'Scale Force - Crummock Water'

On the west side of Crummock Water

Location : Buttermere
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 150171

The highest waterfall in the Lake District is Scale Force with a single drop of 170 ft, and two others of about 20 ft. It is hidden away in a deep tree-lined gorge on the way from Crummock Water to Red Pike on land owned by the National Trust.

Wordsworth described it as 'a fine chasm, with a lofty , though but slender, fall of water'.

The force is a spectacular site even after dry periods, and has been an attraction from the earliest days of Lakeland tourism. From the Buttermere car park it is a distance of some 2.5 miles - there and back, needing about 2 hours.

The waterfall is on land owned by the National Trust.