-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Related Web Page
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Moss Eccles Tarn is a moderate walk from Near Sawrey. It is a 5 acre man made tarn owned by the National Trust and recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It was here that Beatrix Potter spent many an hour fishing and it is thought that the water lilies on Moss Eccles inspired the story of Jeremy Fisher.
Moss Eccles Tarn is just a short walk from Near Sawrey. It is a 5 acre man made tarn owned by the National Trust and recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It was here that Beatrix Potter spent many an hour fishing and it is thought that the water lilies on Moss Eccles inspired the story of Jeremy Fisher.
Beatrix Potter was born on 28th July, 1866 at No 2, Bolton Gardens, Kensington, London. A typical Victorian family, the Potters lived in a large house with several servants. Beatrix was cared for by a governess, and she spent long hours alone, only seeing her parents at bedtime and on special occasions.
Beatrix Potter discovered her love of nature on annual summer holidays in Scotland and the Lake District. It was while staying at Wray Castle near Windermere in the Lake District in 1882 that the Potters became friendly with the local vicar, Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley. His views on the need to preserve the natural beauty of Lakeland had a lasting effect on the young Beatrix, who had fallen in love with the unspoilt beauty surrounding the holiday home. In 1895, Rawnsley helped to found The National Trust, an organisation set up to protect and preserve land and buildings of great beauty or historical importance. Beatrix kept its cause close to her heart all her life
On 4th September, 1893, Beatrix sat down to write a picture letter to Noel Moore, the five-year-old son of her ex-governess, all about a naughty rabbit called Peter. Noel was ill in bed and so Beatrix wrote to him: "My dear Noel, I don't know what to write to you, so I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits..."
Some years later, Beatrix thought of publishing the story as a book. She rewrote it into an exercise book and sent it to six publishers. It was rejected by every one of them. It was not until Beatrix had printed the book herself that Frederick Warne agreed to publish it. The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in 1902, costing one shilling (the equivalent of just 5p today,) and became one of the most famous stories ever written.
With the money she earned form the sale of the book Beatrix bought Hill Top Farm in Near Sawrey. Managing Hill Top Farm taught Beatrix much about farming and with the money earned from the Peter Rabbit books, she began to extend her property in the Lake District. She used a local solicitor, William Heelis, to advise her on her property dealings; they had much in common and were married in 1912 and subsequently moved to Castle Cottage at Sawrey. Beatrix Potter had always been passionately interested in 'real' animals, and after her marriage to William Heelis she was able to settle in the Lake District permanently, and devote herself almost entirely to her farming. With her shepherd, Tom Storey, she bred Herdwick sheep - a rare and threatened breed indigenous to the Lake District. In 1930, Beatrix became the first woman to be elected President of the Herdwick Sheepbreeders' Association, which was a great achievement and a sign of the high regard in which she was held by the local farming community.
The income from The Peter Rabbit Books also enabled her to buy and manage land for The National Trust. As a farmer herself, she tried to ensure that the traditional farming methods and the old way of doing things would not be forgotten.
When she died in 1943, Beatrix Potter left 4000 acres of land to The National Trust, including 15 farms, cottages and many local areas of beauty. Her gift back to the land she loved was to help preserve it for future generations. The National Trust work in partnership with local farmers, maintaining the unique dry-stone walls and footpaths, and protecting the Lake District that she so loved as a living, working landscape.
Hill Top the little 12th Century farmhouse where Beatrix Potter wrote and illustrated many of her children’s stories was bequeathed to The National Trust and has been kept exactly as she left it, complete with furniture, china and a traditional cottage garden. In 1946 it was opened to the public and receives thousands of visitors each year.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ng gur onfr bs n gerr oruvaq n fyno bs fgbar.