Hopes beloved poet's tour can attract tourists

The words of a beloved writer famed for descriptions of his county's landscapes could still attract visitors to the area, 200 years after they were first written.

Wordsworth Grasmere, which runs a museum dedicated to the poet, has loaned "one of its most cherished manuscripts" to museums in Asia, hoping it would inspire visitors to come to the Lake District.

On A Portrait Of The Duke Of Wellington Upon The Field Of Waterloo By Haydon was written by Wordsworth in 1840 while he was climbing Helvellyn - England's third highest mountain.

After he sent a copy of it to his friend Benjamin Robert Haydon, the artist painted a portrait of Wordsworth on the mountain, also on display with the poem.

The work has been on display at the Busan Museum in South Korea and is due to go on display at Shanghai Museum East, in China, later this month.

Michael McGregor, from Wordsworth Grasmere, said the countries were "very important markets" for tourism.

"As overseas visitors continue to return to the UK, we need to ensure that Cumbria, and in particular Grasmere, is a destination they are aware of," he said.

The exhibition is part of a larger display organised by the National Portrait Gallery, bringing together some of the most famous British writers, including William Shakespeare, Jane Austen and J.R.R Tolkien.

McGregor said: "Our hope is that after experiencing Wordsworth in the Busan and Shanghai Museums, visitors will one day come to Grasmere and Dove Cottage to continue their journey into the poet's world."

Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth in 1770 and moved to Dove Cottage in Grasmere at the age of 29, where he wrote some of his most famous poems.

Both homes are now museums.

The Romantic poet also famously wrote his Guide to the Lakes more, which includes practical advice for visitors and poetic reflections on the beauty of Cumbria.

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