Not all those who wander are lost
Date published 3 June, 2019
That is some water feature in your garden.
It is quite possible to visit the Yorkshire Dales near Hawes and miss Hardraw Force.
It is privately owned, and not, perhaps, massively advertised yet. But it is a rather magical place, and extremely accessible.
It is also pretty grand. With around a 100 foot uninterrupted drop it is one of the taller waterfalls in the UK. Of course, it lacks the challenge of a massive hike across mountains, but the approach is still very pretty. You pop behind the Green Dragon Pub in Hardraw, pay a modest fee, and walk less than a mile along a fairly level track.
But that understates the drama of the approach. The track is beside the river (you can walk either side of the river), and enters a deepening ravine. At the end, you are faced with over 180 degrees of rock face, and the water falls into an almost circular pool - but not before bouncing on a rock and doing some pretty neat tricks with the light. The top of the ravine, and the sides, and nicely wooded, and the track is well maintained.
As you can see from the picture, it was fairly dry when we wandered up there. It can get a lot more dramatic. But as it was it was beautiful, and peaceful. You can get pretty close to it - in fact you can get behind it, although that is strongly not recommended. Technically it is forbidden, although some people still manage it.
The fact that it is privately owned set my mind racing. In reality, it is a water feature at the back of someone's rather immense garden. I started imagining someone discovering it whilst weeding the rockery many years ago. Of course, that is just made up, but it did make me smile. When you approach it, it is a bit like that. You walk by Hardraw Beck, and around the corner is the waterfall.
You can walk to it from Hawes if you like. It is not a tough walk, but it is a pretty one.
If you like waterfalls, you will enjoy this one
We are happy snappers!
View the galleries of our travels
Saving a great community asset
The picture shows the Thorold, at Marston, near Grantham in ...
Torrevieja Friday Market
Google, of course, has many uses. But remember - it only knows ...
A New Front Door
To his credit, the taxi driver remained professional, and polite. ...
There is always a story
I was sitting on a bench, enjoying the afternoon sun, with the ...
Eerie and Empty
The date was 5th December 2020. The location, Newcastle International ...
Lockdown, Travellers
We were sat in the van, enjoying some untypically sunny weather ...
Perspective
We love exploring places, mostly on foot, so you can see the ...
Islands near islands -Illot de la Galera
I like islands, for no particular reasons. Being an island seems ...
The Malta Car Museum
Another day, but definitely not just another car museum. Don't ...
Are We Nearly There Yet?
It's the standard journey joke. Four minutes into the journey, ...
Beverley. A surprise visit.
I had heard of Beverley, of course. But it sits to one side ...
Change of plan - Nottinghamshire to Yorkshire
Sometimes, when you are out and about, your plans get changed. ...
Quick on the Draw
Playa del Palma, S'Arenal, in Mallorca, is a nicely lively place ...
Travelling, or on holiday?
We greatly enjoyed our trip to Majorca. A temperature in the ...
The Weather
Sooner or later, of course, amongst musings like this, one of ...
One Rainy Day. Followed by more rainy days
All 'vanlife' pictures must be taken in glorious sunshine, with ...
Cromer - lots of ice creams and an upset golfer
Cromer is a magical place towards the north of Norfolk. It sits ...
Sheringham - not all High Streets are Equal
The High Street is dead. We all know that. And it is not entirely ...
Morecombe Bay Remembers
A regular place that we visit is Morecombe Bay. Well, more usually, ...
Warm Coldingham
Coldingham bills itself as an historic village. I think it is ...
Riding of the Bounds Berwick upon Tweed
The ancient tradition, known as the Riding of the Bounds of ...
The Old Mill Site at Crakehall
Crakehall is really two places. Great Crakehall, and Little ...
Narrow Streets in Castle Donington
We watched as the truck driver edged through the gap. Both his ...
The Inland Port of Shardlow
You are entirely correct. Shardlow, on the border of Derbyshire ...
What is there at Millshield
There is more than one River Derwent in England, you know. The ...
Hardware Stores Resist Time
The problem with the High Street, of course, is that they are ...
Perspective - This tree is not upside down
I love this tree picture. Of course, I would do. I took it. ...
Edinburgh. How did you get here?
I like Edinburgh. It is a great capital city. There is interesting ...
The Island of Instruction
The picture is of Cramond Island. Cramond is one of those bits ...
Winter wants love too
Winter is where we wait for summer, of course. Actually, of ...
Getting People Outside
This muse arose from a wander around a village that is not in ...
That is a Tidy Beach Party
Except, regrettably, it wasn't. As we wandered along the sea ...
Seahouses Harbour Sleeps
In our travellings in February we spent a few days in Seahouses. ...
Steaming out of Bury
The East Lancashire Railway Line is, as you will have swiftly ...
Second Hand Books in Wooler
If you are doing a tour of Northumberland, a visit to Wooler ...
Glasson Dock. Forgotten, but alive
Not so many people will have heard of Glasson Dock. Not so many ...
A Fix in the High Street
I don't only mean the High Street, of course, although untypically ...
Tees, Gromit
The wonder of engineering, shown off in a way the cheese eating ...
Are you in the Durham Loop?
Durham is a world heritage site. Much may be written about it. ...
All Roads Lead to Roam
There is a difference between a functional journey and a fun ...
