B is for Birthplaces & Family Homes

Generations of writers, playwrights' painters and poets found inspiration in the places where they lived and worked, from houses to gardens and landscapes. You can discover the inspiration by visiting a few this season where you can go back in time. Get a history lesson while seeing some beautiful buildings and nature attractions. Set within the Sussex Weald, Bateman's provided a sanctuary for Rudyard Kipling.

He took inspiration for Puck of Pook's Hill from the hill behind this 17th-century house. Look out for his book-lined study, displayed just as he left it, along with various Persian rugs and artefacts that reflect Kipling's strong ties with India. For fans of Agatha Christie Discover the scene of the crime from Agatha Christie's novel, Dead Man's Folly, at Greenway In Devon Christie's beloved holiday home not only inspired her work, but housed her large collection of weird and wonderful artefacts - keep an eye out for a skull-shaped jar - and a Second World War frieze in the library when you visit Discover Hardy's Cottage in Dorset this evocative cob and thatch cottage is where Thomas Hardy was born. He wrote Under the Greenwood Tree and Far From the Madding Crowd while living here. Explore the house and then discover nearby Max Gate, a red-brick villa designed by Hardy himself and his home for more than 70 years. Beatrix Potter bought the 17th-century farmhouse of Hill Top, in the Lake District, with the royalties earned from Peter Rabbit.

The garden is laid out to reflect Peter's adventures with Mr McGregor. Tom Kitten, Samuel Whiskers and Jemima Puddleduck were all created here. Down the road in Hawkshead is the Beatrix Potter Gallery with exhibitions of original sketches and watercolours from the celebrated children's stories. Barbara Hepworth lived and worked at Trewyn Studio in St Ives first with her husband Ben Nicholson and their family during the outbreak of war in 1939. Ten years later, in 1949, she returned to the residence alone and stayed until her tragic death in 1975, in an unexpected fire.

It's where she made some of her most influential works, inspired by the salty sea air and rugged Cornish landscape. The home has been kept in pristine condition and is now the Barbara Hepworth Museum, exhibiting bronze, stone and wood sculptures, many of which are claimed to sit in the exact same spot that Hepworth placed them. The Munnings Art Museum in Suffolk is 65 years old in 2026 so take the opportunity to visit them In this special anniversary year which houses the largest permanent retrospective of paintings by Sir Alfred Munnings Warwickshire is the home of William Shakespeare you can Immerse your group into the life of one of Britain's most famous and profound playwrights at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon. You can visit the house where Shakespeare first laid eyes on his eventual bride, Anne Hathaway Groups can also head to Hall's Croft and Shakespeare's New Place to get the full Tudor experience.