Lodore Falls, Watendlath, Grange Fell and Bowder Stone Circular

This is a continuous 8.0-mile (12.8 km) loop with around 487 m of ascent, starting and finishing at the National Trust Bowder Stone Car Park on the B5289 rather than at the Bowder Stone itself. Most walkers take four to five hours; a fast, dry-day pace with few stops is closer to three and a half. It packs four distinct landscapes into one circuit, so treat it as a full day out rather than a quick leg-stretch.

From the car park, head toward Grange, cross Grange Bridge and pass through the hamlet, then pick up the public footpath beside Ellers Beck. The route follows the southern shore of Derwent Water through wetlands on boardwalks and over the Chinese Bridge, then uses road and footway past the Lodore Falls Hotel to the falls viewpoint. From there a narrow terraced path climbs through Lodore Wood above the beck, traverses above Watendlath Beck, and reaches Watendlath by a cobbled path and footbridge. After the packhorse bridge and tarn, rough tracks and wet grass beside a wall and stream lead to the broad top of Grange Fell (Brund Fell). Descent is by the bridleway below Puddingstone Bank, then under plantation through Frith Wood, finishing on road and a signed footpath past the Bowder Stone.

Lodore Beck feeds the falls, which sit enclosed in trees and ferns and feel quite separate from the open water below. The lakeshore section gives low, level views across Derwent Water into Borrowdale. Watendlath is the emotional centre of the walk: a small hamlet, a packhorse bridge and a tarn held in a fold of the fells. Grange Fell repays the climb with an unusually complicated, knobbly summit area and wide views over the valley. The Bowder Stone at the end is a genuinely large rock feature with clearly visible structure and a stairway to the top.

The route is fairly rated as rough, soft underfoot and requiring basic map reading. Surfaces shift constantly: public footpath, bridleway, rough track, grass, boggy ground, boardwalk, short sections of road, plus gates, stiles and a footbridge. Nothing is technical, but the ground between Watendlath and Grange Fell can be wet and heavy, and the descent is uneven.

• The Grange Fell summit area is broad and has no cairn, so navigation becomes genuinely difficult in poor visibility.
• The terraced path above Lodore Wood has a Y-junction where a wrong turn leads to an especially narrow section below Gowder Crag.
• Avoid the steep path immediately beside the falls; there is steep ground near the beck.
• Wet weather makes rock and grass slippery. Cattle may be present, and there is short road walking, including the busy stretch near Lodore.

Park at the National Trust Bowder Stone Car Park, B5289, CA12 5XA (OS NY253168), roughly 60 spaces; the mapped route starts about 20 m away. Dogs are allowed as normal on these public footpaths and bridleways, and the National Trust welcomes dogs across Borrowdale and Derwent Water, asking for short leads near sheep and livestock and close control around wildlife, ground-nesting birds and other visitors. Expect gates and stiles that some dogs find awkward. No special permit applies. If this sounds like too much, the short Bowder Stone Trail is a much easier, accessible alternative focused on the stone alone.