Parking
Use the small roadside parking area in Bowscale hamlet, on the right just before the road bends sharply between the cottages, around NY 359 316. Space is limited. Do not block the road, gate, or residents' access.
Overview
About Bowscale Tarn
Why go
- A real mountain tarn without a summit day
- Distinctive corrie and moraine scenery
- Quieter than the Lake District classics
Heads up
- Very limited roadside parking
- Fainter, rougher path on the return loop
- Wet ground and exposed fell weather
Bowscale Tarn sits in a compact glacial corrie, held behind a conspicuous moraine and steep crags. The approach and return open onto the Caldew valley, while the tarn itself feels properly secluded. Expect rough fell grass, heather and bracken, with grazing sheep on the surrounding slopes. Local lore gives the tarn two immortal fish, a nice detail to look for in the old descriptions of the place.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe payoffMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Lake District map
Full mapElevation229–481 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
8 active Lake District alerts
- ClosureChapel Stile footpath closed for retaining-wall riskPart of Footpath 543030 between Chapel Stile and Baysbrown campsite is closed because a retaining wall beside the path could collapse and material it supports could fall across the footpath.Official details
- ClosureStanley Ghyll Lower Falls footpath closed for rockfallThe section of Footpath 408037 leading towards Stanley Ghyll Lower Falls is closed because severe rockfall damage has made the path unstable and further rockfall remains a danger.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Lake District Tour Guide
Your drive to Bowscale Tarn, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Lake District National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Bowscale Tarn: A Two-Hour Fell Walk0:00 / 0:53
“Up ahead is Bowscale hamlet, the starting point for the walk to Bowscale Tarn. I'd choose this stop if you have a couple of hours and fancy a secluded mountain lake tucked beneath steep crags.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Mungrisdale: Bowscale or Souther Fell
- Carrock Fell and High Pike
- Grainsgill: Great Calva and Knott
- Eycott Hill: The Short Viewpoint Loop
- 298 audio storiesacross Lake District’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Eurasian Otter, Osprey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 265 trails, 89 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Bowscale Tarn
The routeThis is a 3.4-mile (5.5 km) loop from the small parking area in Bowscale hamlet.
This is a 3.4-mile (5.5 km) loop from the small parking area in Bowscale hamlet. The stored distance is the complete loop, not an out-and-back. Follow the signed public bridleway through the gate and west along the rough track. When it fades to a path, take the rising fork toward the tarn's outfall. The return follows the tarn edge to the col, then drops back to the outward track.
PracticalitiesThis is a good short mountain walk when you want a real tarn without committing to a summit day.
This is a good short mountain walk when you want a real tarn without committing to a summit day. The north-facing corrie can stay shaded, so low light or bright overcast conditions usually show the water and crags best. Dogs may use the route, but keep them under close control and on a short lead around livestock. For a longer, harder day, Bowscale Fell and Bannerdale Crags continue above the tarn, but that is a different route and should not be confused with this loop.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Lake District
81 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
13 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
76 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
51 sightingsEuropean BadgerMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
233 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
176 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lake District. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
