Ian Cylkowski 27/08/2021 Ian Cylkowski 27/08/2021

North Pennines Waterfalls, County Durham, Summer

Woohoo for a week off! With the Lake District as rammed as it is at the moment, let’s go somewhere a l’al bit different.

Woohoo for a week off! With the Lake District as rammed as it is at the moment, let’s go somewhere and l’al bit different.

The North Pennines AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) is a favourite of ours but remains relatively untouched by us. We’ve explored arguably the jewel of the North Pennines, High Cup Nick, many times. But another absolutely stunning part of the area is the three main waterfalls: High Force, Low Force, and Cauldron Snout.

Long-time followers of this blog may remember our last excursion to High Force and Low Force, last year. The two waterfalls are a geology student’s dream and truly spectacular. But the third waterfall, Cauldron Snout, is often missed out on compared to the other two. That’s because it’s many miles further up the River Tees, near Cow Green Reservoir. Like High Force and Low Force, Cauldron Snout is the result of the outflow of Cow Green Reservoir passing over the whin sill; a layer of prehistoric super-hard dolerite volcanic rock that has left pillars and columns. The waterfall has eroded the softer rock around, leaving the harder columns of whin sill standing.

Cauldron Snout “only” drops about 60 m, all in all, but does so steeply down 180 m of the gorge, making it one of the longest waterfalls in England. The last time we visited it was many years ago in between Christmas and New Year, and a lot of the rock around the waterfall was covered in ice, making it a treacherous task to navigate. This time, we managed to scramble all the down alongside the waterfall. It was immense.

All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my three prime lenses: a Samyang 35mm f/1.2, a Laowa 9mm f/2.8, and an adapted Pentax SMC 55mm f/2.0. Images developed using one of RNI Film’s Kodachrome profiles, finished in Affinity Photo.

Low Force is probably the easiest of the three to access, being less than a kilometre’s walk from the Bowlees Visitor Centre. Regardless, it’s an impressive sight and sound.

My lovely Lisabet, already on the case and getting some compositions in.

I clambered around the columns and cliffs of whin sill to get to the northern bank of the Tees for this view of the main falls of Low Force. The morning’s light was wonderful and I didn’t want to miss out.

The twin falls of Low Force. Not necessarily all that tall, but powerful and loud.

The conditions and light were beautiful. Not too harsh. Autumn’s definitely on the way.

One gentleman decided that a dip in the waterfall was in order.

The Pennine Way heads along this footbridge, which crosses the River Tees below. It’s an old ‘un, too, so all the signage requests people cross it one at a time.

The lower aspect of Low Force shot from the southern banks of the Tees after we crossed the bridge.

After I spotted this young lass climbing the statues, I think she looked rather… sheepish?

A tighter composition of the main falls of Low Force, trying to convey the sheer power of these waterfalls. The redness in the water comes from all the peat the river carries from the high moorlands of the North Pennines.

Looking back at the northern bank of the River Tees, with more people finding their now to the waterfalls. Best get a move on.

Lisabet doing her best to capture all the splendour around her.

Love all the signs of autumn starting to appear.

Looking forward to all the rusty colours of autumnal ferns.

After trekking the Pennine Way along the southern side of the River Tees, we crossed another old footbridge and took these steep steps up towards the road. A visit to High Force beckoned us.

The woodland above the Tees is still lush.

After paying our entrance fee (£2 per adult, very reasonable), we followed the path through the woodlands of the Raby Estate. Already, we could hear the booming sound of the giant waterfall, High Force.

The first glimpse of High Force and the gorge it’s created. The excitement builds…

And there she is, plunging 70 ft off a cliff into the deep pool below. What a sight.

We scrambled down to the boulder field left behind by the receding waterfall, each of us seeking our own photographic compositions of the waterfall.

Of course, mine predominately featured all the wonderful shapes of the boulders.

After thousands and thousands of years, as the waterfall carves its way back up the River Tees, it’s left behind boulder with fascinating shapes and textures.

Plenty of other folk were clambering around the boulders for better views of the awesome High Force.

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the High Force trail is a one-way system now, so we hiked up the steep steps out of the gorge and navigated through the Raby Estate woods back to the car. My lovely Lisabet, looking as stunning as ever.

Upper Teesdale has a similar “feel” to a Yorkshire Dales valley, to me.

After a break for lunch, we drove a few miles west and parked at Cow Green Reservoir, seeking out Cauldron Snout. Along the way, views across the reservoir can be had of Meldon Hill (767 m/2,517 ft).

We crossed the dam for views over the reservoir and below to the Tees. Clouds of midges were out in full force.

Looking down onto the Tees from the top of the dam. You can just make out to the left the top of Cauldron Snout before it crashes down into the valley.

Cow Green Reservoir was constructed in the late 1960s to supply the industries of Teeside with a constant supply of water.

The reservoir essentially acts as a river regulator, ensuring the River Tees is always flowing with water even during dry conditions.

