beatrix potter tour from london

What a prickle…

We're sorry – it looks like something's gone wrong

Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's House

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Also popular with travelers

Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's House - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

• Beatrix Potter: Morning Half Day with an Expert Guide - includes entrance fees (From $113.14)
• Beatrix Potter Afternoon Half Day - includes Hill Top and Cruise (From $138.56)
• Private Beatrix Potter Full Day All Inclusive Tour Expert Guide (From $578.39)
• Lake District Rail Day Trip from London (From $367.25)
• Beatrix Potter - Half Day - Up to 4 People (From $476.70)
• (0.01 mi) STONEY CROFT COTTAGE, 2 Bedroom(s), Hawkshead
• (0.01 mi) STONEY CROFT COTTAGE, pet friendly, with open fire in Sawrey
• (0.02 mi) CROFT END COTTAGE, 2 Bedroom(s), Sawrey
• (0.02 mi) CROFT END COTTAGE, pet friendly, with open fire in Sawrey
• (0.02 mi) Belle Green Bed & Breakfast
• (0.05 mi) Restaurant at the Tower Bank Arms
• (0.07 mi) Sawrey House Hotel Restaurant
• (0.53 mi) Cuckoo Brow Inn
• (1.83 mi) Boardwalk Bar & Grill
• (1.90 mi) The Little Ice Cream Shop - Hawkshead
• (1.79 mi) Sail N Dine
• (1.83 mi) Lakeland Adventures
• (1.64 mi) Windermere Canoe Kayak
• (1.93 mi) Bowness Bay Marina - Windermere Boat Hire
• (2.40 mi) Graythwaite Adventure

Are you interested in?

Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top House Tours

19 Tours & Activities

66 Tours & Activities

• Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises

81 Tours & Activities

Beatrix Potter's Half Day Lake District Tour Including Lake Cruise

From $104.72

Select date and travelers.

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

Reserve Now and Pay Later - Secure your spot while staying flexible

• 4 hours 30 minutes
• Mobile ticket
• Offered in: English

Explore our promoted experiences

• Afternoon Beatrix Potter tour of the Lake District from Windermere
• Relax on a sightseeing cruise across the expansive Lake Windermere
• Visit the picturesque village of Hawkshead, where William Wordsworth once studied
• Gaze out over Tarn Hows, a famous beauty spot in the district
• Learn more about the life of Beatrix Potter

What's Included

• Transport in a small mini-coach
• On-board commentary in English
• Lake Cruise
• Entry to Hill Top Farm or World of Beatrix Potter Attraction
• Food & drink
• Drivers gratuity (Optional)

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point.

We meet passengers who who select this option at the Windermere Information Centre is approximately 100m from Windermere Train Station at the top of Victoria Street. What 3 Words - ///treatment.overlaid.hides What 3 Words - ///treatment.overlaid.hides

What To Expect

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's House

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Hawkshead Grammar School Museum

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Show 2 more stops

Additional Info

• Confirmation will be received at time of booking
• Not wheelchair accessible
• Most travelers can participate
• Children must be 5 years or older
• There will be places in Hawkshead to buy food or drink but we recommend you have Lunch before the tour.
• There are toilet stops on route
• Our vehicles are not currently wheelchair accessible
• Luggage storage is available at the Windermere Information departure location
• Seats cannot be reserved
• Each passenger must have their own seat
• Please note, the pick up location you have chosen is where you will be collected from. It is not possible to be collected from a different location once chosen. If you are not at the correct pick up location and miss the tour, we cannot offer alternative arrangements.
• Entrance to Hill Top farm is included, however when Hill Top is closed customers will visit The World of Beatrix Potter. (Hill Top is closed on Friday's outside UK school holidays and November - February).
• This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

• For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
• If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
• Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
• Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
• This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Learn more about cancellations.

Traveler Photos

Product code: 3395BEA

Compare Similar Experiences

Customers who bought this tour also bought.

• Free Cancellation
• 8 hours 30 minutes

Explore Similar Things to Do

Nearby destinations, windermere tours.

• Half-day Tours
• Bus Tours - Lake District
• Half-day Tours - Lake District
• Lake District
• Art & Culture
• Audio Guides
• Food & Drink
• Likely To Sell Out
• Outdoor Activities
• Seasonal & Special Occasions
• Tickets & Passes
• Cruises & Sailing
• How to Get Around
• Private and Luxury
• Sightseeing Tours
• Tours by Duration
• Full-day Tours
• Travel & Transportation Services

• Select Language
• Select Currency
• Australian Dollar
• Canadian Dollar
• British Pound (GBP)
• Hong Kong Dollar
• Indian Rupees (INR)
• Malaysian Ringgit
• Singapore Dollar

• Adult Adult (16+) - +
• Child Child (5-15) - +

Scenic Lake District with Afternoon Tea at the World of Beatrix Potter - Tour from London

Activity schedule, key highlights.

• Inclusions & Exclusions

Daily except Sunday

Approx. 14 hours

Train timings:

London Euston/ Oxenholme: 8:30am /11:08am

Oxenholme /London Euston: 6:29pm / 9:24pm

• Meeting Point The tour departs from Euston Station –Outside the Main ticket office. Please report at the meeting point 15 minutes before the start time. This is mandatory to allow time for pre-departure briefing .

Tour returns to Euston Rail Station.

• Spend a day in the Lake District enjoying the very best of English scenery
• Tour includes return train transportation from London
• Included Lake Cruise and Afternoon Tea at the Lindeth Howe Hotel
• Both printed and smartphone voucher accepted!

Enjoy a relaxing train journey to the spectacular Lake District National Park Area. Travel through the Midlands passing canals, market towns, to reach Oxenholme where your tour starts.Highlights of the day include acruise on one of the lakes and a visit to the the medieval village of Hawkshead.

The tour starts from Euston Station, outside the Main ticket office at 08:00am where you will meet a local representative. You will be given a round trip train ticket (with reserved seats) and will arrive at Oxenholme where you'll be met by a guide who will take you on your tour of the Lake District. Apart from enjoying a Lake Cruise on one of the Lakes, you will also visit:

This tour has a range of unavailable dates in the month of December.

• Scenic Lake cruise - Summer only English speaking guide
• Round trip train tickets with reserved seats
• Afternoon tea at the Lindeth Howe
• Coach transportation in the Lake District
• Free Wifi - in the coach
• VOX RADIOGUIDE -microphone and headset system
• Hotel Pick up and drop off

Please note

Voucher information: You can show your voucher on your smartphone (But if you’d rather print a copy – that’s fine too!)

Please call the activity operator at least 24 hours prior to start of the tour for reconfirming departure details

Please arrive at the start point at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time.

