44 Must-See Literary Landmarks in the United Kingdom

40. Grasmere’s Allan Bank, A Communal Retreat for Romantic Minds

Often overshadowed by Dove Cottage, Allan Bank was another beloved Wordsworth home—and one he called “a temple of peace.” Set above Grasmere, this grand yet welcoming house offered a creative sanctuary not just for the poet but for a rotating cast of artists and philosophers, including Coleridge. Today, it’s owned by the National Trust and encourages the same spirit of open creativity. Visitors are invited to sit, write, sketch, or simply gaze out over the landscape that shaped Romanticism. In a world of velvet ropes and hushed museums, Allan Bank says: come in, make yourself at home, dream aloud.