The Bowder Stone was turned into a tourist attraction in the 1780s by Joseph Pocklington,
who built a house on Derwent Island. He also built a cottage here and installed what the
Lakes poet Robert Southey described as an "old woman" as a guide. Pocklington also dug a hole
beneath the stone for tourists to shake hands with the guide. The staircase has been here since
at least 1890.