5 GREAT WATER FALLS WALKS

Feel the force and explore some of Lakeland’s most dramatic scenery

- Vivienne Crow

Waterfalls are always an exhilarating sight: from noisy, tumultuous surges of foaming white-water to elegant ribbons plunging over the lip of dark rock faces, they never fail to entrance onlookers. At this time of year though, with more rain falling on the fells and feeding watercourses, those same falls, with their power amplified, have to be seen (and heard) to be believed.

The five featured here provide a taste of the many different types of dramatic waterfall you’ll find across the Lake District – and beyond.

Many carry the name ‘force’ – from the old Norse ‘foss’ simply meaning ‘waterfall’ – a remnant of the times when Norsemen dominated the uplands of this area.

AIRA FORCE

Aira Force is probably the most famous of Lakeland waterfalls. From its source in the northernmost hills of the Helvellyn range, Aira Beck steadily gathers pace as it flows downstream. Nearing its rendezvous with Ullswater, it thunders through a wooded gorge in a whirling torrent until, finally, it reaches its crescendo and plummets a massive 21 meters over the bedrock. At the foot of this tremendous drop are sheer-sided pools, and, all around, trees cling to the edges of the ravine. Follow Ullswater’s shore for almost three miles from Glenridding to Aira and then catch the bus or the ‘steamer’ back.