The Bowder Stone appears to teeter on its point, but this illusion belies its immense stability. Dislodged from the crags of Kings How at the end of the last Ice Age, the boulder crashed down into Borrowdale when the glacier retreated. Now weighing nearly 2,000 tons, it lies fixed where it fell. A new ladder allows visitors to climb its flank and sit atop the summit, absorbing the drama of the Jaws of Borrowdale from one of its most iconic perches.

Viewed from the opposite side, the Bowder Stone’s extraordinary balance becomes easier to comprehend. Dislodged during the retreat of the Borrowdale glacier, it came to rest on one of its corners — a geological marvel of mass and poise. Similar rockfalls occurred throughout the valley at the same time, though most are now buried beneath centuries of encroaching flora. A careful eye can still spot several of these moss-laden remnants in the surrounding woodland.

Bowder Cottage, once home to Mary Thompson who recorded the dimensions of the Bowder Stone in 1859, later served as a tea room and shop for passing visitors. Today, it is owned by the National Trust and leased to the Northumbrian Mountaineering Club. The club has restored both the cottage and the nearby hermitage, installing electricity and running water. Nestled within a vibrant garden of native blossoms, including purple rhododendron, the cottage remains a quiet witness to Borrowdale’s layered past.

The Bowder Hermitage is a small stone building that forms part of the Bowder Stone estate, now under the care of the National Trust. Thought to have once served as a religious retreat or shelter, it is now leased—alongside Bowder Cottage—to the Northumbrian Mountaineering Club. Though modest in scale and barn-like in appearance, the hermitage stands as a quiet reminder of the area’s layered cultural and spiritual history, nestled within the shadow of Kings How.