Visit the World of Beatrix Potter (not included in price)

Additional info

Customer reviews, carolyn buboltz, convenient way to get to see beatrix potter lake district locations when you have limited time ..

This trip was a convenient way to get to the Lake District to see the Beatrix Potter sights. Peter, the tour guide and driver, was excellent. The train ride from London and...

Nicole McCloskey

Lake district.

Tour guide a very knowledgeable nice fellow. Peter was a great driver on roads that were so narrow and winding. Beatrix Potter house so quaint and lovely. Boat ride very...

Elena Arefieva

Very interesting and pleasant tour.

The guide - Peter - is exactly in his place - he is nice and attentive, his stories are quite informative and all is well arranged. One of his advantages is a rather slow and...

travel inspiration from guidebook

LONDON CALLING : Top London Attractions to Experience in England’s Capital in 2023

London – the dynamic and lively capital of England welcomes you! From iconic landmarks to hidden gems, this bustling metropolis has no… The post LONDON CALLING : Top London Attractions to Experience in England’s Capital in 2023 appeared first on The Guidebook - isango! .

The Best Way to Capture London – Take a Thames River Cruise

Ride the Thames Tide The post The Best Way to Capture London – Take a Thames River Cruise appeared first on The Guidebook - isango! .

Celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – Top Royal Tours to Take

Hooray, it’s a celebration day! The post Celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – Top Royal Tours to Take appeared first on The Guidebook - isango! .

Get the latest offers and inspiration

Sign up to our newsletter and get the best isango! has to offer

• Enter a valid email
• Enter the characters shown below Captcha not matching

Terms of Use

• Booking terms & conditions

Get in touch

Haven't found what you're looking for?

Try a more specific search (e.g Add city or destination name)

You have signed up successfully.

Please stay tuned on your email for exciting offers.

Sign Up Login Login Or Sign Up

Sign up to create and view bookings Login to create and view bookings

• Enter full name
• E-Mail ID Already Exists User does not exist Enter a valid email
• Please enter password Enter valid password(at least 6 characters)
• Remember me Forgot Password
• I wish to receive top deals and travel inspiration
• By signing up you agree to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy .

Forgot Password

• Enter your email address and we will send an email with a link to reset your password.
• Continue Login

Email sent successfully.

The original private London tours Co.

Beatrix Potter & Peter Rabbit Tour

This special private Beatrix Potter & Peter Rabbit Tour tour is for everyone who has ever been enchanted by the wonderful Tales of Peter Rabbit and his friends.  Created over 100 years ago by Beatrix Potter, she was a formidable and farsighted Londoner. Like many others before and since visited the beautiful Lake District and became enchanted with it. She then later worked hard to preserve its unique and delicate nature as a National Park.

Visit Hill Top, the Lakeland home of Beatrix Potter.

Having met you at your hotel or holiday cottage, your local guide and driver will whisk you away in a comfortable private car through some of the most beautiful countryside in the world on a journey that is very much a highlight of the day before arriving at the first Lakeland home of Beatrix Potter, Hill Top.

Set in the tiny village of Sawley, Hill Top is a time capsule of this amazing woman’s life. Full of her favourite things, the house appears as if Beatrix had just stepped out for a walk. Every room contains a reference to a picture in a ‘Tale’. Beatrix used Hill Top and its surroundings as inspiration for many of her ‘little books’. You’ll recognise the rhubarb patch where Jemima Puddle-Duck laid her egg… the garden where Tom Kitten and his sisters played!

Due to its humble size, Hill Top can at times be a little crowded and entry is by a timed-entry system. It is also closed at times during the winter and on Fridays for conversation work.

If you like, we can then stop for a spot of lunch in an old local pub. Perhaps to very English tea and scones before we make our way on the short drive to the picturesque village of Hawkshead. Here we will visit the Beatrix Potter Gallery.

See the original artwork and notes for Peter Rabbit.

Once you step inside this charming old building to enjoy an exhibition of Beatrix Potter’s original drawings and watercolours. A visit here provides not just the chance to admire her delightful artwork but also the opportunity to learn more about her life outside the writing career which made her famous. Learn more about Beatrix as a farmer and conservationist, and how her legacy helped to keep the Lake District as we know today. This gallery has an interesting history too, because it was previously the office of Beatrix’s husband, William Heelis, plus it gives a rare opportunity to see inside one of Hawkshead’s old buildings.

Standard Adult Prices per person excluding entry fees (child prices available upon request).

How to book the Beatrix Potter & Peter Rabbit Tour

1 Adult = £200

2 Adults = £195

3 Adults = £190

4 Adults = £175

Departure Time:9am City Location: Cumbria – The Lake District Duration of Tour: 6 hours (Approximate times as all tours are bespoke)

For more information or to make a booking, please email  [email protected]

Alternatively you can book by using the automated booking process with Viator below. If you’re in London why not try our Bloomsbury Literature tour and see where Beatrix Potter stayed when in the big city.

Share this:

5 BEST Lake District Tours in 2024 (ranked!)

This post contains affiliate links for which I may make a small commission to help keep the site running. You will not be charged extra for these items had you not clicked the links. Thank you for your help to keep the site running!

Ready to book the best Lake District tours?

You’ve come to the right place because I’m covering the top 5 Lake District tours here.

How do I know?

I’ve lived in the UK since 2012 and have been to the Lake District almost every year since. It’s one of my favorite places in England, and I’ve been up and down the majority of the lakes and have taken a few tours myself to know which are the best ones and which ones you should skip.

Only quality tours are included in this list so you know that every tour you book is worth your money and time.

Want me to get to the point?

The best Lake District tour is this Mountain Goat Full Day Tour: ten lakes tour of the Lake District.

⏳ Don’t have time to read the whole list?

The best Lake District tour is this Mountain Goat full day ten lakes tour .

Click here to check prices and availability.

It’s got over 1,000 reviews with 5 stars, so you can’t go wrong!

There are some other great tours of the Lake District to choose from as well, including Lake District walking tours, Lake District coach tours, Lake District day tours and more so let’s get started with 5 of the top-rated Lake District tours.

Hey! Want more honest UK tips and planning advice? Click here to join my London and UK Travel Tips Facebook group , where I can answer more of your questions!

Easy Guide: Best Lake District Tours

1. mountain goat full day tour: ten lakes tour of the lake district : tours in lake district.

⭐️  RATING:  5 out of 5 Stars, 1,000+ reviews | ⏳  TOUR LENGTH:  8 hours 30 minutes | ✔️  BOOK NOW

WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THIS TOUR

• Transport in a small mini-coach
• On-board commentary in English

Get ready for an amazing adventure with the full-day Ten Lakes Spectacular tour starting from Windermere.

