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Written by · Route guide updated : ways off added · 171 of 214 Wainwrights with a Strava-matched summit

Moderate navigationOut and backPlanned

The Bowder Stone

1.16 km
Distance
~¼–½ h
Estimated time
~16 m
Ascent
A very short stroll to Borrowdale's famous balanced boulder — the house-sized Bowder Stone, with steel steps to climb to the top. About 0.6 km each way, so roughly 1.2 km there and back, plus your time at the stone.

Start Bowder Stone car park, Borrowdale

Getting here Parking: Quay Foot Quarry, Borrowdale (NT, paid), 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 77A and 78 stop at Grange, at Bowder Stone, an 80 m walk from this start. The 77A runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓

Hardest part Moderate navigation: No large featureless ground on the map; carry a map and compass for cloud. Moderate – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground

Before you choose

Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet. A route line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
Download GPX →Planned route · not yet walked

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.

See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.

Access & barriers

Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route?

Dog
No barriers
Buggy
Buggy: suspended
Knees
No steep descent mapped
  • Buggy: Suspended 24 Sep 2026: no survey of the surface, width or barriers stands behind a buggy verdict here. The track to the stone is short and nearly level, but until it is checked this is not offered as a pushchair route.
  • Knees: No sustained steep descent in the track’s height model (steepest 250 m about 1% on the way in and 4% on the way back). Steps, wet rock and the surface underfoot are not assessed; your own knees still matter.

With a dog

Not every line below has been assessed. The steepest stretch is a sustained descent of about 1% around the 0.4 km mark.

  • Stiles and gates: No gates or stiles on the route — a dog can do the whole walk. (set by hand)
  • Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Easy – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground. Low-level path — set from the route’s own description on 24 Sep 2026, not walked for grading.
  • Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Easy. Graded from slope only (~4% max); treat exposure as unverified.
  • Ways off early: None recorded for this route.
  • Livestock, shade and water: Not recorded for this route yet. We never call a stream safe for a dog to drink, so carry enough for both of you. The lead rules, and what to do around cattle, are on dogs on the fells.

On the line: No barriers mapped on this line.

Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us. Barrier data as of 9 July 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).

Route map

OpenTopoMap
Elevation profile, shaded by steepness
Elevation profile Rises from about 101 m to 110 m over 0.6 km, with the summits marked in order. The area beneath is shaded by sustained steepness over a 500 m window, in the same four bands as the route’s steepness rating: Easy under 15%, Moderate 15 to 25%, Hard 25 to 35%, Severe above 35%. A diamond marks where the walk reaches The Bowder Stone, described in the stage directions. 110 m 101 m 0 km 0.6 km

The Bowder Stone

Easy 100%ModerateHardSevere

110 m
High point
101 m
Start height

Heights on this chart and its high point are read from the track itself (a terrain model sampled along the line, or a GPS recording), so a top can differ from its listed height, usually reading lower.

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

The elevation profile is under the map; the stage notes follow.

The walk, stage by stage

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

    Undulating section of about 0.6 km.

    If you need to get off

    The map shows the line on a public bridleway from the car park to the stone; the way off is back along it to the car park, the walk's own way back, under 0.6 km; not walked for this guide.

Download GPX

GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked

Conditions and timing

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

Getting there and back

Parking

Quay Foot Quarry, Borrowdale (NT, paid) — 0.0 km from the start (straight line)
Old quarry car park below the Bowder Stone and Castle Crag; the National Trust and the LDNPA directory call it the Bowder Stone car park (read 5 October 2026). Fees: £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for NT members (checked August 2026). Charges apply at all times. Cash at machine; JustPark app at some car parks; card/phone payment not available in all car parks (NT, checked August 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Grange village car park (by the chapel) — 0.7 km from the start (straight line)
In Grange, beside the Methodist chapel near Grange Bridge. The 'Bowder Stone' route starts 677 m away. Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions Something changed here?
King's How (layby) — 0.9 km from the start (straight line)
The 'Bowder Stone' route starts 896 m away. Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
2 more places to park near the start
Castle Crag (layby) — 1.0 km from the start (straight line)
The 'Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag' route starts 957 m away, at Rosthwaite. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Rosthwaite (NT, paid) — 2.0 km from the start (straight line)
Village car park in the heart of Rosthwaite, for the central Borrowdale fells and Watendlath ridge. The 'Castle Crag, Brund Fell & Great Crag' route starts 10 m away; 'The Borrowdale Fells (Rosthwaite Fell round)' 23 m. Toilets beside it, often closed in winter (National Trust, read 5 October 2026). Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked August 2026). The National Trust does not allow overnight parking here (NT, checked August 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
If it is full: Stonethwaite village (roadside, free) (1.5 km, 32 m up); Seatoller (NT, paid) (2.2 km, 27 m up); Quay Foot Quarry, Borrowdale (NT, paid) (2.4 km, 94 m up)
Rosthwaite Village (~32 m straight line) — Free · Accessible The Flock-in

