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Rydal

In 1813, following the deaths of their young children Catherine and Thomas, William and Mary Wordsworth were too grief-stricken to stay on at the Old Rectory in Grasmere. They moved a couple of miles down the road to Rydal Mount, a handsome house overlooking tiny Rydal Water. The family were to stay here for 46 years until the death of Mary Wordsworth in 1859. During this period, the poet was well-established and comparatively prosperous. A salaried position as Westmorland's Distributor of Stamps (a tax official), supplemented his earnings from poetry. The house has a spacious drawing room where the Wordsworths hosted many parties. The room still contains many original pieces of furniture, personal effects of the Wordsworths and portraits.

Although Wordsworth only ever rented the house, it is now owned by his descendants and has been open to the public since 1970. The interior has seen little change and retains a lived-in atmosphere. It contains first editions of the poet's work and many personal possessions, among them the only surviving portrait of his beloved sister, Dorothy. William was a keen gardener and the four-acre garden remains very much as he designed it.