This tour is all about exploring the incredible Lake District National Park in a comfortable minivan, led by a friendly and knowledgeable guide.

You’ll get to see some of the most beautiful spots and charming villages that are nestled in the heart of the Lakes, while also learning about the fascinating history that makes this place special.

As you journey through the landscape, you’ll have the opportunity to climb up high into the mountains, where you can soak in breathtaking views and witness the awe-inspiring beauty that the Lake District is known for.

Along the way, you’ll encounter enchanting waterfalls that seem to come straight out of a fairy tale.

And of course, you won’t want to miss the chance to gaze upon the serene and picturesque lakes that dot the region, including well-known gems like Buttermere and Thirlmere.

Your adventure will also take you to places like Borrowdale, a place brimming with its own unique character, and the delightful village of Grasmere, which is like stepping into a storybook!

When it’s time for a break, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy lunch in Keswick, a lively market town that adds a touch of local flavor to your journey.

2. Lake District Rail Day Trip from London

⭐️  RATING:  4.5 out of 5 Stars, 67+ reviews | ⏳  TOUR LENGTH:  13 hours | ✔️  BOOK NOW

• Meet your Expert Guide in Oxenholme on this tour to Lake District
• Return Rail Journey
• Free Wi-Fi On Board (Train Only)

Discover the enchanting wonders of England’s Lake District with a guided day trip from London that includes train tickets.

Embark on a scenic journey by minivan, taking in the breathtaking sights of Lake Windermere, Hawkshead, and Tarn Hows.

During the summer months, delve into the world of Beatrix Potter as you explore Hill Top, her former farmhouse.

Cruise across a picturesque lake, and enjoy a delightful tea break at the renowned Lindeth Howe hotel.

For extra comfort, upgrade to first-class rail tickets.

From the charming village of Hawkshead, where William Wordsworth once studied, to the inspiration behind Beatrix Potter’s beloved tales, this trip is a perfect blend of natural beauty and literary history.

Whether you choose to visit Beatrix Potter’s home or the captivating World of Beatrix Potter, this journey promises an unforgettable experience in every season.

I’ve also got more Lake District tours from London here .

3. Beatrix Potter’s Half Day Lake District Tour Including Lake Cruise : Lake District bus tours

⭐️  RATING:  4.5 out of 5 Stars, 177+ reviews | ⏳  TOUR LENGTH:  4 hours 30 minutes | ✔️  BOOK NOW

• Lake Cruise

Embark on a delightful journey through the Lake District on this Afternoon Beatrix Potter Tour from Windermere.

First, enjoy a peaceful cruise on Lake Windermere, surrounded by stunning views.

Then, they’ll take you to Hill Top, where Beatrix Potter lived.

Imagine how she saw her garden and rooms, just as she did a long time ago.

Learn about her life and why she loved this place.

You’ll also visit the village of Hawkshead, where a famous poet named William Wordsworth went to school.

Lastly, you’ll see Tarn Hows, a really beautiful spot in the Lake District.

During the tour, you’ll hear interesting stories about Beatrix Potter’s life and how nature inspired her stories.

4. Windermere & Lake District Tour from Manchester Incl. Admission : Lake District guided tours

⭐️  RATING:  5 out of 5 Stars, 70+ reviews | ⏳  TOUR LENGTH:  11 hours | ✔️  BOOK NOW

• Admission Fee – Includes 45 minutes cruise on Lake Windermere
• Professional Driver Guide
• Transport by top of the range Mercedes mini-coach

Escape the busy streets of Manchester and embark on a delightful journey to the stunning Lake District on this tour .

Say goodbye to waiting for buses and trains – this tour includes transportation for your convenience.

Travel smoothly in a cozy Mercedes mini-coach as you explore fantastic places like Bowness-on-Windermere, Coniston Water, Hawkshead, Grasmere, and the captivating Heritage City of Lancaster all in one day.

No need to search for details – your guide has planned a complete Lake District adventure for you.

Keep an eye out for Dove Cottage, once home to William Wordsworth, pointed out by your friendly guide.

5. Ghyll Scrambling Water Adventure in the Lake District : Lake District UK tours

⭐️  RATING:  5 out of 5 Stars, 200+ reviews | ⏳  TOUR LENGTH:  3 hours | ✔️  BOOK NOW

• All equipment is provided
• Free photos of the activity

Dive into the stunning nature of the Lake District and experience a one-of-a-kind adventure with this exciting tour .

Discover the thrill of ghyll scrambling, a special activity unique to this area.

Picture yourself in a wetsuit and helmet, ready to climb, slide, and jump through the mountain streams and pools of the Lake District’s ghylls.

You can choose to take this small-group escapade in the morning or the afternoon, and be prepared to have some splashy fun.

All the gear you need to stay safe and enjoy the adventure is provided, plus you’ll get complimentary souvenir photos to cherish.

For those who want even more memories, you can rent a GoPro for extra footage.

Heading to London? Want the best tips?

Check out my Ultimate Guide to London for Visitors. Using text, images and video, this guide is packed full of tips, tricks, safety advice, knowledge on how to get around and what to do, and more!

Moving to the UK or already an Expat?

Grab my book which covers moving to the UK, struggles I faced and that you might face too, and uplifting advice to help you along the way! Available in hard copy and on Kindle.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature

Celebrating the life and work of one of the best loved children's authors of the 20th century.

• Ran from 12 February 2022 to 8 January 2023 at V&A South Kensington
• V&A South Kensington

This family friendly exhibition took visitors on a journey to discover Potter’s life as a scientist and conservationist, exploring the places and animals that inspired her most beloved characters. In collaboration with the National Trust.

This exhibition is now closed at V&A South Kensington

• See all current & future exhibitions at V&A South Kensington

Exhibition highlights

Past events

Demystifying Beatrix Potter

Miniature Paper Sculptures

Online Workshop: Illustrating Animal Characters (13-17 years)

Design Baby: Movement and Mindfulness

Members' Preview Day: Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature

Online Curator Talk: Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature

Members' Morning View: Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature

Families Workshop: Live Minibeast Drawing

Imagination Station in the Sculpture Gallery

Drop-In Design: Become a Bio-Designer

Imagination Station in the Sackler Centre

Digital Kids: Grow your own digital garden

Beatrix Potter: Relaxed Family View

2022 - The Principles of Interpretation

Online Workshop: Botanical Illustration

Make It Clay: Microworlds

Teacher Twilight Online – Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature

Online Workshop: iPad Botanical Pattern Design

Online Workshop: Smartphone Photography (13-17 years)

Pop-up Performance: Tales from the Forest

BSL Talk/Tour - Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature

Touch Tour for VI - Beatrix Potter: Drawn From Nature

Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature - Subtitled Talk/Tour

Onsite Talk: The Women Who Saved the English Countryside

Online Talk: The Women Who Saved the English Countryside

Drop-in Design: Plume Parade

Beatrix Potter and 'Aesop in the Shadows'

