As well as being a walkers paradise Grasmere is full of cultural heritage.

The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop

It was set up by a lady called Sarah Nelson, whose family needed to raise extra income when they moved to the house, the former village school, in 1854. The recipe is still a closely guarded secret and the taste is unique to this particular gingerbread. Some of Cumbria’s other well-known local produce includes Cumberland sausage, Herdwick lamb, Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding and Kendal Mint Cake.

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth spent most of his life living in or around Grasmere and is buried in the St Oswald’s churchyard with other members of his family, including his wife Mary and sister Dorothy. As well as writing poems he was also an advocate for the Lake District and together with John Ruskin was, to an extent, responsible for the early ideas which later led to the establishment of bodies such as the National Trust and National Parks. He said of Grasmere that it was ’the fairest place on earth’. The fell in the background looming behind the gingerbread shop is Heron Pike, with Butter Crags in front of it.

Conservation

Grasmere has been designated a Conservation Area since 1984. Like many other villages in the Lake District National Park this is a way for the National Park Authority to manage the development of the area. One of the two purposes of having a National Park is to ‘protect and conserve the natural landscape, cultural heritage and wealth of wildlife’. This will only happen if planning controls exist to keep special features that are part and parcel of the character and history of a place. Most of Grasmere’s buildings are made from the local stone (volcanic rock with red and green tinges) and roofs are covered with slate also quarried and cut locally.

Grasmere Sports

Other cultural events in Grasmere include the Grasmere Sports in August which has a hound trail, the Guides’ race to the top of Brackenfell and Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling.

Rushbearing