Beatrix Potter was born in 1866 in an elegant square in Kensington, London, and was very artistic, even as a young child. Her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was based on letters to the children of her former governess, and all 250 copies sold quickly. The rest is history……but  with the profits from her first six books, she bought Hill Top Farm in Near Sawrey in the Lake District. Today this is owned by the National Trust. The story of her early life has recently been filmed and will be released on December 29^th this year, with Renee Zellweger in the title role.

After an early start, with a 2 hour drive, we arrived in Bowness on Lake Windermere in plenty of time to walk to The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction. This is in a narrow street and difficult to photograph!  We managed to buy the first set of the day…and like everyone else who bought today gained free admission to the Attraction itself. We decided to return later in the day to look round, and instead took the short ferry crossing over the Lake before driving to Sawrey and Hill Top Farm.

The Ty Beanies visited the garden and explored it, enjoying the sunshine, but looking for shade too…much to the amusement of a large group of Japanese tourists, who also took their pictures!  These beanies are the gold thread version, rumoured to be an edition of 750 at The Beatrix Potter Attraction, and 750 at Harrods, although I can't confirm that.

We then visited Esthwaite Lake, the setting for the Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher. As all photographers know, bright sunlight is not always best for taking pictures, so we had lunch under the trees. We also passed Pigling Bland Corner, but unfortunately the road was too narrow to stop and take a picture.

We returned to the Attraction and toured the small but very striking displays of characters and scenes from the books. It looked like the beanies had been selling very well and a very friendly assistant gave me some exciting news – “We are expecting the next three in the series in about a month!” I wasn’t able to speak to the manager who was elsewhere…but I will do on Monday, and see if I can confirm this.

When the Beatrix Potter beanies were announced, I think that some collectors were unsure about them….but these are beautifully made, with great attention to detail – and excellent value, even at UK prices! I also think they will appeal to another market as well as collectors…so it’s a good move for Ty UK too. I’m already looking forward to the next three…and will be going a little further afield in the Lake District for some photographs.

Well done Ty…..and Ty UK!   (….and I think she would have liked them too!)

John
The phoenix

 

 

 

Difficult to photograph, as the Attraction is right by the side of the road, which is itself very narrow!

 

 

 

 

Hill Top, at Near Sawrey, where Beatrix Potter lived.