Leslie Linder's Legacy: The Beatrix Potter Collection

Make-it Clay: Microworlds

Members' Open Evening - December 2022

Lunchtime Lecture: Beatrix Potter

Making Colour Pigments from Plants

Inside the Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature exhibition

Take a look inside Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature

Family fun in Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature

Come on a journey through the wild and wonderful world of Beatrix Potter

Introducing Beatrix Potter

Find out more about the life of one of the world's best-selling and best-loved children's authors

Beatrix Potter: a life drawing nature

Explore a selection of highlights from Beatrix's life of drawing nature

Illustration inspired by Beatrix Potter's botanical drawing

Beatrix Potter's first sketchbook, aged 8

Explore Beatrix Potter's earliest surviving sketchbook

The Roly-Poly Pudding by Beatrix Potter

Explore the full, original illustrated manuscript

Beatrix Potter's inspirations

From the most mundane everyday objects to majestic landscapes

Experience Beatrix Potter's Lake District

Epic panoramic footage of its mountains and lakes, featuring locations where Potter lived, worked and admired

Make a Beatrix Potter Christmas card

Spread some festive joy this season by downloading our free template to create your very own Beatrix Potter Christmas card

Explore the range of exclusive gifts, jewellery, prints and more. Every purchase supports the V&A

Peter Rabbit. © National Trust Images

At Home with Beatrix Potter at Hill Top

Author and artist Beatrix Potter’s universe of characters have delighted readers for 120 years, since the first publication of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. She combined first-hand scientific observation with an imaginative hand-painted world of animals and gardens to become one of the most celebrated children’s authors.

In 1905 with the proceeds of her first ‘little books’, Potter bought Hill Top, a working farm in the English Lake District. She escaped from London as often as she could, to stay at her rural retreat, to draw, write, and immerse herself in country life. Beatrix drew inspiration from the house and nearly every room in the house is recognisable from her illustrations.

Many pieces of furniture were copied for her books: the dresser in Hall with its rows of blue and white plates that appeared in The Tale of Samuel Whiskers; the clock on the landing, next to the 18th century window, where Tabitha Twitchit stood; the dressing mirror that featured in The Tale of Tom Kitten.

In the garden, the green gate to the vegetable garden is unchanged from the days of Jemima Puddle-Duck. Today, Hill Top also tells the story of the author, her interests and activities through her collections of furniture, ceramics and artwork. In 1913, Potter married William Heelis and she turned to farming and raising sheep as she settled into married life. As Mrs. Heelis, Beatrix dedicated herself to the preservation of her beloved landscape and the traditional farming culture. Upon her death in 1943, she left a significant bequest of over 4,000 acres of land, 15 farms and cottages to the National Trust.

Alice Sage, Property Curator of Hill Top & Beatrix Potter Gallery, will talk about the author’s life and her devotion to the Lake District, often featured in her artistic works. She will lead us on a visual tour of Potter’s house and garden. She will highlight interior vignettes featured in her books and explain the hidden stories behind Potter’s treasured possessions.

Alice Sage, Property Curator of Hill Top & Beatrix Potter Gallery, National Trust

Alice Sage is a curator and cultural historian, interested in women artists, fantasy, and childhood.

Before becoming Property Curator at Hill Top in 2021, she held curatorial posts at the Edinburgh Museum of Childhood and the V&A Museum of Childhood. Over the years she has made exhibitions about fairies, dollhouses, automata, and children’s TV, and is fascinated with the different ways that we remember our childhoods and collect our memories.

At Hill Top, she creates an annual exhibitions of Potter’s original artwork and manuscripts, and leads the team that looks after Beatrix Potter’s beloved farmhouse for close to 90,000 visitors a year.

The Bedroom at Hill Top, Cumbria, home of Beatrix Potter.

Thursday, May 18 | 2:00 p.m. (ET)

Zoom webinar, $15 rof members; $25 non-members.

Register for Live

* If you are a Royal Oak member , you must be signed into the website to register as a member. Click the sign in button at the top right of the shopping cart. Add the standard ticket to the cart and the discount will apply at check out. 

Rent the recorded lecture to watch at your leisure through thursday, july 6th.

Register to Rent

The Zoom video link will be sent to you at purchase .

Please check your spam or junk folder if you do not receive the link in your inbox. if it is not there, contact us at [email protected] . , the rental video will be hosted on the zoom website and only available for streaming until thursday, july 6th  at 11:59 p.m. (eastern).  the video will not be available after that date and time .  it cannot be downloaded.  , * if you are a royal oak member , you must be signed into the website to register as a member. click the sign in button at the top right of the shopping cart. add the standard ticket to the cart and the discount will apply at check out..

This website uses analytical and tracking cookies to improve your user experience and for statistical purposes. By continuing to browse on this website, you agree to the use of such cookies.

Please check your membership status in My Account and click the Renew button if your membership has not lapsed.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Due to inclement weather, the Morgan will be closed

Search form

Beatrix potter: drawn to nature.

Reserve Tickets

Creator of unforgettable animal characters like Peter Rabbit, Mr. Jeremy Fisher, and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, the beloved children’s book author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866–1943) rooted her fiction in the natural world. Childhood summers spent in Scotland and the English Lake District nourished Potter’s love of nature, while her famous menagerie of pets inspired her picture letters and published tales. Her study of botany and mycology established an abiding interest in the life sciences, a passion she would bring to rural life at Hill Top Farm in Cumbria, England. There, she enjoyed a second act as a sheep breeder and land conservationist, ultimately bequeathing four thousand acres of farmland to the National Trust.

Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature brings together artwork, books, manuscripts, and artifacts from several institutions in the United Kingdom, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Trust, and the Armitt Museum and Library. Paired with the Morgan’s exceptional collection of her picture letters, these objects trace how Potter’s innovative blend of scientific observation and imaginative storytelling shaped some of the world’s most popular children’s books.

Listen to the audio guide

This exhibition at the Morgan is organized by Philip Palmer, Robert H. Taylor Curator and Department Head of Literary and Historical Manuscripts.

Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature was created by the V&A – Touring the World

Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature is made possible by major support from the Drue Heinz Charitable Trust, the Drue Heinz Exhibitions and Programs Fund, Susan Jaffe Tane, and an anonymous donor, with generous support from Katharine J. Rayner, the Christian Humann Foundation, the Caroline Morgan Macomber Fund, and Rudy L. Ruggles, Jr.

Beatrix Potter (1866–1943), Mrs Rabbit pouring out the tea for Peter while her children look on, 1902–1907. Linder Bequest. Museum no. BP.468. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London, / courtesy of Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd.

