Near Sawrey and Far Sawrey are two neighbouring villages in the

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vill ...

area of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

, England. They are located in the Lake District between the village of

Hawkshead Hawkshead is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, which attracts tourists to the South Lakeland area. The parish includes the hamlets of Hawkshead Hill, to the north west, and Outgate, a similar distance north. Hawkshead contains on ...

and the lake of

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...

. The two lie on the B5285, which runs from Hawkshead to the west bank of the

Windermere Ferry The Windermere Ferry is a vehicular cable ferry which crosses Windermere, a lake in the English county of Cumbria. The ferry route forms part of the B5285 road and crosses the lake at about its midpoint, from Ferry Nab in Bowness-on-Windermere to ...

, a car ferry across Windermere to the east of the villages. The two are famous for their association with

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was ...

. She lived at Hill Top Farm in Near Sawrey, first arriving at age 30 in 1896. A number of sites in the villages were used in her books such as ''

The Tale of Tom Kitten ''The Tale of Tom Kitten'' is a children's book, written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was released by Frederick Warne & Co. in September 1907. The tale is about manners and how children react to them. Tabitha Twitchit, a cat, invites f ...

'', '' The Fairy Caravan'', '' The Pie and the Patty Pan'' and '' The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck''. The villages date from at least the 14th century, when Near Sawrey was known as 'Sourer', becoming 'Narr Sawrey' by the 17th century (suggesting that Far Sawrey must have been in existence by that time). Near Sawrey contains a pub, while Far Sawrey has the parish church, a hotel and pub. The village shop ceased to function as a post office about 2003 and then ceasing to be a shop around 2010. There are waymarked paths between the ferry and Beatrix Potter's house which largely avoid walking on the public roads.

References

External links

*
Cumbria County History Trust: Claife
(nb: provisional research only – see Talk page)
Near Sawrey at the Cumbria Directory

Far Sawrey at the Cumbria Directory

Streaming web cam of Windermere from Far Sawrey slip
{{authority control Villages in Cumbria South Lakeland District Beatrix Potter

See also

References

External links