Bowston is a village in Cumbria

Cumbria

Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, situated about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Kendal, beside the River Kent

River Kent

The River Kent is a short river in the county of Cumbria in England. The river originates in hills surrounding Kentmere, and flows for around 20 miles into the north of Morecambe Bay. The Lake District National Park includes the upper reaches of the river within its boundaries.The river passes...

. It has an old, probably 17th century, bridge over the river which is a Grade II listed structure. A rare VR (Victoria Regina) postbox

Pillar box

A pillar box is a free-standing post box. They are found in the United Kingdom and in most former nations of the British Empire, members of the Commonwealth of Nations and British overseas territories, such as the Republic of Ireland, Australia, India and Gibraltar...

 can be seen in the wall at the junction of Burneside Road and Potter Fell road.

The village was home to William T. Palmer, an unsung Lakeland author, climber and local man.

A mile north of the village, Godmond Hall is a 17th century house incorporating a medieval pele tower

Peel tower

Peel towers are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, intended as watch towers where signal fires could be lit by the garrison to warn of approaching danger...

.

History

Bowston has roots in the paper production industry, which made Cropper's Paper Mill at Burneside successful. In 1880 Bowston Mill, between Burneside and Cowan Head, was purchased by Cropper's. Bowston Mill may well have begun life as a fulling mill, but a new building was constructed to prepare rags and ropes for the other two mills. Bowston Mill was closed in the early 1960s when waste paper rather than rags came into use in the paper pulp. The mill has now been replaced by terraced housing running along the river's edge.

Walking

Bowston is on the Dales Way

Dales Way

The Dales Way is an 84-mile Long Distance Footpath in Northern England, from Ilkley, West Yorkshire to Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria....

 which links Windermere in the west to Yorkshire in the East, making it a busy destination for walkers and climbers who follow this long-distance path. The village is also at the bottom of the ascent to Potter Fell

Potter Fell

Potter Fell is a fell near Burneside, Cumbria, England. A number of tarns are present on the fell, including Gurnal Dubs Tarn and Potter Tarn. Potter Fell has four major summits, two of which are mentioned in Alfred Wainwright's The Outlying Fells of Lakeland.-Summits:Potter Fell is made up of...

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