March 12 through June 7, 2024; Daily 2–3 PM

Related Programs

Private Tour: The Tale of Beatrix Potter

Full Day from 781.00 per group

Tour Rating:

This is a private tour, only your group shares the vehicle., you can join this tour:.

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 tour takes you to:

• Wray Castle the holiday home where Beatrix spent her 16th birthday and first discovered the Lake District.
• Near Sawrey, the village where Beatrix lived.
• Hill Top , the house which Beatrix bought from the money she made from the publication of Peter Rabbit.
• Esthwaite Water where Beatrix walked with William Heelis when they were courting.
• Hawkshead village where she carried out her daily business.
• Beatrix Potter Gallery to see the original illustrations by Beatrix.
• Tarn Hows bought by Beatrix and regarded as one of the most beautiful places in the Lake District.
• Monk Coniston Estate , vast and beautiful, which Beatrix bought and later donated to the National Trust.
• Coniston Water with spectacular views of the lake and the mountain Coniston Old Man .
• Yewdale Valley where Beatrix owned farms and land including Yew Tree Farm which you may recognise from the film Miss Potter.
• Armitt Library & Museum to see Beatrix's stunningly detailed mycology illustrations and other artefacts

What is included in this tour:

• Full Day Tour
• Admission to Hill Top
• Admission to the Beatrix Potter Gallery
• Admission to the Armitt Library & Museum
• Knowledgeable guide to provide expert commentary and analysis, as well as taking care of practicalities and general support throughout the day
• Experienced driver for your safety on the steep, narrow and twisty Lakeland roads
• Small group of up to 6 people for a more flexible and personalised experience
• Use of personal radio communication technology to keep you in-touch with your guide when you are off the minibus (where applicable)

Additional Features:

• Gift Shops at Hill Top, Armitt Library & Museum, Hawkshead & Beatrix Potter Gallery
• Food, drink & comfort facilities available at Tarn Hows, Armitt Library & Museum, Wray Castle & Hawkshead village
• Suitable for solo travellers

Your first stop is at Wray Castle and takes you back in time to when Beatrix Potter was a teenager on holiday in 1882. The usual holiday home, rented for the summer in Scotland, was unavailable and so Beatrix persuaded her parents to take Wray Castle on the shores of Lake Windermere for the summer. It was here that Beatrix spent her 16th birthday, met Canon Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley, one of the three founding members of The National Trust, and started her lifelong love of the area. This was where it all began for her. Your guide will explain the significance of Wray Castle in Beatrix's life and the people that she met there. After admiring the beauty of the Lakeland fells, tumbling to the lake shore across the sweeping vista of the grounds of the castle we now move on to your next destination via the steep and twisty, narrow Lakeland roads set in the charming pastoral landscape, to Beatrix Potter's home in Near Sawrey.

On arrival, your guide will take you on a walking tour of the village pointing out all of the places that Beatrix knew and used in her illustrations for the famous books. At the end of the village you will arrive at Hill Top, a 17th century farmhouse which was the home of Beatrix Potter. Your entry to Hill Top and Gardens is included in your tour. Beatrix wrote many of her famous children's stories in this little house. Characters such as Tom Kitten, Samuel Whiskers and Jemima Puddleduck were all created here, and the books contain many pictures based on the house and garden. You will have plenty of time to visit the house, gardens and gift shop before moving on to your next destination.

A scenic drive will take you past the beautiful Esthwaite Water , so admired by both William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter. It was probably a combination of Moss Eccles Tarn with its water lillies, and Esthwaite Water that served as the inspiration for the home of her tale of a frog who lives in a "slippy-sloppy" house at the edge of a pond in The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher.

Moving on through the sublime countryside, you arrive for an early lunch in Hawkshead , "the prettiest village in the Lake District". Your guide will take you on a short guided walk around the village and then take you into the the Beatrix Potter Gallery where you will be able to see original Beatrix Potter manuscripts and illustrations. You will then have time for lunch and to explore the village at your own pace.

After lunch, a short drive up Hawkshead Hill leads us on to the next destination of your tour, the beautiful Tarn Hows. The land and farms around were part of the considerable Monk Coniston Estate which was bought by Beatrix Potter and eventually sold or bequeathed to The National Trust so that the landscape and its unique way of life would be preserved forever. Your guide will point out features of interest and explain more about the life of Beatrix Potter as a farmer and conservationist . You will have an opportunity to take a short walk to the Tarn before we drive along a steep, spectacular and narrow road, deep into the Yewdale Valley.

Yewdale, once part of the Monk Coniston estate, and bounded by steep, craggy fells, offers the visitor some stunning scenery. Our road through the valley offers us a view down on to Yew Tree Farm which was the location for the 2006 film Miss Potter. The road falls steeply downhill, so narrow that it is one way, for no other vehicle could pass without tumbling to their doom, and takes us through enchanted, shaded woodland. Emerging on to a more major road opposite Monk Coniston Hall . On the shore of Coniston Water , we stop to take in the view. From here we follow the lake shore until we are on the edge of the village before plunging back into the Yewdale Valley.

We are now on our way to your next destination but before arrive, the road takes us right past Yew Tree Farm once owned by Beatrix Potter, with its rare spinning gallery. The farms in this area, all owned by Beatrix Potter were where she, and her tenant farmers, bred her beloved Herdwick sheep. You will have a quick stop to snap some pictures.

We continue our drive back to the town of Ambleside where your guide will take you into the Armitt Library & Museum to see another aspect of Beatrix Potter's life, that of the scientific researcher and illustrator. Your entry to the Armitt Library & Museum is included in the tour. Here you will see fascinating insights into Beatrix's interest in mycology as a young woman illustrated by her stunningly detailed and beautiful illustrations which she bequeathed to the library in her will. You can also see the other museum exhibitions and browse the reference library full of rare and interesting books. This concludes the tour and so your driver will then take you to your drop-off points.

Additional Information

• The English Lake District weather can change quickly, even in the summer months. Please bring a waterproof coat with a hood in case of rain or windy weather.
• As there is some walking involved in the tour, some uphill and on uneven or wet terrain, please wear suitable, comfortable shoes.
• No food or drink is included in the tour price.
• This tour is not suitable for children under the age of 5.

More Details about the Places on the Tour

Wray castle.

Wray Castle is a National Trust owned friendly mock-Gothic castle on the shores of Lake Windermere with turrets, towers and informal grounds. Beatrix Potter was born and brought up in London and her parents took her on summer holidays to Scotland. However, when the house they usually rented became unavailable, they looked further south than Scotland, renting Wray Castle on the shores of Windermere instead. Beatrix was 16 when they stayed here in 1882. Her parents entertained many eminent guests, including Canon Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley, one of the founding members of The National Trust. His views on the need to preserve the natural beauty of the English Lake District had a lasting effect on the young Beatrix, who had fallen in love with the unspoilt beauty surrounding her new-found holiday home.

