In 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit' written by Beatrix Potter, into whose garden did the titular character sneak?

'The Tale of Peter Rabbit' was inspired by Beatrix Potter's (1866-1943) pet rabbit Peter Piper, who she made up stories about to entertain the poorly son of her former governess. As time went on, she introduced other characters to the stories and her former governess proposed the suggestion that they would make great book characters. After revising the tale several times, the final story followed the mischievous Peter, who sneaked into the garden of Mr McGregor to steal some of the gardener’s lettuces. Whilst Peter was snacking, Mr McGregor spotted him, so the young rabbit ran away but soon discovered he was hopelessly lost. Eventually, Peter found his way out of the garden and home to his mother, having learnt a valuable lesson.

When publication began in October 1902, 8,000 copies of the book were produced, however, by November, a further 12,000 were printed followed by another 8,200 in December. Beatrix Potter was astonished at the popularity of her story, exclaiming, “The public must be fond of rabbits!” It is now considered one of the most popular children’s stories of all time, having sold over 40 million copies worldwide.

Mr McGregor’s garden was inspired by Fawe Park on the edge of Lake Derwentwater where Beatrix Potter stayed in 1903. Potter spent the holiday drawing the kitchen garden, greenhouse and potting shed, which she imagined a rabbit would find appealing.