And here’s the top of Cauldron Snout. The Pennine Way is to left, but it isn’t really a “path” as such as navigating and scrambling down the side of the gorge created by the waterfall.

But doing so enables you to get right next to the falls for cracking views like this. A man perched at the top of the falls helps provide a sense of scale.

With the heather in bloom, they provided wonderful pops of colour around the waterfall.

Scrambling down the gorge was exhilarating, and definitely something that would not have been possible for my condition 5-years ago.

As the gorge sheltered us from the wind, this provided the necessary moist and still conditions for clouds of midges to form everywhere. They duly took advantage and started ravaging our bare flesh. — As the gorge sheltered us from the wind, this provided the necessary moist and still conditions for clouds of midges to form *everywhere*. They duly took advantage and started ravaging our bare flesh.

Near the bottom of Cauldron Snout now, and we can start to understand the scale of these falls.

The bottom of Cauldron Snout, which climaxes with this beautiful fanned curtain of a waterfall.

Ian Cylkowski 02/08/2020 Ian Cylkowski 02/08/2020

Ashgill Force, North Pennines, Summer

With the easing of lockdown restrictions in the UK, it’s my experience that tourism in the UK has never been busier.

With the easing of lockdown restrictions in the UK, it’s my experience that tourism in the UK has never been busier. It’s likely a result of a declining aviation industry and the extra hassle involved in holidaying abroad.

This means that Lisabet and I have been actively looking for alternative locations for hikes, photography, and exercise, as the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales—the two National Parks we are sandwiched between—are absolutely chock full.

That’s no bad thing, though. A cursory look through Instagram’s #HiddenCumbria hashtag alerted us to a waterfall that we’d never heard of before: Ashgill Force.

This waterfall, just south of Garrigill in the North Pennines, is mightily impressive even when fairly dry. The waterfall crashes 55 ft over a rocky shelf, set in a deep gorge, and framed by Ashgill Bridge that carries the B6277 over it. There’s plenty to see even before you get to the falls too.

All photos shot on a Fujifilm X-T2 with a Fujinon XF 18–55mm f/2.8–4.0 lens using a customised Provia film profile. All these photos are 95% SOOC (straight out of camera).

The day started off pretty wet, but I could see the cloud cover was lifting and breaking.

Just outside Garrigill village the views soon started to open up.

Heading down to the South Tyne Trail, which we’ll follow alongside all the way to Ashgill Force.

This was a rather pleasant discovery! Just below Windshaw Bridge the South Tyne river has cut a fine gorge out.

Fascinating rock formations formed by the South Tyne river.

Further up the river a series of small cascades can be found, each more delightful than the next.

Gorgeous light play around these little cascades as the peeped in and out of the clouds.

The waterfall is beautifully framed by the gorge it’s set in and the bridge above it.

Ashgill Force, though relatively dry, is still a sight to behold. The waterfall is one of the bigger ones I’ve seen in England, dropping 55 ft (not quite as big as nearby High Force in Country Durham, which drops 70 ft).

Above and beyond the waterfall, Ash Gill is calm and serene.

The B6277, which we followed all the way back to Garrigill. A scene of big sky and expansive landscape.

This part of the North Pennines feels very similar to Swaledale, for me.

Heading down Loaning Head lane, down the valley back to Garrigill.

Back at Garrigill village, now beautifully drenched in sun.

On the way back home, we stopped at the summit of Hartside Pass (1,903 ft) for a bite to eat and to enjoy the massive views back towards the Lakeland Fells.

Ian Cylkowski 19/07/2020 Ian Cylkowski 19/07/2020

High Cup Nick, North Pennines, Summer

The last time we hiked up High Cup Nick (trying that saying three times fast) was back in August 2013.

The last time we hiked up High Cup Nick (trying that saying three times fast) was back in August 2013.

Back then I was recovering from a recent mental breakdown.

On today’s hike to this epic chasm, I was stronger and healthier than I’ve ever been.

High Cup Nick, or High Cup Gill, is a short but steep U-shaped glaciated valley that cuts deeply into the North Pennine escarpment. Not only is it a spectacular sight for its sheer drops to the valley floor but it also features these columns and pillars of rock near the head of the valley; in places, these cliffs are 70+ ft high.

These cliffs of columnar dolerite is known as the Whin Sill, and it is exposed at various places throughout the North Pennines and further towards the North East of England. Perhaps two of the most famous examples of the Whin Sill can be found at High Force in County Durham—one of England’s most powerful waterfalls where the water drops off 22 m high Whin Sill cliffs—and at Hadrian’s Wall near Housesteads, Northumberland.

Lisabet and I set off early in the morning to ensure we could park safely at Dufton village, the start of our walk. Nine miles and 20,000+ steps later we returned to the car thoroughly exercised, cameras and phones filled with photos, and our brains filled with wonderful memories and experiences.

All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 with a Fujinon XF 18–55mm f/2.8–4 lens using a customised Velvia film simulation.