Your admission to Hill Top and Gardens is included in the tour.

Step back in time and visit the home of one of the Lake District's most famous residents - author Beatrix Potter. Hill Top is a 17th century farmhouse located in the tiny village of Near Sawrey that tells the story of her life before she married. Her love of the surrounding countryside was the inspiration for many of her famous "little books".

Explore this fascinating house, typical of the Lakeland style with its stone walls and slate roof, appearing just as if Beatrix has just stepped out of it herself. Each room contains a reference to a picture in a tale - the house, farm and nearby villages all feature in her books including The Tale of the Pie and Patty Pan, The Tale of Tom Kitten, The Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck, The Tale of Samuel Whiskers and The Roly Poly Pudding.

The lovely cottage garden is a haphazard mix of flowers, herbs, fruit and vegetables. Make your way up the garden path to the front door and see for yourself why Beatrix loved this place. She bought the house in 1905 following the success of her first book, the Tale of Peter Rabbit, as a retreat away from her bustling London home and left it to the National Trust following her death. It is now a Grade II listed building and a popular place for fans of her books to visit, almost three million people have walked through the six rooms at Hill Top.

Esthwaite Water

Esthwaite Water is one of the smaller and lesser known lakes in the Lake District national park, yet Beatrix Potter commented "I have often been laughed at for thinking Esthwaite Water the most beautiful of lakes. It really strikes me that some scenery is almost theatrical, or ultra-romantic". Esthwaite Water is also the location where she created one of her most beloved characters, Jeremy Fisher.

Wordsworth was particularly fond of Esthwaite Water because he went to the Grammar school at Hawkshead and used the lake for recreation and inspiration, capturing its many moods in his prose. The lake was mentioned as the location where he conversed with a friend in his poem, "Expostulation and Reply," part of Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads and, in the same collection, it is the location for "Lines Left Upon A Seat In A Yew-Tree."

Today, the lake covers around 280 acres (1.1 km2) and is known for its excellent fishing, particularly trout and pike. It is also the home of ospreys, otters and red kites and has been designated as a site of special scientific interest.

Hawkshead Village

Hawkshead is a picturesque old medieval village on Esthwaite Water, set midway between Ambleside and Coniston. There are whitewashed cottages around the central square of the village, and many narrow, cobbled alleys and archways running between the various properties. The lack of street signs can be rather confusing but you will have a short walking tour with your guide when you arrive to help you find your way among the labyrinth of alleyways and ginnels. Many of the buildings have decorative features, ranging from pretty window boxes to carved gargoyles in the eaves of some of the cottages. You will have some time to enjoy this delightful medieval village at your leisure. Known as the "Prettiest village in the Lake district" you can browse the shops and buy your souvenirs or just sit and relax soaking up the atmosphere in the many café's and inns.

The church of St Michael, which overlooks the village, has an interesting 16th Century altar tomb. It also has illustrated versions of some of the psalms and other quotations painted on the walls during the 17th and 18th Centuries.

The poet, William Wordsworth, lodged in the village and attended the Grammar School here between 1778 and 1783. The old school is open to visitors and there is a desk on which the young vandal carved his initials.

The Beatrix Potter Gallery

Your admission to the Beatrix Potter Gallery and the exhibitions is included in the tour. For anyone who has ever been enchanted by Beatrix's endearing characters, the gallery is the place to go to marvel at these miniature masterpieces. This unique space occupies a 17th-century building which served as the office of Beatrix's solicitor husband and has a yearly rotating exhibition of her artwork and manuscripts.

Tarn Hows is one of the most visited spots in the English lake District , and in high season can be literally packed with people. It is a beauty spot that must not be missed, yet is not entirely typical of the local landscape, for the tarn is partly artificial, being three tarns joined together in the 19th Century, and most of the trees surrounding it are conifers.

The attraction is its sheer beauty , surrounded by thick woodland, and views towards Wetherlam, the Helvellyn range and the Langdale Pikes .

Monk Coniston Estate

In 1929, when Beatrix Potter was 64 years old, the Monk Coniston Estate came up for sale. The estate consisted of 2500 acres of land around the head of Coniston Water. It consisted of the well-known beauty spot Tarn Hows, seven farms including Yew Tree, Boon Crag, High Arnside, High Tilberthwaite and High Yewdale, as well as cottages, quarries and open fell land. She sold the half containing Tarn Hows to the National Trust, and bequeathed the rest of the estate to the Trust in her will.

Yew Tree Farm

Yew Tree Farm has been much photographed, drawn, and filmed. Its most picturesque feature is the spinning gallery along the front of the old barn. It was used for drying rather than spinning the wool of the Herdwick sheep. Such galleries were not uncommon until the early 1900's, but since then have become something of a rarity.

Yew Tree Farmhouse is partly of 17th Century date or earlier, with a new end added in 1743. This date, and the initials of the then owner, George Walker, are cut in the ironwork of the front door. The farm gets its name from a yew tree which was believed to be at least 700 years old before it blew down in 1896.

The farmhouse may look rather familiar to some of you as it was used as the location for Hill Top, Beatrix Potters house, in the 2006 film "Miss Potter" starring Renée Zellweger in the lead role.

Armitt Library & Museum

Your admission to the Armitt Library & Museum is included in the tour. The Armitt is a new purpose-built home for the Mary Armitt Collection; a collection of books, manuscripts, watercolours, archaeological remains, geological specimens and assorted paraphernalia associated with this lovely part of the Lake District.

The Armitt Library was founded in accordance with the will of Mary Louise Armitt and the wishes of her two sisters, 'to create a collection of books of scientific, literary and antiquarian value' for the 'student and book-lover'. Eventually it was transformed into a small but culturally significant museum. It was opened in 1912, and embodied the old 1828 Ambleside Book Society, of which William Wordsworth had been a member, and the Ambleside Ruskin Library, founded by Hardwicke Rawnsley in 1882 with the active support of John Ruskin.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, the Armitt sisters lived at Rydal Cottage, next to Rydal Church. Here they enjoyed the company of many artists and writers, including the Victorian polymath John Ruskin , the poet Robert Browning and the poet and cultural critic Matthew Arnold , who lived nearby.

There is an exhibition space containing a variety of interactive experiences, and a reference library containing the collection of rare books.

An area is devoted to Beatrix Potter , with her desk just as she would have used it to paint her watercolour pictures, and the surrounding walls displaying for the first time some of her natural history watercolours. In 1934 Beatrix gave many of her watercolours and drawings of fungi, mosses and fossils to the Armitt Library. She had become a member on her marriage to William Heelis in 1913, and he was their solicitor since it was established in 1912.

