Ashgill Force is an unexpectedly impressive waterfall tucked away discreetly off the B6277 between Teesdale and Alston in Cumbria, UK. It’s most conveniently accessed from Ashgill Bridge which crosses the Ash Gill shortly before it joins the River South Tyne (NY 759404).
A 10-metre thick lip of blue-grey Scar Limestone – almost directly below the bridge and over which the Ash Gill flows – has been naturally undercut to allow easy, if slightly damp, access behind the 20-metre waterfall. The limestone crag is underlain by a sequence of siltstone and fine-grained sandstone known locally as ‘alternating beds’.
Being so close to a main road the waterfall attracts motorists as well as outdoor pursuits enthusiasts. There’s also a very pleasant but much steeper approach off the South Tyne Trail a couple of kilometres south of Garrigill.
References
British Geological Survey (BGS), and S. M. Clarke. “The geology of NY74SE, Nent Head, Cumbria.” Geology and Landscape Northern Britain Programme Open Report OR/07/033, 2007, pp. 7-9