Two people standing on top of the Bowder Stone showing the scale of it

The Bowder Stone

Two thousand tonnes of Borrowdale volcanic rock, thirty feet high and ninety feet round, balanced on its own edge — with a ladder to the top.

The stone

The Bowder Stone, in the Borrowdale valley near Keswick, is one of the most famous rocks in the Lake District. It weighs 2,000 tonnes, stands 30 feet high and 30 feet across, measures 90 feet in circumference — and it balances all by itself.

A fixed ladder takes you to the top. The metal one replaced the old wooden ladder in 2019; the aim was to keep the feel of the original while meeting current safety standards.

The Bowder Stone balanced on its edge with a wooden ladder leaning against it

How it got there

It is local rock — part of the Borrowdale volcanic succession. There is compelling evidence that it came down in a rock fall, dislodged from the crag 200 metres above after the Borrowdale glacier retreated.

The name may come from Balder, son of the Norse god Odin.

Finding it

  • By car

    The National Trust Bowder Stone car park is on the B5289, the Keswick to Borrowdale road — CA12 5XA. National Trust members park free.

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  • By bus

    The 78 runs to Borrowdale all year, and the seasonal 77 and 77A Honister Rambler passes too. It is the same gentle stroll from the stop.

    Bus times and routes

  • On foot

    A gentle ten-minute stroll from either the car park or the bus stop.

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The Bowder Stone seen from the approach path with autumn trees behind

While you are in Borrowdale

The stone sits between Grange in Borrowdale and Rosthwaite, either of which is a good base for the valley. Beyond Grange the valley narrows into the Jaws of Borrowdale, and beyond Rosthwaite it climbs to Seatoller and the Honister Pass.

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