Primary Schools

The Dove Cottage Experience (FS, KS1, KS2)

Step into Dove Cottage to discover what life was like for the Wordsworth family over 200 years ago. This sensory and interactive tour offers children the opportunity to learn about life in the past and relate this to their own experiences, find out about William, Dorothy, Mary and the Wordsworth children as well as discovering why Dove Cottage was such an important place for creativity.

Firelight Poets (KS2)

This creative writing workshop gives students the unique opportunity to write poetry inspired by Dove Cottage, exploring the atmospheric, fire-lit rooms and gardens as they compose their own poems. Students learn about different literary techniques and the poetry of Wordsworth before creating their own work to take back to the classroom.

Words in the Woods (FS, KS1, KS2)

An outdoor language session bringing William Wordsworth’s love of nature and words into our wild woods.

Let Nature be Your Teacher Walk (KS2)

This interactive walk encourages children to get to know and understand the landscape around Dove Cottage which so inspired the Wordsworths. The walk includes lots of activities designed to help students gain a different perspective on the natural world.

Rucksack of Rhymes (FS)

These sessions explore themes in the poetry of William Wordsworth through songs, crafts a story and play. We have over 15 themed sessions covering the seasons, birds, plants and much more.

Outdoor Rhyme Time: Suitcase of Sounds (FS)

This session brings Wordsworth’s love of Nature and the outdoors alive for under 5s using the sounds they can hear around them and sounds they create themselves.

Dove Cottage Wash Day (KS1)

In this session children will learn about domestic life 200 years ago using the Wordsworth family as examples. Pupils will take part in an interactive wash day session, handle relevant historic objects and participate in dressing up and acting out domestic tasks.

Famous Cumbrians (KS1)

Children will find out about a range of famous people who have lived and worked in Cumbria over the past 250 years. They will have the opportunity to: explore poems and diary entries by the Wordsworths, make a sketchbook and animal characters based on Beatrix Potter’s drawings, and develop a piece of artwork taking inspiration from the collages of Kurt Schwitters.

Living Letters (KS2)

In this workshop pupils will develop their letter-writing skills by looking at life in the Lake District in the early 19th century. Children will be encouraged to think about how communication has changed, explore letters from our collections then use quill and ink to write their own.

Dorothy’s Diary (KS2)

This session explores the Grasmere journal of Dorothy Wordsworth. After looking at a number of extracts by Dorothy, children will have the opportunity to work on their own techniques for engaging their audience and recording their experiences.

Narrative Poetry (KS2)

Using either Wordsworth’s ‘Lucy Gray’ or ‘Goody Blake and Harry Gill’ this workshop will help pupils develop an understanding of how poetry can tell a story through rhyme, plot and characterisation.

William Wordsworth and his Poems (KS2)

In this workshop children will learn about the life of William Wordsworth and his inspiration for writing poetry. They will then explore one or more of his most popular poems using some of the following; extracts from Dorothy Wordsworth’s journal, facsimile manuscripts, objects, illustrations and paintings.

Litcraft Workshops (KS2 and KS3)

Reluctant Readers? Look no further! Do you want to use Minecraft as a tool for exploring poetry with your students, including exploring Boat Stealing or Ice Skating from The Prelude in-game? LITCRAFT uses the popular Minecraft gaming platform to build accurate scale models of literary worlds which are then creatively and imaginatively linked to reading to help motivate children to enjoy reading through play. If you want to attend FREE training in Litcraft please get in touch with our Education team.

Virtual Tours of Dove Cottage (KS1 and KS2)

Would you and your students like to see our reimagined Dove Cottage, but aren’t sure you will make it in person this year? Why not book a virtual tour for your class. Available most days of the week at a cost of £30 for a 40min tour and 15min Q and A. Follow up images and resources to prompt creative writing also available.

For the Foundation Stage

Click here to see our mini Rucksack of Rhyme, craft and singing sessions on our YouTube platform.

Click here to download our free poetry prompt toolkit.

Prices from 1st September 2025

Visits to Wordsworth Grasmere

• Full day at Wordsworth Grasmere: £7.25 per pupil
• Half day at Wordsworth Grasmere: £5.25 per pupil

Workshops in schools

• Full day in school: £160
• Half day in school: £90
• Additional staff to work with more groups are charged at £25 per hour

Real Live Writer School Visits

• Full day in school: £300
• Half day in school: £180