At Dove Cottage Wordsworth had been a largely unknown poet of straitened means, but by 1813 he’d written several of his greatest works (though not all had yet been published) and had been appointed Westmorland’s Distributor of Stamps, a salaried position which allowed him to take up the rent of a comfortable family house. Rydal Mount remained Wordsworth’s home from 1813 until his death in 1850, and the house is owned by descendants of the poet. You’re free to wander around what is essentially still a family home, as well as explore Wordworth’s cherished garden.