Trail of Breatrix Potter

With our regular editor away on holiday this month I was given the envious task of discovering the trail of Beatrix Potter. It took little encouragement to persuade me to venture to Cumbria to discover the facts of one of my favourite authors. As a child her books bought me hours of endless pleasure, from imaging that Peter Rabbit lived in my garden to Mrs. Tiggywinkle washing my clothes. Even as an adult and coming to the sad conclusion that these mythical animals were not real the joy of her books remained with me.

My adventure started in Bowness-upon-Windermere, a beautiful town set beside Lake Windermere From rolling hills to the beautiful lake this picturesque town has it all and it is not hard to understand why this place offered so much inspiration to Beatrix Potter.

Depositing my bags at the B&B it was time for me to start exploring and it did not take me long to realise that the locals are very proud of Beatrix Potter. I soon found myself in the Beatrix Potter Museum (www.enjoyengland.com/Attraction/Windermere/Gallery/579919/The-World-of-Beatrix-Potter.htm) on the outskirts of Bowness-upon-Windermere reliving my childhood as I walked around the scenes from the twenty three tales that made her so famous.

A short walk from the museum took me to the start of the trail, a beautiful ferry ride across Lake Windermere. With my trusted map in tow I disembarked on the far shore and started the hike that would take me first of all to Hill Top the home of Beatrix Potter, and then on to the Beatrix Potter Portrait Gallery in the village of Hawkshead. Since my sense of direction normally leaves something to be desired I was a bit apprehensive about this trip through country roads but my fears were allayed by the well positioned sign posts that guide you clearly and precisely along the way.

An hour and half of relatively easy walking brought me to Hill Top which is located in the village of Near Sawrey. You can clearly see how somebody with Beatrix’s imagination could have loved this place. Hill Top and its surroundings were everything I imagined them to be – small, rural but unequivocally beautiful. The house is a great visitor attraction and it is full of Beatrix Potter possessions and memorabilia. Here you get the ethos of a happy place and the appreciation of a woman who knew the true meaning of beauty.

Beautiful as Hill Top and the surrounding village of Near Sawrey was I had to pull myself away and proceed onwards to the village of Hawkshead where The Beatrix Potter Portrait Gallery is located. Hawkshead is a tiny village with higgledy-piggledy houses that not only inspired the literary works of Beatrix Potter but was an inspiration to William Wordsworth as well. Walking through the village to The Beatrix Potter Gallery I had a strange sensation that something was missing and it was only later I realised this village is car free.

The Beatrix Potter Portrait Gallery (www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-beatrixpottergallery/) exhibits the original artwork from her books. This was definitely a highlight of my trip her pictures were like works of art in their own right. There gallery also has an exhibition of the 2007 film “Miss Potter” starring Renee Zelweigger and Ewan McGregor. As the film review said “The film is a guaranteed tearjerker, but more than that, it is an uplifting tribute to a single woman's quest for independence that would surely make Bridget Jones blush.”

As I sat on the ferry taking me back across the lake I could not help but feel this adventure had reconfirmed for me that Beatrix Potter was certainly an exceptional woman and a true patriot. Selflessly using the money from her books to preserve the Lake District for the nation by donating 4,000 acres of land to the National Trust so that Lake Windermere and its surrounds would remain unspoilt forever. It is to her credit that it is there for us all to enjoy so it is no wonder that the locals, like so many of us, hold her in such high regard and affection.