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0.58 km · ~11 m ascent · ~0–0.5 h · linear

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The Bowder Stone

0.58 km
Distance
~0–0.5 h
Typical time
~11 m
Ascent
Download GPX →Maps & guidebooks

Key facts

Distance 0.58 km
Ascent ~11 m
Descent ~6 m
Time ~0–0.5 h
Type Linear
Start Bowder Stone car park, Borrowdale
A very short, level stroll to Borrowdale's famous balanced boulder — the house-sized Bowder Stone, with a wooden ladder to climb to the top. Maximum reward for minimum effort, and a guaranteed hit with children.
✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet. A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

🧭 The automated detail on this page — distance, climb, pacing and a first-pass difficulty read — is live. Hand-written field notes are being added.

Difficulty profile

LengthEasy0.58 km — a short outing.
SteepnessEasySteepest sustained pull about 4% around the 0.2 km mark.
TerrainModerateMostly good mountain path. desk assessment — not field-verified
NavigationModerateClear line, hard to stray. desk assessment — not field-verified
ExposureNot assessedExposure (drops, scrambling, how bad a slip would be) can’t be judged from gradient data alone, so we don’t guess. A rating appears once the route is editorially assessed or walked.

Five independent axes, not one score. “Desk” ratings come from maps and guidebooks, not yet walked — treat them as a guide, not a survey.

Access & barriers

Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route? A quick read from the gates and stiles mapped along the way.

Dog
No barriers
Buggy
Buggy-friendly
Knees
Gentle descent
  • Dog: No gates or stiles on the route — a dog can do the whole walk.
  • Buggy: An off-road pushchair can do this.
  • Knees: No sustained steep descent — kind on the knees.

On the line: No barriers mapped on this line.

These are mapped barriers, from OpenStreetMap — coverage in the Lakes is good but not guaranteed complete. Spotted a stile or gate we’ve missed? Tell us and we’ll fix it. Barrier data as of 2026-07-09. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).

☀️ Daylight & turnaround

Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.

Why this matters: 78% of Mountain Rescue call-outs come after midday — the day runs out on the way home, not on the way up. See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.

OpenTopoMap
Elevation profile
Elevation profile Rises from about 101 m to 110 m over 0.6 km, with the summits marked in order. 110 m 101 m 0 km 0.6 km
~11 m
Total ascent
110 m
High point
101 m
Start height

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right).

This walk covers about 0.58 km with around 11 m of ascent. The map above shows the line; the elevation profile and stage notes are below.

Pacing

SummitCumulativeAscentTime (fast–steady)
Finish0.6 km11 m0:08–0:11

Naismith-based estimate — a fast/steady range. Your pace will vary.

The walk, stage by stage

Bowder Stone car park, Borrowdale → Finish (0.6 km, 11 m)

Undulating section of about 0.6 km.

Stage-by-stage field notes coming soon.

Summits bagged (0)

    🅿️ Getting there & parking

    Rosthwaite (NT, paid) — 1.8 km from the start (straight line)
    Village car park for the central Borrowdale fells and Watendlath ridge.
    Directions
    Watendlath (NT, paid) — 2.1 km from the start (straight line)
    End of the narrow Watendlath road — Grange Fell, Great Crag, Armboth fells.
    Directions

    Positions are approximate. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

    💧 Water, shelter & getting away

    🚌 Bowder Stone (S bound) (40 m)🚌 Bowder Stone (52 m)🚌 Kings How (S bound) (54 m)🚌 Kings How (N bound) (58 m)⛺ Hollows Farm Campsite (364 m)

    On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.

    🚌 Buses

    Stagecoach 78 “Borrowdale Rambler”
    Keswick – Lodore – Grange – Rosthwaite – Seatoller
    Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 or X4/X5)
    Year-round, frequent in season. Serves all the Borrowdale starts — Glaramara, the Scafells and Great Gable via Seathwaite (alight Seatoller, 20 min walk up the lane).
    Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”
    Keswick – Portinscale – Hawse End (Catbells) – Grange – Seatoller – Honister Pass – Buttermere – Lorton – Whinlatter – Keswick (circular)
    Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)
    Seasonal (roughly Easter–October). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

    Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before travelling.

    ⚠️ Safety & conditions

    Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS and the Met Office mountain forecast before you set off.

    Make it easier or harder

    Easier and harder options coming soon.

    ⬇️ Download

    Download GPX

    GPX track for your GPS or phone.

    Appears in these collections
    Dog-friendly walksPushchair-friendly walksEasy walks