Find literary inspiration at these famous writers’ homes

Home to Jane Austen for the final eight years of her life, this Grade I listed Hampshire cottage is now a museum housing a significant collection of Austen treasures – including first editions of her works, furniture and jewellery. Discover Austen's personal letters, portraits of her friends and family, and the tiny writing desk where she penned six of her most beloved novels, including Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. Explore the cottage garden, learn about Austen's life through exhibitions and displays, or simply soak up the atmosphere to get your own imagination going.

These historic sites in Stratford-upon-Avon are the best way to visit places Shakespeare would have known. Explore the Bard's childhood home, including objects and stories from his life, at Shakespeare's Birthplace. Head to Anne Hathaway's cottage, built 500 years ago, where Shakespeare would have visited early in his courtship with his future wife. Or discover the site of Shakespeare's family home with Anne, and why it no longer stands, at Shakespeare's New Place. A must for any budding wordsmith or theatre enthusiast.

Note: Though closed to general visits, the childhood home of Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden's Farm, plays host to events outside term time, while the home of his daughter, Hall's Croft, is used as a dedicated learning space.

Keats House was home to the Romantic poet John Keats for 17 months before his travels in Italy, where he died. Now, this elegant Regency villa is a museum dedicated to sharing the inspiration, friendship and love Keats discovered while living here. The perfect setting in which to listen to Keats' poetry and watch films about his life, there are plenty of ways to flex your creative muscles at this literary hub, with poetry performances inspired by Keats' work and encouragement to pen your own writing.

Visit Dove Cottage, set within the stunning landscapes of the Lake District, where Romantic poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy – author of the Grasmere Journal – lived from 1799 to 1808. With interiors transported back 200 years, this historic property captures the sights, sounds and atmosphere the Wordsworths would have known, and is the ideal setting for generating your own ideas. The adjacent Wordsworth Museum offers a window into Wordsworth’s remarkable life through original notebooks, letters, journals and paintings.

Discover the private life behind the public image of one of Britain’s greatest storytellers at the Victorian family home of Charles Dickens. You can explore the study and desk where the author of beloved classics including Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby and Great Expectations wrote daily, by quill and candlelight, as well as the nooks and crannies throughout the entire household – Dickens was said to be constantly inspired by the hustle and bustle of the house and all those who lived and worked there. With events and exhibitions year-round and extensive collections to explore, this London literary haunt is full to the brim with thought-provoking finds.

Preserving the legacy of one of the most extraordinary storytelling dynasties of the 19th century is the Brontë Parsonage Museum – former home to Anne, Emily and Charlotte, their brother Branwell, and their parents. Here are the rooms the sisters lived and wrote in, as well as the world's most comprehensive collection of Brontë manuscripts, letters and early editions of classic novels including Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. Keep an eye out for the literary events, exhibitions, competitions and festivals that continue to celebrate the Brontë sisters' legacy, and take courage from three women who kept writing despite adversity.

Home to the celebrated Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell from 1850 until her death in 1865, this Grade II* listed Regency-style house has been lovingly restored with furnishings matched to the Victorian period. This is the place where Charlotte Brontë, one of Gaskell's close friends, is said to have hidden from company behind the curtains in the drawing room – and where Gaskell wrote overlooking her beloved garden. Discover more about this socially-minded author, and scribble some of your own musings while enjoying a cuppa in the tea room.