Explore the Adventure: The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction

On a recent family holiday to the Lake District we were only to excited to discover the wonderful world of Beatrix Potter. As a child there would be nothing more exciting than a tale about a fluffy but mischievous rabbit, a naughty squirrel or puddle ducks before bedtime. If you're like me I am more than sure you will enjoy an adventure to the The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction. My daughter adores watching the Cbeebies version of Peter Rabbit so it comes as no surprise she wanted to go, we are making our way through the short tales from Beatrix Potter and she recognised most of the characters within the exhibit. So today I wanted to share our adventure with you all...

The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction is situated in the beautiful Bowness-On-Windermere and shares a building with the Old Laundry Theatre. In the attraction you'll be able can discover Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck and all their friends in a magical indoor recreation of Beatrix Potter‘s little books, complete with the sights, sounds and smells of the countryside. You can also learn more about the story of Beatrix Potter’s life with displays show how Hill Top Farm inspired some of Beatrix Potter’s illustrations.

The attraction

It's recommended that you allow 45 minutes to one hour to enjoy the walk-through self-guided tour of the exhibition & garden, and a little longer to include time to browse in the shop and have a delicious treat in the Tea Room! I couldn’t wait to get a take lots of photo of the little lady and her favourite character Peter Rabbit. 

Attraction cost: Adult: £7.50, Child: £3.95, Children under 3 are free, Family: £21 In addition to the regular admission fee you could also get a good discount if you chose to attend the Where's Peter Rabbit? theatre show. Show & Attraction ticket: Child £10, Adult: £16, Family: £48. If our daughter was a little older where she could sit still for more than five minutes, we would have gone to the theatre show, but on the occasion we decided not to. But as we paid our admission we were handed a pencil and an activity booklet, which they can fill out as they go around. My daughter was a bit young to write in it, but she loved matching the pictures inside to the parts of the attraction. However, being a true Beatrix Potter fan she was able to answer the question that were inside, I even learned a thing or two from her. 

Our visit

The first thing we noticed about the attraction is that it's situated in the the most convenient location, not too far from idyllic Lake Windermere. There was a short wait in the queue but there was so much around us that we didn't notice the wait, we also thought that the admission prices were very reasonable You start your Beatrix Potter adventure with a short introductory film about the works of Beatrix Potter and her love for the lake district, her stories and illustrations. Once you’ve watched the film the doors open to take you into the main exhibition which is where you will see the famous Beatrix Potter stories bought to life with fascinating life like figures and in vivid colour and detail. We stepped out into Jemima's woodland glade through the trees to see Mr Tod in Tommy Brock's house and the pigs from The Tale of Pigling Bland. 

Peter Rabbit™

Jemima Puddle-Duck

It was such a hot day and there were quite a few people in the attraction. Once we were in discovering all the characters a couple of coaches full of students were allowed in the attraction and it became very cramped quickly. That cramped my daughter was squashed against a wall, a member of staff member suggested going into the garden as that's a location that people walk past intending to go back, and then forget. So with that, we headed to the garden. The Peter Rabbit Garden is designed to capture the very essence of Beatrix Potter's world, from the cos lettuces that Benjamin Bunny nibbled on to the gooseberry bush where Peter got caught in a net as he tried to escape Mr. McGregor. It was so sweet seeing my daughter getting so excited telling me about Peter Rabbit's blue jacket and tried picking up one of the spades. We also saw the beautiful bronze sculpture that depicts three children releasing Potter’s character Jemima Puddle-Duck. It also features characters from all of her 23 tales and a carving of one of her Lakeland homes, as well as the mysterious code she used in her personal diary.

Peter Rabbit's Blue Jacket in Mr. McGregor's Garden

Back inside the exhibition follow the adventures of Squirrel Nutkin and Mrs. Tittlemouse and see the drama unfold in The Tale of Fierce Bad Rabbit. Then pop in to Mrs Tiggy-winkle's kitchen and smell the fresh laundry. A perfect photo opportunity for the little ones in the family! So much so, my daughter went into the exhibit and asked us to take a photo of her and Mrs. Tiggy-winkle ready for a pose, but I quickly removed her from her kitchen.

Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's Kitchen

We then walked on a little further as there was still lots more to see. It was then when we came across Mr. Jeremy Fisher on his lily-pad boat, it was here that we took the opportunity to take some candid photos of my daughter with my parents and I could tell that my daughter was telling my parents all about Mr. Fisher. In addition to this, you also got the chance to discover Hunca Munca and Tom Thumb under the floorboards. 

Mr. Jeremy Fisher on his Lily Pad

We then came to a virtual walk of Beatrix Potter's beloved countryside with three different displays that you can interact with, you can even have a peek at where Beatrix Potter lived, Hill Top Farm in the Lake District. Also view a short film The Tale of Mrs Heelis and follow the interactive timeline which tells the fascinating story of the author's life. We spend quite a bit of time in this room, you could easily get distracted for a while, I know someone who did...

We then are nearing the end of the attraction with Mr McGregor's greenhouse and the tale of Peter Rabbit. It was the perfect ending to our adventure. There is nothing nicer than finishing our adventure with a walk past Peter Rabbit and his family, before heading to sit in a corner booth to take a nice photo which you can purchase in the shop to remember the time spent at the World of Beatrix Potter Attraction.

Our thoughts

We were disappointed leaving given we’d expected more, we expected more of a modern attraction. The attraction itself it very small and you can just about manage to get a pushchair through, thankfully we didn't take one, but I saw other parents struggle. I do believe that our day wouldn't have been so bad if the staff didn't allow so many people in at once. Those students were very rude, had no manners and didn't understand personal space as my daughter got squashed against a wall. If it wasn't for that member of staff saying that most students go through the exhibit quickly and to try and take refuge in the garden, I think we would have left. But I am glad we managed to see the garden and continued to explore. But despite this, I would still highly recommend a visit to The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction. Our favourites parts of the attractions were obviously the tale of Peter Rabbit, my daughter was so excited to meet her favourite character along with Benjamin Bunny and the virtual walk. After exploring the adventure we then made our way into the gift shop to have a browse and pick a few things, then got a couple of special Peter Rabbit pennies made before making our way to Lake Windermere. It was such a lovely day. 

Don't forget to go and check out the Beatrix Potter attraction if you are ever in the Lake District  around Bowness-On-Windermere, it is certainly worth a visit!