Wray Castle
.jpg)
Illustrations from 1st editions
.jpg)
Tarn Hows
© Peter Trimming
.jpg)
Hill Top
.jpg)
Hawkshead village
Morning Half Day from 467.00 per group
Please note that due to the National Trust's booking system for tickets into Hill Top, entry tickets are selling out very quickly, so we are often only able to take bookings for at least 1 week ahead. Please don't leave it to the last minute to book this tour as you may be disappointed.
This private morning tour follows the same much-loved itinerary as our Beatrix Potter Morning Half-Day Tour — Wray Castle, Near Sawrey, Hill Top, Hawkshead village, and Tarn Hows — but with one important difference: every moment is exclusively yours.
Beatrix Potter’s world rewards a slower, more contemplative pace. On a private tour you can spend as long as you wish at Hill Top, ask your guide every question that comes to mind about Potter’s life and legacy, and explore the quiet lanes and farmland she loved without any sense of a schedule to keep. If something catches your eye along the way — a particular view, a village worth exploring — your guide has the flexibility to pause and enjoy it with you.
This tour is a firm favourite with families introducing younger children to Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck for the first time, as well as with dedicated Potter enthusiasts who want the space and time to truly absorb the places behind the books. Up to seven guests can travel together.
This half day tour will take you to all the important places associated with Beatrix Potter in just one morning. This is one of our most popular tours and gets fully booked quickly so please book early as we have limited places and dates available.
Your morning starts with a visit to Wray Castle for spectacular scenery and lake views. This is the holiday home where Beatrix first fell in love with the Lake District.
While on holiday, Beatrix visited many of the small villages in the area and Near Sawrey became her favourite. This village features in many of her "little books" illustrations. The Tower Bank Arms is immediately recognisable as the place where Kep, the collie-dog goes looking for the two fox-hound puppies to rescue Jemima Puddle-duck. You will be amazed when you see it, exactly like it is in the book!
One of the reasons why Beatrix visited Near Sawrey so often was because while staying on holiday in the area, the Potter's coachman and his family were lodging at a farm there. That farm was Hill Top and is the one Beatrix later bought with the profits from publishing Peter Rabbit. She often visited her 'holiday home' Hill Top and wrote many more books here which were inspired by the people and the places around her in this beautiful part of England.
We stop at Near Sawrey and Hill Top for you to see the locations which are so recognisable in the books and the place where Beatrix Potter lived. Entry to Hill Top is included in the price of this tour.
Close by Hill Top is Esthwaite Water where Beatrix walked while courting her future husband, William Heelis. This was a favourite spot for Beatrix who thought it "the most beautiful of the Lakes".
William Heelis was a solicitor who advised Beatrix about her land purchases. His offices were in Hawkshead village. Your guide will take you on a short tour of this, "the most picturesque village in the Lake District".
Beatrix bought a lot of land in the Lake District and owned the beauty spot Tarn Hows. Here you will have a photo opportunity here and then, after a short scenic drive, Coniston Water comes into view.
Coniston Water is the third largest lake in the Lake District and is the straightest. You will have a short stop here to admire the view and see the famous fell of Coniston Old Man towering over the village and the lake.
Beatrix also owned a lot of farms in the area and as we travel down the Yewdale Valley back to Ambleside, you will see Yew Tree Farm, famous as a location in the film "Miss Potter".
This tour is also available as a shared small-group experience on our Beatrix Potter Morning Half-Day Tour. For a private afternoon Beatrix Potter experience that also includes a cruise on Lake Windermere, see our Private Beatrix Potter Afternoon Tour. Visiting from the US? Our American Visitors Guide covers everything you need to know before you travel.
To display the available dates for this tour please answer the questions below.
We can accept bookings up to 30 minutes before the departure time from your chosen pickup point, provided that we have availability.
You will not need to print anything out. Just book, read the confirmation email and wait at the pickup point!
Dates that are available for your group size are highlighted below in Orange. To book, simply click on one of these dates and complete the next page with your details.
| June 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |||
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | |||||
| July 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | ||
| August 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 | ||||||
| September 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | ||||
| October 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |
| November 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | ||||||
| December 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |||