Bunnytastic!

With our bear orphanage situated right on the lakeshore of Windermere, England’s largest lake we thought it fitting to tell you about our most famous resident of all.

I’ll give you some clues, see if you can guess who he is?

1. He is the eldest of four (he has three little sisters).
2. He never goes anywhere without his little blue coat.
3. He’s partial to carrots, parsnips and basically anything that grows in his neighbours garden!
4. His archrival is an old man who loves his garden more than anything else in the world!

Got it yet?! Yes, that’s right, its Peter Rabbit of course. And with Peter Rabbit 2 due to hit the cinemas this August, but now sadly postponed until January 2021, I thought I’d tell you a little more about our cheeky local rabbit……..

Where did Peter Rabbit come from?

Peter Rabbit was the creation of Helen Beatrix Potter, known as Beatrix, she was born in 1866 in London. Beatrix and her family always headed north for their holidays and this is when she fell in love with the Lake District, eventually moving here where she wrote her iconic tales. She wrote 23 original tales of different animals including Jemimah Pudddleduck, Benjamin Bunny , Flopsy Bunnies and Mrs Tiggywinkle but to this day Peter Rabbit remains the most popular and well known character of all.

Peter was actually based on a young Beatrix’s pet rabbit who was called Peter Piper, he went everywhere with the Potter family and even holidayed with then where he would perform tricks. He featured as the main character in one of her very first books written in 1902. It was initially rejected by the publishers so she printed 250 copies herself and as a result of this one of the major publishers saw the potential and took it on.

Today, more than two million Beatrix Potter books, written in 35 different languages are sold across the world every year – four books every minute. The stories are passed down from generation to generation and discovered by readers each year.

In 2016 a first edition of The Tale of Peter Rabbit sold at auction for £42,000. Along with other Beatrix Potter memorabilia it raised in excess of £100,000. The details are recorded by BBC news.

Every evening, 365 days a year, in millions of homes across the world children will fall to sleep as their parents read them the adventures of a fiesty floppy-eared Rabbit and his furry friends.

More than 100,000 visitors visit Potter’s home in Far Sawrey in the Lake District and more than 15,000 Japanese visitors a year visit ‘The World of Beatrix Potter’ bringing in a huge amount of revenue for the Lake District National Park.

Peter Rabbit Merchandise

Like everything that attracts a lot of interest, there are collectors out there that want a piece of nostalgia, and Peter Rabbit has a lot of that. Beatrix Potter with her amazing business vision was the first person to create merchandise from a literary character. The first soft toy was made in 1903 and it is said that in excess of 1 million homes around the world own a Peter Rabbit soft toy of some sort.

If there was ever any doubt that Peter Rabbit is a global superstar then this fact alone should give you the answer. He has been given the highest accolade by appearing on the back of a Fifty pence piece with the likes of global icons such as the Queen, Sherlock Holmes, Stephen Hawkins, Concorde and the Olympic Games. In 2019 400 of these coins displaying the character were released in to circulation. These are said to be one of Britains rarest coins making them quite valuable and sought after by collectors.

So if you absolutely adore bunnies and would like to own your very own Personalised Peter Rabbit visit our store and he will be sent to you directly from his home in the Lake District!