Grasmere Cottages
Grasmere, cradled in a vale in the heart of the Lake District, is crowned with magnificent fells and mountains all around.
From Dunmail Raise in the north, the vale of Grasmere opens up with the rugged peak of Helm Crag (otherwise known as ‘the Lion and the Lamb') sheltering the town to the south.
The combination of scattered hamlets and farmsteads, verdant woodlands, and lush meadows fringing the lakes of Grasmere, Rydal Water and Loughrigg Tarn conjures up a quintessential image of romantic Lakeland. The natural beauty of the area has provided inspiration for painters, poets, writers and craftsmen for years.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey and Sir Walter Scott also stayed here, whilst the writer Thomas de Quincey moved into Dove Cottage on Wordsworth's departure. From the 18th century onwards, many artists journeyed here in search of ‘the picturesque and the sublime', including William Green, John Constable and JMW Turner.
In more recent times, the Heaton Cooper family succeeded in capturing the changing moods of the Lake District in watercolours. Given this long association with artists and painters it is highly appropriate that Grasmere has the honour of hosting the annual Lakeland Artists' Society Exhibition every year.
The nearby hamlet of Rydal is associated with two influential families: the Le Flemings and the Wordsworths. Rydal Hall was the home of the Le Fleming family who moved here from Coniston Hall, Rydal Mount was Wordsworth's home for the last 37 years of his life.
