Bowithick to Buttern Hill

A circular walk over the northern tip of Bodmin Moor to the prehistoric burial chamber at the top of Buttern Hill and source of the River Fowey, returning via farm tracks and country lanes to the tributary streams of the River Inny.

Get the app to guide you around the walk

App Store

Download iPhone/iPad app from App Store

Scan with your phone to get the Apple app

Google Play

Download Android app from Google Play

Scan with your phone to get the Android app

Download the (free) app then use it to purchase this walk.

Phone showing Google navigation to start of walk

The app will direct you to the start of the walk via satnav.

Hand holding a phone showing the iWalk Cornwall app

The app guides you around the walk using GPS, removing any worries about getting lost.

Phone showing walk directions page in the iWalk Cornwall app

The walk route is described with detailed, regularly-updated, hand-written directions.

Each time there is a new direction to follow, the app will beep to remind you, and will warn you if you go off-route.

Phone showing walk map page in the iWalk Cornwall app

A map shows the route, where you are at all times and even which way you are facing.

Phone showing facts section in iWalk Cornwall app

Each walk is packed with information about the history and nature along the route, from over a decade of research than spans more than 3,000 topics.

Person looking at phone with cliff scenery in background

Once a walk is downloaded, the app doesn't need wifi or a phone signal during the walk.

Phone showing walk stats in the iWalk Cornwall app

The app counts down distance to the next direction and estimates time remaining based on your personal walking speed.

We keep the directions continually updated for changes to the paths/landmarks - the price for a walk includes ongoing free updates.

either as a GPS-guided walk with our app (£3.29) or a PDF of directions (£2.79) Example of directions

Fullscreen map

From Bowithick, the walk follows a track to the base of Buttern Hill, which it ascends to the prehistoric burial chamber on the summit. The route continues down into a valley on the other side of the hill, crossing between the marshes that form the source of the River Fowey. The walk then turns along the valley side towards Oldpark and follows a series of tracks to reach a winding country lane leading back to Bowithick.

Highlights

Neolithic cairns and burial chambers on Buttern Hill
Pretty hamlet of Bowithick
Panoramic views of Bodmin Moor including Davidstow Moor, Rough Tor and Brown Willy

Considerations

The moorland landscape is difficult to navigate solely with directions - use of app's map screen is strongly recommended for this walk.

Dogs

There is only one stile on the route which is beside a gate, however this and other gates might be tied shut depending on livestock which may require dogs to be lifted over. On the moor, dogs on leads no more than 2m long between 1 March and 31 July (breeding period for ground-nesting birds).

The walk is available through the iWalk Cornwall app for Apple and Android for £3.29 which each include everything listed here.

This removes worries about getting lost by tracking you using GPS, reminding you when you need to follow the next direction and warning you if you wander off the route.

To install on your phone, search the app store for “iwalk cornwall” to download the (free) app. Then either use it to scan the code at the top-right of the page to locate this walk or search for the walk title in Walks Shop > Search All Walks.

Once you've installed the iWalk Cornwall app from the app store, click on the button below to locate this walk:

Open walk in iWalk Cornwall app

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Vital statistics

OS Explorer: 109
Distance: 4 miles/6.5 km
Steepness grade: Moderate
Recommended footwear: Walking boots in dry weather / wellies in wet weather

OS maps for this walk

OS Explorer 109

Points of interest

Links for this walk

Bronze Age cemetery and cist on Buttern Hill
Source of the River Fowey
Bodmin Moor AONB info
Short URL: http://iwkc.co.uk/w/92

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