Positions are approximate.

Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.

Every option near this start, on the parking map →

Buses

The 77A and 78 stop at Grange, at Bowder Stone, an 80 m walk from this start. The 77A runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (77A): Tuesday to Saturday 18:51 to Cockermouth, 16:51 to Keswick; Sunday 16:51. Towards Seatoller (78): Tuesday to Sunday 19:48. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

The 77 passes this route at 0.1 km (Grange, at Bowder Stone, 20 m off the line).

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, about 2 km up the lane).

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

Toilets and refreshments

The essentials

  • Arrival Quay Foot Quarry car park (National Trust), beside the start. Pay and display: £7 up to 2 hours, £8 up to 4 hours, £9.50 all day; free for National Trust members. Cash at the machine; card and phone payment are not available in every car park. (National Trust, car parks in Borrowdale and Derwent Water, checked 11 August 2026)
  • Toilets No toilets are mapped within 250 m of the start. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
  • Refreshments No café or pub is mapped within 250 m of the start: bring what you need. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
  • Limitation The path has not been surveyed for a pushchair, so do not plan on one. (our Stile & Gate Census, from OpenStreetMap, checked 24 September 2026)
  • Miles without Stiles The track to the stone is the National Park's Miles without Stiles route 35, rated 'for some'. The park's route page notes steep steps on the way down from the car park, with a step-free way round by the road. (Lake District National Park, Miles without Stiles 35: The Bowderstone, checked 3 October 2026)

Water, shelter & getting away

Bowder Stone (S bound) (40 m from the start or finish, straight line) Bowder Stone (52 m from the start or finish, straight line) Kings How (S bound) (54 m from the start or finish, straight line) Kings How (N bound) (58 m from the start or finish, straight line) Hollows Farm Campsite (364 m from the start or finish, straight line)

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

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Planning detail

How each grade on this page is set, and the timings stage by stage.

Difficulty profile

Moderate overall — hardest: Navigation (estimated from the map, not checked on the ground); exposure not assessed on the ground

LengthEasy1.16 km there and back — a short outing.
SteepnessEasySteepest sustained descent about 1% around the 0.4 km mark.
TerrainEasyLow-level path — set from the route’s own description on 24 Sep 2026, not walked for grading. Easy – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground
NavigationModerateNo large featureless ground on the map; carry a map and compass for cloud. Moderate – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground
ExposureNot assessedNot assessed on the ground; the map suggests Easy. Graded from slope only (~4% max); treat exposure as unverified. Exposure (drops, scrambling, how bad a slip would be) needs the ground, so a map estimate is not given a grade here and does not count towards the overall grade. A rating appears once the ground is assessed.

Five independent axes, not one score. None of them was set on the ground: they are computed from the recorded track and the map, which measures the line rather than surveying the ground.

How we grade: each axis is Easy, Moderate, Hard or Severe, and a route between two bands takes the higher one. Length: under 8 km, 8–14 km, 14–20 km, over 20 km. Steepness, the steepest 500 m of the track: under 15%, 15–25%, 25–35%, over 35%. Terrain, navigation and exposure are judged rather than measured, and each note says why. How we grade.

Pacing

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

A fast–steady range from Naismith’s rule, deliberately on the slow side. Breaks, weather, rough ground and the slowest person in your party all add to it. How we time walks.

Places to stay near this start

Also nearby, but not independent

We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from the route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap.

Walks from places nearby

Straight-line distance from this walk’s start. Those lists hold the routes we have mapped and every Wainwright and Outlying fell within about 5 km of the town, ranked nearest first.

Appears in these collections
Easy walks