Castlehowe Scar Thunder Stone - Coast to Coast
More Articles in the Haweswater to Orton subsection
Thunder Stone at Castlehowe Scar, Hardendale.
Castlehowe Scar Thunder Stone, Hardendale, Coast to Coast
A thunder stone is a glacial erratic — a boulder carried and deposited by ice — that has no recorded name or folklore attached to it. For convenience, this example is referred to as the Castlehowe Scar Thunder Stone, taking its name from the nearby house and quarry to the east.
The stone lies in a pasture on the south side of the minor road linking Shap with Crosby Ravensworth, directly opposite Castlehowe Scar and close to the hamlet of Hardendale. It stands within a landscape rich in prehistoric and glacial features, with a small stone circle situated in the adjacent field. In scale, it is comparable to the well-known Asper Stone and Goggleby Stone near Shap, both classic examples of ice-transported boulders left behind at the close of the last Ice Age.
Thunder Stone Hardendale Field Edge
The Thunder Stone at Castlehowe Scar rests near a field boundary corner a short distance south of the house itself, set close to a wall that divides pasture from the open fellside. It stands on the lip of a small disused quarry, giving it a slightly precarious aspect, as though poised above the hollow. Formed of Shap granite, its surface carries a soft pink hue, characteristic of the erratics scattered across this part of Cumbria, where glacial transport has left isolated boulders among the fields and walls of Hardendale.
Castlehowe Thunder Stone
Viewed from the south, the Thunder Stone’s position becomes more apparent, standing close to the edge of the shallow quarry cut beneath it. The ground falls away just beyond the boulder, emphasising its exposed and slightly precarious siting above the hollow. From this angle, the relationship between stone, field and former quarry is clearly seen, with the erratic appearing set upon the lip of the excavation rather than embedded within it.
🏞️ Insight – Landscape
Stone Landscapes on the Coast to Coast
Glacial Erratics
Large boulders transported by ice during the last Ice Age, often composed of rock not native to the surrounding area. Shap granite erratics are distinctive for their pink hue.
Thunder Stones
A traditional name for isolated erratics without recorded history or folklore, once thought to have fallen from the sky or formed by lightning.
Stone Circles
Prehistoric arrangements of stones, typically dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, often positioned on slight rises or within open pasture.
Boundary Stones
Stones used to mark parish, estate or grazing limits, sometimes reusing earlier prehistoric or glacial stones.
Stone Avenues
Linear alignments of stones forming routeways or ceremonial approaches, often subtle and partially embedded within pasture.
Glacial Deposition
As ice sheets retreated eastwards from the Lake District, they deposited erratics across the limestone plateau, creating scattered stone fields.
Field Clearance
Some stones were later moved short distances by farmers to field edges or boundaries, though many larger erratics remain in their original positions.
Landscape Pattern
The combination of natural deposition and human placement creates a dispersed but interconnected stone landscape across Shap and Hardendale.
Shap Granite Erratic South of Castlehowe
A second Thunder Stone lies a few hundred yards south-south-east of Castlehowe Scar, set two fields away within the same gently undulating farmland. Like its neighbour, it is a glacial erratic of Shap granite, its pink-toned surface marking it as part of the wider spread of ice-transported boulders scattered across this area. Its position reinforces the sense of a dispersed stone landscape, where individual erratics appear at intervals across the fields rather than as isolated curiosities.
Hiking the Coast to Coast trail guide
Hiking the Coast to Coast is a digitally enhanced eBook designed to accompany you on your journey along the Coast to Coast path. Available on Apple Books for iPhone, iPad and Mac, the guide includes:
• Mapping with interactive features
• Step-by-step route directions
• Hundreds of colour photographs
• Route conditions in different weather
• Historical and cultural points of interest
Whether you’re planning your trip or already on the trail, it’s a practical and beautifully illustrated resource to carry with you.
