Sawrey, Cumbria, with an Adam style fireplace
The Parlour at Hill Top | © National Trust Images/Geoffrey Frosh

If you are planning a visit to Hill Top, you will need to book admission tickets in advance if arriving by car. Find out how to book and what to expect when you get here.

Arriving by car

If you are planning a visit to Hill Top by car, you must pre-book your admission ticket (applicable to all visitors, non-members and National Trust members) Hill Top is a traditional Lake District cottage, and the car parking facilities are small with limited capacity. Sorry but we cannot accept camper vans or motorhomes in the car park due to capacity.

When you book, you will choose a timed slot for arrival. Please don’t arrive before your booked visit time as we may not be able to accommodate you in the car park and you will be required to come back at the allotted time.

Tickets

You can pre-book tickets online up to a few minutes before each timeslot and up to two weeks in advance. Select your time slot and number of tickets and follow the instructions online. Entry and parking are free for members, but please do remember to bring your National Trust membership card with you. There is an entry ticket charge for non-National Trust members.

Please book one ticket per person except for children aged 5 or under as they don’t need a ticket. Tickets are for your use only and are not available for resale.

Well behaved dogs on leads are welcome everywhere but not in the house.

We will send your booking confirmation by email. Please make sure you fill in your correct email address when you book to ensure you receive your confirmation email.

Please contact 0344 249 1895 for booking enquiries.

Other ways to get here – no pre-booking required

We encourage sustainable travel options and support a shuttle bus service to Hill Top and Hawkshead with our partners Mountain Goat. If travelling to Hill Top by bus or arriving on foot or bike there is no need to pre-book tickets, you are guaranteed entry.

Consider parking in Hawkshead and catching the 525 Mountain Goat bus service from opposite the Tourist Information centre. That way you can combine a visit to Hill Top with a visit to the beautiful village of Hawkshead.

You can leave the car behind and catch the Westmoreland and Furness Council operated ferry from Bowness as a foot passenger then either walk or catch the 525 Mountain Goat bus to Hill Top. Again, if travelling to Hill Top by bus or on foot from the ferry there is no need to pre-book tickets, you are guaranteed entry. If walking, it’s a 2-mile path requiring a basic level of fitness, but an ideal way to catch a glimpse of the countryside that inspired Beatrix. Part of the route is on the road so it may not be suitable for all.

Hop across the lake with your bike then cycle, following the signs to Hill Top and Far Sawrey. It’s a 2-mile journey from the ferry.

Combined bus, boat and Hill Top ticket

For the ultimate experience, travel by boat with Windermere Lake Cruises from Bowness direct to Ash Landing jetty which links with the 525 Mountain Goat bus service. You can buy a combined boat, bus and Hill Top ticket. Book this via Windermere Lake Cruises – see more information here on Windermere Lake Cruises website

Windermere Lake Cruises Cross Lakes Shuttle
Windermere Lake Cruises Cross Lakes Shuttle | © Windermere Lake Cruises

Quieter Visits

Hill Top is quaint, quirky, beautiful, original and will leave you feeling like you’ve had a true glimpse into the life of Beatrix Potter and her love of the place. As such, no modifications or alterations have been made to the building. This does mean at more popular times it may feel busy in the house. Consider visiting in the afternoons after 2.30, which tend to be quieter.

Visit Hill Top Herdwicks

Hill Top Farm, Near Sawrey was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1944. Today, the farm comprises of over two hundred and fifty acres. The farm at Hill Top remains fully operational all year round, just how Beatrix Potter envisioned it. The Dixons, who have farmed at Hill Top for thirty-five years, have this year launched farm tours on selected dates, giving the rare opportunity to go ‘beyond the gate’ and capture a glimpse of the working Lakeland farm as it is today.

Enjoy the picturesque landscape setting of Near Sawrey and discover more about the farm. Explore the farmyard location and discuss life on the holding, renowned as the first farm bought by Beatrix Potter. And meet some of the Hill Top Herdwick flock, a breed of sheep that Beatrix Potter developed a passion for breeding and raising.

Walk & Talk Duration: approx. 90 minutes.

See Hill Top Herdwicks website for more information and to book

Herdwick Ewe in the South Lakes
Herdwick Ewe in the South Lakes | © John Malley
Visitor in the Treasure room at Hill Top, Near Sawrey, Lake District, Cumbria
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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.

Autumn borders in the garden at Hill Top
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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.

Stationery in the retail shop for the autumn season
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Shopping at Hill Top 

The Hill Top shop has a variety of gifts inspired by Beatrix Potter and her life in the Lake District.