The climb to the top
A nine-metre steel staircase of thirty treads, installed in 2019, takes you onto the summit for a view down the Borrowdale valley.
Two thousand tons of volcanic rock, resting on one edge as if it had paused mid-fall. That is what waits at the end of a short woodland path in Borrowdale: a single boulder roughly nine metres high and fifteen across, which broke away from Bowder Crag above it somewhere between 10,000 and 13,500 years ago, tumbled about 200 metres downhill and settled on its narrowest side, where it has stayed ever since. The first surprise is how completely its bulk defeats you when you stand beneath it. The second is that you are allowed to climb on top. Credit for that goes to Joseph Pocklington, who bought the land in 1798 and turned the stone into a tourist attraction while the idea itself was still a novelty: he put a ladder up to the summit, built a cottage for a resident guide and had a hole drilled underneath so visitors could shake hands through the rock for luck. The National Trust owns the site today and in 2019 replaced the old wooden ladder with a nine-metre steel staircase of thirty treads, alarming only to those who dislike heights. The hole beneath has been sealed, so do not promise the children a handshake under the boulder. Getting there is easy. The National Trust car park sits on the B5289 about four miles (some 7 km) south of Keswick, fifteen minutes by car or roughly an hour from Windermere, and from it a wide, gently undulating path of compacted gravel, about 550 metres of it, takes ten to fifteen minutes and copes with a pushchair. The stone itself is free; the car park is not, at roughly 7 pounds for two hours and about 9.50 for the whole day, and since the phone signal is poor down the valley bring coins or pay ahead on the JustPark app. The open-top 78 Borrowdale Rambler from Keswick stops close by and runs through the day in summer. Be honest with yourselves: this is a thirty-to-sixty-minute stop, not a day out. The people it truly rewards are children, who will love the climb and the circuit round the base, and photographers who want a shot beneath a rock that looks ready to topple. You will usually find climbers working its faces, since it is one of the Lake District's most celebrated bouldering venues. The visit pays off best folded into a Borrowdale loop with Lodore Falls, Ashness Bridge and the little village of Grange. In winter, remember that darkness falls before four and the staircase turns slippery after rain.
A nine-metre steel staircase of thirty treads, installed in 2019, takes you onto the summit for a view down the Borrowdale valley.
Two thousand tons of volcanic andesite have rested on their narrowest side for over 10,000 years, and it looks far stranger from below than in any photo.
Some 550 metres of wide compacted gravel through woodland, waymarked as Miles Without Stiles route 35, fine for pushchairs and wheelchairs.
B5289, Borrowdale, Keswick CA12 5XA
No, it is not a destination in itself; the whole visit takes under an hour. It earns its stop when you are already heading to Keswick or touring Borrowdale with Lodore Falls and Ashness Bridge, and then it is a genuinely fun break for children. An hour's drive each way for the stone alone is not justified.
Yes. The path from the car park is wide compacted gravel with only gentle gradients and takes ten to fifteen minutes; it is Miles Without Stiles route 35, laid out for pushchairs and self-propelled wheelchairs. Only the staircase to the top needs steady feet and a hand on the rail.