All the Wordsworth family were keen gardeners and William had strong views about how a garden should look. In particular he believed that a garden should be informal and that it should harmonise with the countryside consisting of ‘lawn, and trees carefully planted so as not to obscure the view’.

Every owner of Rydal Mount has been a keen gardener, but other than the planting of some late-Victorian plants the garden remains little changed since Wordsworth’s day.

Wordsworth designed and built a number of terraces above the main lawn. At the end of the Sloping Terrace is the Summer House where the poet would sit and compose his poetry, leading on from the Summer house is the Far Terrace which he would pace up and down quoting his work outloud.

The garden contains a wide variety of rare shrubs and trees and has spectacular views towards both Lake Windermere and Rydal Water. It is maintained to a high standard and with the tireless work of the gardener and curator has won a range of awards.