Hill Top

Polly Checkland Harding Last Updated 28 November 2023

Visit now

Hill Top

Near Sawrey, Hawkshead, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 0LF

01539436269

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Monday10:00am - 4:30pm
Tuesday10:00am - 4:30pm
Wednesday10:00am - 4:30pm
Thursday10:00am - 4:30pm
Friday10:00am - 4:30pm
Saturday10:00am - 4:30pm
Sunday10:00am - 4:30pm

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

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Hill Top © National Trust Images / Stephen Robson.

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Beatrix Potter bought Hill Top in 1905 with the proceeds from her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit; the 17th century farmhouse has since been turned into a time-capsule of her life, surrounded by a lovely cottage garden.

What's on near Hill Top

12 Sep – 14 Sep

LiteratureLancashire

Morecambe Poetry Festival 2025 at various venues

Our Tourist Telescope is set on the coast – more specifically, Morecambe Poetry Festival, back for a fourth year with an impressive line-up now spread over two venues: the wonderful

From £65.00

Afternoon Tea at Blackpool Tower Ballroom

Until 1 Dec 2026

Food and DrinkBlackpool

Afternoon Tea at Blackpool Tower Ballroom

Step into the majestic Blackpool Tower Ballroom for an experience like no other. With stunning architecture, live music and treats galore, Afternoon Tea here is highly recommended.

From £60.00

Until 1 Dec 2026

ActivityBlackpool

Turtle Feeding Experience at SEA LIFE Blackpool

Come face to face with SEA LIFE Blackpool’s hungriest resident. This unique experience gives you the chance to feed Phoenix the green sea turtle and learn about this endangered species.

From £75.00

A large mechanical puppet controlled by multiple people. Encounter Festival in Preston

20 Sep

FestivalsLancashire

Encounter Festival in Preston

Expect a jam-packed day of outdoor performance, live music, family fun – plus Preston’s iconic Torchlight Procession and fireworks finale.

Free entry

12 Sep – 13 Sep

MusicBlackburn

Confessional Festival

Blackburn’s Confessional Festival turns ten, celebrating with two days of live music set beneath the stained glass and vaulted stonework of Holy Trinity Church.

From £20

Until 12 Oct

ActivityBradford

Wild Uplands at Penistone Hill Country Park

Take in the expansive views of the moorland as you explore four large-scale artworks, accompanied by a bespoke soundtrack created by Opera North.

Free entry

A woman wearing a long green jacket and a speckled dress stood infront of a wall.

Until 12 Oct

ActivityBradford

Earth & Sky at Penistone Hill Country Park

Opera North bring the uplands landscape to life with a sound walk combining new music, Bradford born canonical composers and the sound of the uplands themself.

Free entry

The Railway Children at Keighley and Worth Valley Railway

Until 7 Sep

TheatreBradford

The Railway Children at Keighley and Worth Valley Railway

Steam-powered storytelling at its very best and perfectly staged for Bradford 2025, this much-loved classic is pulling into the station in spectacular style this summer.

From £10.00

See all events

Where to go near Hill Top

Cumbria

Museum

Blackwell, The Arts and Crafts House

Unlike many of the ‘historic houses’ that dot the English countryside, Blackwell in Cumbria embodies the entire opposite of rarefied stately-home-stuffiness.

Windermere

Hotel

The Cranleigh Boutique

Award-winning and wonderfully unique boutique hotel at the heart of the Lake District.

Windermere

Café or Coffee Shop

Bryson’s Of Keswick Craft Bakery & Traditional Tea Rooms

Charming tearoom in the Lake District stocked with everything you could wish for when it comes to daytime dining.

Cumbria

Bar or Pub

Baha

Baha is a stylish upmarket restaurant with a Pacific Rim-inspired menu, based in Bowness-In-Windermere in the Lake District.

Cumbria

Theatre

The Old Laundry Theatre

An intimate theatre in Bowness with a varied seasonal programme

Cumbria

The World of Beatrix Potter

The World of Beatrix Potter™ is a vibrant family Attraction bringing to life Beatrix Potter’s enchanting stories in a magical recreation of the beautiful Lake District countryside.

Cumbria

Restaurant

SOURCE
at Gilpin Hotel

SOURCE is the in-house Michelin-star restaurant at the stunning Gilpin Hotel in the Lake District.

Cumbria

Spa

Gilpin Hotel and Spa

Gilpin offers a world-class spa experience that blends relaxation with nature.

Cumbria

Restaurant

Gilpin Spice

Gilpin Spice is the two AA Rosettes Asian restaurant at the stunning Gilpin Hotel in the Lake District.

Cumbria

Museum

Windermere Jetty Museum of Boats, Steam and Stories

A brand-new museum dedicated to the simple, timeless pleasure of boating on the banks of one of England’s largest and most picturesque lakes.

Windermere

Café or Coffee Shop

Windermere Jetty Cafe

Windermere Jetty Museum’s lakeshore café has outstanding food and incredible views over Windermere.

Cumbria

Gallery

Grizedale Forest

Home to 60 site specific sculptures, Grizedale Sculpture in Grizedale Forest near Hawkshead offers a pioneering and permanently evolving environmental arts and adventure programme.

See all places

Cumbria District Guides

Carlisle and Keswick, Cumbria

Our guide to things to do in Carlisle, a city framed by its famous castle, and the ‘honeypot’ town of Keswick in Cumbria.

Cockermouth and West Cumbria

Our guide to West Cumbria, with its independent, industrial streak, and Wordsworth’s birthplace, Cockermouth.

Allan Bank, Grasmere, image courtesy of Visit Cumbria

South Lakes, Cumbria

No trip to Cumbria is complete without a visit to the South Lakes, Coniston and Grizedale among them. Here’s our guide.

Things to do in Penrith and the Surrounding Area

With the picturesque Lake District to the west and the sweeping ridge of the Pennines to the east, Penrith is a stunning cultural destination.

Things to do in Kendal

Kendal is a key destination in the Lake District, packed with fantastic places to visit as well as a wide range of high-quality restaurants, bars and pubs.

Things to do in Eden Valley, Cumbria

Our guide to the best things to do in the beautiful Eden Valley in Cumbria, which stretches from Sedbergh to Penrith.

Kendal and Sedbergh, Cumbria

Packed with fantastic places to visit and a wide range of high-quality restaurants, bars and pubs, there’s loads to do in Kendal and Sedbergh.

Culture Guides

Cinema in the North

This month we recommend a season of Film noir, cult Australian movies and a huge celebration of DIY community cinema.

Literature Events in the North

Our latest round-up features plenty of one-off live literature events to wrap your ears about, so get those diaries ticking over...

Family things to do in the North

August and beyond brings all sorts of family joy - with a huge amount of science, creativity and more.

Theatre in the North

This season’s theatre is gloriously eclectic: from radical cabaret and reinvented classics to new musicals and boundary-pushing performance.

Buttercups with the St Aidan's Dragline- oddball- in the background

Tours and Activities in the North

"Tours, tours, tours!" If this month's Tours and Activities guide were a sentient speaking person, this is what it would say.

Music in the North

10 fresh shows across Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool, threading together noise, ritual, euphoria and release in all their messy, beautiful forms.

Detail of an abstract sculpture, with burned materials and rusty chicken wire at the centre, with rusted metal bars bent around it.

Exhibitions in the North

Chocolate fountains, beautiful batiks and medieval marginalia - this month's supersized Exhibitions Guide has it all.