Allan Bank
Allan Bank is an early-19th-century villa above Grasmere that William Wordsworth rented from 1808, despite once calling it a temple of abomination. He wrote a large part of The Excursion here, and Coleridge and Thomas De Quincey were among the guests. The National Trust keeps it deliberately informal, with comfortable rooms, open fires and far-reaching views down the vale.
- Wordsworth's writing rooms
- open log fires
- red squirrels in the grounds
Best for an unhurried, hands-off house visit with literary history and lake views.