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Ingleton and its waterfalls

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Walk directions

Leave the car park in the centre of Ingleton at its western end. Turn right along the road and follow the 'Waterfalls Walk' signs, which take you downhill and across the river to the entrance to the falls. Pay the admission fee, walk through the car park, and go through a kissing gate. The path undulates, with steps in places. Cross Manor Bridge and continue upstream, now with the river on your left, to Pecca Bridge.

Cross the bridge and turn right, continuing upstream and climbing to pass a refreshment hut before reaching Thornton Force. The path winds slightly away from the stream and up steps to pass the waterfall, and then takes you over Ravenray Bridge, and up more steps, to a kissing gate onto Twisleton Lane.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Good paths and tracks, with some steps throughout

Landscape - Two wooded valleys, waterfalls, ancient track, wide views

Dog friendliness - Dogs should be on leads

Parking - Pay-and-display car park in centre of Ingleton; limited parking at start of Waterfalls Walk

Toilets en route - Ingleton

Walks in North Yorkshire Dog-friendly walks in North Yorkshire

About the walk

This is one of the classic walks of the Yorkshire Dales, and was first opened to visitors in 1885. A workaday town, and today one of the Dales' honeypots, Ingleton shows its mining and quarrying history in its buildings. It became a place for tourists to visit when the railway arrived in 1859 – the... viaduct almost cuts the village in half. The entrepreneurs who developed the Waterfalls Walk in the 1880s, and charged for the privilege of taking the route, were tapping into the start of one of the most profitable of industries in the Dales. Cascades and Strata The spectacle of the Waterfalls Walk begins in Swilla Glen, where the River Twiss passes through a deep gorge, with rapids and whirlpools giving a taste of what is to come. The first of the cascades soon follows – Pecca Falls, where the river tumbles over a shelf of the hard greywacke stone, eating away at the softer slate beds below. Beyond, the narrow glen opens out as you approach Thornton Force. Unlike the other falls on the walk, this is not a series of rapids confined within the valley, but a majestic plunge of water 40ft (12m) from its lip of hard limestone into a pool gouged into the slate beds below, which have been heaved into a vertical position. This is one of the classic spots for studying the geology of the area; the different strata are conveniently exposed. A glacier came to this part of the valley – the tip of its nose reached just above the point where the water now falls. Here it deposited the mass of boulder-clay it had pushed in front of it; the remains can still be made out beside the fall. Limestone and Water The route beyond follows Twisleton Lane, an ancient packhorse route on the line of the Roman road from Bainbridge to Ingleton. Above you are Twisleton Scars, great bands of limestone interspersed with horizontal bands of shale. One of the best limestone pavements in the area is to be found at the top of the Scars. The walk then joins the second of the waterfall-filled valleys, this time of the River Doe, on its way back to Ingleton. The woodland here is some of the oldest and most unspoiled in the area, with ancient oak trees flanking the waterfalls. Eventually the route leaves the river and comes out into a former limestone quarry – there is still quarrying in the area, for the greywacke, which is used for road surfacing. Ingleton also once supported a number of cotton mills, powered by water diverted in mill races from the rivers.

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About the area

North Yorkshire, with its two National Parks and two designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is England’s largest county and one of the most rural. This is prime walking country, from the heather-clad heights of the North York Moors to the limestone country that is so typical of the Yorkshire Dales – a place of contrasts and discoveries, of history and legend.

Route details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

5 miles (8kms)

Ascent:

1738ft (530m)

If you like this walk, you can try more routes in the area.

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Ingleton and its waterfalls

Recommended by

Walk details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Moderate

Distance:

5 miles (8kms)

Ascent:

1738ft (530m)

Walk directions

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Turn right along the rough lane, where there's often an ice cream van. The track descends to a farmyard. Keep following 'Waterfalls Walk' signs through here, over a gated stone stile. Continue along the track, then though a kissing gate and onto a road.

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Go straight across the road. The track soon bends right, passing a house. Go through a gate, then another into woodland. The path passes Beezley Falls and Rival Falls. A little further down, a side-path to the left leads to a footbridge with a good view of the deep and narrow Baxenghyll Gorge. Continue down the main path, which takes you to another footbridge.

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Cross the bridge and follow the path past old slate workings, then away from the water into trees below the present-day quarry. The path eventually passes through the old limestone quarry workings. Continue through a hand gate onto a lane.

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Beyond the gate follow the lane, soon entering Ingleton.

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Reaching a T-junction in the centre of the village, go right and follow the road round. Just before the railway viaduct, steps on the left lead back up to the car park.

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Location

Starting point

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Good paths and tracks, with some steps throughout

Landscape - Two wooded valleys, waterfalls, ancient track, wide views

Dog friendliness - Dogs should be on leads

Parking - Pay-and-display car park in centre of Ingleton; limited parking at start of Waterfalls Walk

Toilets en route - Ingleton

Walks in North Yorkshire Dog-friendly walks in North Yorkshire

About the walk

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

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Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

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Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

About the area

North Yorkshire

Ingleton and its waterfalls

Been on this walk?

Walking in Safety

Get an AA guide

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Ingleton and its waterfalls

Been on this walk?

Walking in Safety

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