Check the availability for Private Tour: The Tale of Beatrix Potter

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.

• Work & Careers
• Life & Arts

The tale of Beatrix Potter and Mr McIntosh

• The tale of Beatrix Potter and Mr McIntosh on x (opens in a new window)
• The tale of Beatrix Potter and Mr McIntosh on facebook (opens in a new window)
• The tale of Beatrix Potter and Mr McIntosh on linkedin (opens in a new window)
• The tale of Beatrix Potter and Mr McIntosh on whatsapp (opens in a new window)

Natalie Whittle

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Beatrix Potter was to Edwardian Britain what Taylor Swift is to America today, a prolific talent and fearless merchandiser of her own brand. After her death in 1943, however, Potter gradually ascended to the higher order of literary-folkloric sensation, her stories and biography quizzed intently for meaning. It helped the posthumous spread of her fame that she had written her teenage diary in code, which was only decrypted by collector Leslie Linder in the 1960s, cementing her position in the annals of tortured poets.

Over time, Potterists have pondered the unknowables. Might there be a lesson in economics concealed in The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck ? And could the storytelling realm of dress-coated rabbits and their misadventures in vegetable patches in The Tale of Peter Rabbit in fact be a dystopia in disguise? Was she commenting subliminally on the morality of property boundaries? Was she a capitalist? Was Mr McGregor a sociopath? The Potter speculation industry, and book sales, are impressively evergreen.

One of the least-asked questions about her life is also perhaps the most unexpected. Namely, why was Beatrix Potter so obsessed with mushrooms? Or, more specifically, fungi and microfungi, of which the twenty-something Potter was an ardent private collector, student and painter. Scores of her fungi watercolours have survived, but they are light-sensitive enough to require most of their time in locked archives, further obscuring this aspect of her past. In turn, this obscures some of the strictures she faced, even as an intellectual woman of status and means in 19th-century Britain.

The recent opening of Perth Museum in Scotland gives her delicate fungi watercolours, and this chapter of her early life, a new public spotlight. Here, among a tableau of Perthshire flora and fauna, Potter’s still lifes are shown in the galleries of the former City Hall, refurbished out of its municipal past into a more welcoming design language of pale wood and natural light. Mark Simmons, senior collections officer at Culture Perth and Kinross, an umbrella charity for the region’s museums and libraries, says of their composition, “She’s being very particular, you can see they are very accurate. The gills and the colour enable identification.” Like her children’s book illustrations, the watercolours also show Potter’s deftness for capturing a lifelike but magical vision, as if the mushrooms are levitating on the forest floor.

But to understand why they belong in the same museum collection as the Scottish king- and queen-anointing Stone of Destiny, we must rewind more than a hundred years to the summers of Potter’s youth, many of which she spent in Highland Perthshire.

And here into the story steps a tall, shy and unmistakable man, missing all the fingers and thumb on his left hand. He has a long, grizzled beard and threadbare clothes, and he is a devoted reader of the natural world. In the mythology of Potter’s life, he is a surprisingly quiet figure, not least because the peak of his connection with “Miss Potter” was entwined with the beginning of her career as an author. Charles McIntosh was important to the tale of Beatrix Potter. And the dazzlingly complicated world of fungi was important to them both.

The hamlet of Inver, near the prosperous town of Dunkeld in Perthshire, comprises a scattering of old weavers’ cottages around the rivers Tay and Braan, so quiet you can almost hear the woodsmoke from the chimneys. McIntosh was born in a cottage just beyond the square. As a child, he was musical and intelligent. But he was in work by his mid-teens at the local sawmill. Here, his fate changed. One day, in a terrible accident, he suffered the loss of his left digits. The injury revealed his resilience — he carried on playing the cello, for example — but there was much else it altered. Were it not for a piece of wood catching in a blade and pulling him towards the saw, he and Potter might never have crossed paths.

After the accident, McIntosh became a postman, his finger stumps wrapped out of sight in black cloth. As the “postie”, he became well known not only to the locals but also to the tourists who stayed for the long summer seasons. He did not, by all accounts, put on airs for anyone. He had the postman’s defence: “Everybody knows me,” his niece recalled him saying, when asked why he didn’t groom himself.

The wage was 12 shillings for a six-day week, walking a 16-mile beat in all weathers. Along the way he became a close observer of the glens and forest floors, scooping up capercaillie pellets with microfungal spores and harvesting fungi from mossy underbrush for examination under his brass telescope at home. (Potter later called him a “first-rate field naturalist”.)

Rupert and Helen Potter had brought their young children, Beatrix and Bertram, from London for a string of summers around Dunkeld in the 1870s and ’80s, dwelling months at a time in a variety of grand sandstone houses. These were spoiling, idyllic times: Beatrix once even brought her pet rabbit Benjamin Bouncer on the train, a Belgian rabbit “very tame and clever”, she wrote, who posed on dewy Scottish lawns for her photographs.

Summer, too, created alleyways in the small Dunkeld economy where connections across social divides could be made. Rupert Potter, a former barrister, took a particular interest in the news that McIntosh was a keen naturalist, and gave him several books on fungal species. In dispatching the books via his Piccadilly bookseller, Rupert sent McIntosh a letter from the Reform Club in Pall Mall and wrote “Mr Potter & his daughter all hope to know that Mr McIntosh will find the books interesting.” (Any reply to this letter is lost.)

At Dalguise House, a favourite Potter summer residence, Beatrix had first caught sight of McIntosh, or “Charlie”, when she was sent to “get the letters” at the bottom of the drive. Recalling the moment much later on, she said she saw him “swinging up the avenue, with long strides and head down . . . on that first occasion I ran away — I don’t know which of us was shyest.”

By the time the Potter family returned to Perthshire in 1892, when she was 26, she was desperate to meet McIntosh, by then 53, properly. She attempted to set up the rendezvous “all summer”, according to her diary. Bouts of pleurisy had forced him to take early retirement from the postal service. But he was more interested in fungi than ever, as was she.

Fungi had a power to bring people together in 19th-century Britain that seems improbable today

Finally, days before the Potters were due to return to London, a local photographer AF Mackenzie arranged for Beatrix and Charles to meet. She later described her impression, rather loftily, that he resembled a “damp lamppost”. Every difference of their circumstance, including his much greater age and knowledge of the natural world, did not alter the social power she seemed to command, even if benignly. She wanted him to send her Perthshire fungi by post to London for her to sketch, a proposal at which she said “his mouth evidently watered at the chance of securing drawings”. But perhaps, for him, saying no would have been almost impossible.

