Wordsworth House and Garden re-opens its doors with a celebration of gardens including an Easter trail through the daffodils and a brand-new exhibition 

Wordsworth House and Garden opens for the 2025 season on March 29 th in time to catch the garden bursting into springtime blooms. The garden is the star of the show this year with an Easter trail through the daffodils and an exciting new exhibition celebrating the Wordsworths’ passion for gardening and the haven for nature these green spaces provide. Their popular Easter Egg trail is back from Monday 14 April to Monday 21 April and includes 10 activities which bring you through the house’s many rooms and out in the garden to enjoy the best of spring. The price of the trail is £3.50 per child and includes a Rainforest Alliance chocolate egg, with a vegan and Free From option available, as a prize. Opening days are Saturday to Wednesday, 10am-4.30pm. From the 7 th of April, visitors can take in this year’s exhibition “Green and Overflowing with Life”, taking them on a journey through William and Dorothys passion for gardening starting from their early childhood inspiration in the flower beds at Wordsworth House and Garden through to the many gardens they designed throughout their lives. The Wildlife Trusts tell us that ‘the UK's gardens are larger than all of our National Nature Reserves (NNR) combined’ which demonstrates how together, gardens can make a real difference to the overall green space for our wildlife. In the face of biodiversity loss, they have become vital oases for insects, birds and small mammals. Including insights into how gardener Amanda Thackeray has recreated and tended the Wordsworths’ childhood garden for 20 years, you will also find tips on creating your own pollinator haven. Loans from the Wordsworth Trust in Grasmere and Tullie in Carlisle help tell the story of the Wordsworth's relationship to gardens, and the challenges Cumbrian plants and insects face due to climate change. Amanda Thackeray, Head Gardener said: ‘Wordsworth was ahead of his time in identifying that a healthy garden is a messy garden! Nature isn’t tidy and I’m proud of the fact the walled garden is an oasis for bees and insects. This exhibition celebrates this and how we can all play a part in creating habitats for biodiversity to thrive.’ Rachel Painter, Collections and House Officer, said: ‘Throughout its history, the house and the garden have been linked and John Wordsworth’s accounts tell us about how the kitchen garden supplied food for the family. The garden has evolved and changed but a constant theme has how it offered solace, inspiration and a haven for wildlife. William and Dorothy as gardeners is an important story to be told, as in later life William was a gardener as much as a poet.’ Wordsworth House and Garden is offering free entry to anyone with a Cumbrian postcode on the opening weekend of Saturday 29 March and Sunday 30 March so locals can enjoy what’s on their doorstep. Make sure you check their webpage throughout the year to find out about more family activities and special events happening at Wordsworth’s childhood home. For more information, visit: www.nationaltrust.ork.uk/wordsworth-house