In my last (admittedly some time ago!) post, we were walking back from Wray Castle and I was describing some of my gear and means of navigation. So I think it's time for Hawkshead, and I am excited about this one as it's a delightful little village.
Because of its location (if I recall correctly originally it was more of a transit center than it is today), Hawkshead has several old coaching inns and loads of historic buildings, but it is very intact historically. There are no incongruous buildings in the village center to throw off the sense that you're in a historic place. I don't typically get a chance to stay in places like this for multiple nights, but its proximity to loads of walks meant I had the opportunity to do so here, and I loved it.
I'm just going to share loads of photos with a wee bit of commentary, because that's really how you can see how delightful it is. And keep your eye peeled for the video walking tour!
One of the attractions in the village is the Beatrix Potter Museum. Given how small Hill Top is, I liked that this was a separate attraction, and nicely enough it's in an old building, so I enjoyed it doubly.
The village also has a lovely old church.
There is also an old grammar school, which you can (and I did) tour. Its most famous attendee was Wordsworth. The tour was very interesting, and I hadn't realized that there were so many more schools for boys of the upper middle / upper class during the Georgian era, like this one. Eton is the one you hear about but I think I might be making use of this one in book 5. I wasn't able to tour Eton the last time I was in that area and I always like to write from places I've been if possible.
Apparently carving of things was not only allowed but encouraged. I guess it kept the boys out of worse trouble!
A little bit outside of the village is the old manor:
Whoops, one more batch from Hawkshead in the Lake District, for an upcoming post. 🙂
Posted by Sophie Turner on Monday, February 8, 2021
That's all for this month, but I'll be back with more Lake District in future posts!
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