That summer of 1892, the Potters stayed at Heathpark, not far from Dunkeld, which had been advertised in the classifieds of The Scotsman newspaper as “nicely situated on an eminence; splendid view . . . every convenience”. It had nine bedrooms, a fruit and vegetable garden, a croquet green and a supply of pure spring water. (Beatrix, showing her privileged tastes, wrote in her diary that Heathpark was “more of a villa, well-built, but in disrepair”.)

A photograph taken in winter, towards the end of his life, shows McIntosh resting on a rowing boat on the frozen river Tay, gazing at his small black dog. He still lived in the stone cottage tucked up the slope in Inver. Potter, by that point, was living in the Lake District, tending her flocks of Herdwick sheep and farming her land, backed by the income that came from her bestselling children’s books. When she learnt of McIntosh’s death in 1922, she wrote: “It was a complete surprise to me to learn that ‘Charlie’ was living till last January — so little is left of old times that I thought he had died years ago.”

They had lost touch. But after that 1892 summer, Charles and Beatrix corresponded for five years. He obliged by sending hampers of fungi samples on the mail train from Perthshire to Euston, and in return she sent him drawings. The fungi kept growing, and their mutual interest held firm. There was plenty to talk about.

Do you think this is B versipellis ? I got it in the same place last year . . . Do you think you could get me a fungus called Corticium amorphum ? It grows on fir bark . . . Is not this Boletus granulatus ? . . . Do you know anything about lichens?”

Potter’s letters to McIntosh, now stored by the National Library of Scotland, are full of questions about the world of fungi. But this was not a niche passion shared by two people alone. Fungi had a power to bring people together in 19th-century Britain that seems improbable today. From the mid-1870s, cryptogamic societies themselves began to mushroom, attracting clusters of naturalists and amateur scientists for regular expeditions in the forests and glens. These groups hoped for firsts — to discover new species and microfungi — but the pursuit often fitted into a larger Darwin-inspired awe for the workings of the natural world. Mosses, ferns, trees and rare birds were also of interest. Notebooks and cabinets filled with carefully recorded specimens at home, and the rarest finds were sent to Kew Gardens or other institutes for analysis.

The former postman replied attentively to Potter’s missives, but always to the point. He signed them off with “Yours when sent, Charles McIntosh”, as if the connection, held delicately, could drop at any moment. The correspondence is never personal, but even so it starts very stiffly, with Beatrix’s first letter referring to them both in the politest third person: “Miss Potter has sent off the drawings by parcel post, and hopes Mr McIntosh will think them sufficiently accurate . . . ”

McIntosh, who was also in correspondence with a number of fungi-interested clergymen around Scotland, was an associate member of the (still extant) Perthshire Society of Natural Science, which extended this membership tier to those of lesser means at a discount. “They were moving into a modern era of science and really looking to record all the nature and wildlife of Perthshire,” Simmons tells me. “They were keen to share that knowledge. When they could no longer afford to keep their collections, they gifted them to Perthshire town county council.”

In 1875, the Cryptogamic Society of Scotland organised a Fungus Show at Perth’s City Hall, draping the walls with dried mosses and ferns, and laying out tables of fungi, lichen and plants freshly gathered from local estates. One Professor Dickie from Aberdeen contributed a hat fashioned from the Transylvanian fungus Polyporus fomentarius , according to a notice in The Scotsman.

Eventually, Potter formalised her interest by writing a paper for the Linnean Society in London, where her father had connections. It was read to the men in her absence, as women were not admitted. “That’s the cusp of where she gets to in the scientific world,” says Simmons. “She gets rebuffed.” McIntosh, too, remained at the fringes, limited by society as a working-class man where she had been held back as a woman.

The storerooms of Perth Art Gallery, which also serve the museum, achieve a strange feat. Preservation in the name of science and history has given the minutely interconnected ecosystems of nature an almost eccentric appearance of miscellanea. There are at least three drawers of eider feathers, a rolling vault of taxidermied owls and kingfishers, spirit-pickled starfish, a dozen stag heads, and voles, ferrets, mice and rats stuffed in cabinet trays. A jar of large cupped mushrooms pickled on August 8 1903 by Charles McIntosh hides in a cupboard like an ancient vintage of summer jam, and drawer after drawer of gently pressed ferns and mosses (some of which also were also found by McIntosh), plus his extensive collection of microfungi, are ranged in wood casings. It feels like nothing short of a naturalist’s Lost and Found.

The museum also has a stash of photographs taken by Potter, many of which are portraits of animals, including Benjamin Bouncer. Nose and whiskers held still as if for the camera, he is impossible to see now without thinking of her famous character Peter Rabbit. Similarly, as Simmons and I shuffle past penny-farthings hung on a peg board as if through the hallway of a Victorian student flatshare, he points out McIntosh’s peat spade on the wall, which immediately brings to mind Potter’s gruff Mr McGregor.

Charles McIntosh was important to the tale of Beatrix Potter. And the dazzlingly complicated world of fungi was important to them both

The link between real postman and fictional gardener has been aired before, though it is not provable. But because she did her first drawings of Peter Rabbit in letters to her former governess’s son in 1893, the year after her first proper meeting with McIntosh, it is tempting to make the connection that the experiences of those years had galvanised something. “And Mr McGregor was a beardy Highland Scottish bloke . . . ” Simmons says wryly, of the likeness to McIntosh. Although taciturn bearded Scotsmen are not as hard to find as cock-in-the-woods fungi, for example.

Perthshire itself does undeniably seem to have been part of Potter’s enrichment of ideas. Kitty MacDonald, the washerwoman at Dalguise House, was another person who Potter befriended, and who she visited by pony in that same 1892 summer, stopping at the old woman’s house in Inver and mushroom picking around the rivers. MacDonald, like McIntosh, represented the “old times” for Potter, an era which, by the time McIntosh died, would slip further away as post-runners were phased out by the arrival of the motor car.

Regardless of whether MacDonald was the model for Mrs Tiggy-Winkle or McIntosh the model for Mr McGregor, his terse replies to her letters carry a hopeful message. Keep working, and keep looking, he seems to urge.

In one letter, dated January 10 1894, he writes: “Since you have begun to study the physiology of the funguses you seem to see your drawings of them as defective in regard to the gills, but you can make them more perfect as botanical drawings by making separate sketches of the sections.” The connection was still there. His letter ended: “Yours when sent, Charles McIntosh.”

Follow @FTMag to find out about our latest stories first and subscribe to our podcast Life & Art wherever you listen

Promoted Content

Follow the topics in this article.

• Life & Arts Add to myFT
• Books Add to myFT
• Beatrix Potter Add to myFT
• FT Magazine Add to myFT
• Natalie Whittle Add to myFT

International Edition