Waterfall in County Durham

Aysgarth Falls in Wensleydale are among the most spectacular natural features of the Yorkshire Dales, a series of three broad natural limestone steps over which the River Ure descends through a beautiful wooded gorge in one of the most visited and most photographed locations in the Dales National Park. The falls are not a single dramatic plunge like High Force to the north, but rather a long sequence of wide cascades spread across the full width of the river, their horizontal extent and the surrounding woodland of ash and oak creating a scene of distinctive pastoral beauty that feels characteristic of the gentler, greener landscape of this part of the Dales. The Upper Falls, Middle Falls and Lower Falls each have their own character and are accessible from different points along the network of well-maintained paths that wind through the gorge on both sides of the river. The Upper Falls are perhaps the most impressive in terms of pure drama, the river racing across a broad limestone lip in full flood conditions with considerable force. The Middle Falls are the most visited, accessible from the car park and famous as the location where the staff fight scene in Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was filmed, a connection that brings devoted fans of the film alongside the walkers and Dales enthusiasts who form the majority of visitors. The geological setting of the falls reflects the Carboniferous limestone that underlies much of the Yorkshire Dales and gives the park its characteristic combination of grey rock, white water and green woodland. The horizontal bedding of the limestone, eroded at different rates depending on the hardness of successive layers, produces the stepped profile of the falls, and the solution features visible in the rock surfaces bear witness to the long dissolving action of the slightly acidic river water on the calcium carbonate rock. The Yorkshire Dales National Park Visitor Centre near the falls provides information about the geology, ecology and history of Wensleydale, and the nearby village of Aysgarth with its historic church and the restored Yore Mill above the Upper Falls add further points of interest to the site.

High Force on the River Tees in County Durham is one of the most powerful waterfalls in England, a thundering cascade that plunges approximately 21 metres into a dark plunge pool below, surrounded by ancient volcanic rock and dense riverbank woodland. Its setting within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, often described as England's last great wilderness, gives it a remote, elemental character that distinguishes it from more accessible waterfalls in more visited parts of the country. The geological story of High Force is written in the rock itself. The waterfall drops over a resistant outcrop of Whin Sill, the same dark volcanic dolerite that forms the Great Whin Sill crags along Hadrian's Wall to the north. This hard igneous rock was intruded into the existing sedimentary layers around 295 million years ago as molten magma, and its resistance to erosion explains why the River Tees drops so dramatically where the softer rock has been worn away but the dolerite remains. Below the fall, layers of limestone and sandstone frame the plunge pool in bands of contrasting colour and texture. After heavy rainfall the waterfall is genuinely spectacular, with the full width of the Tees channelled over the lip in an impressive torrent of brown moorland water and white spume. In drought conditions the flow drops considerably, but even at low water the geological drama of the site remains compelling. The spray from the falls can reach visitors on the viewing platforms, which should be considered both a warning and an inducement depending on the season. The surrounding woodland along the Tees gorge supports a rich variety of tree species including ash, oak, hazel and rowan, along with an understory of mosses, ferns and wildflowers that benefit from the constant moisture created by the falls. The riverside path from the car park at Bowlees Visitor Centre provides a pleasant walk of around a mile through this landscape, with views of the falls from multiple angles. The falls are located on land managed by the Raby Estate and an admission charge applies to visit the waterfall itself, payable at the car park. The nearby Bowlees Visitor Centre, run by Durham Wildlife Trust, provides free access to information about the broader North Pennines landscape and has a small waterfall of its own, Gibson's Cave, a short walk from the centre. Together, a visit to High Force and its surroundings makes for one of the most rewarding half-day excursions in the North Pennines.