Top Waterfalls Day Trips from Carlisle
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The top Waterfalls Day Trips from Carlisle include Crammel Linn, Cash Force, Aira Beck, Scalehow Force, Spout Force, Ashgill Force, Lodore Falls and Fordingdale Force.
Carlisle makes a fine base for a waterfall hunt, with the Lake District to the south and the high North Pennines to the southeast, both within easy reach for a day out. Closest of all, just east above Gilsland, Crammel Linn splits over a rocky outcrop in a sandstone gorge on the border.
Head southeast into the Pennines near Garrigill and you find the remote Cash Force on the slopes of Cross Fell and the memorable Ashgill Force, where you can stand behind the falling water. South, around Ullswater, Aira Beck drops through its wooded ravine at Aira Force while Scalehow Force tumbles down to the lakeshore.
Further into the fells, Fordingdale Force sits above Haweswater and Lodore Falls roars through its cleft near Derwentwater in Borrowdale. Off to the southwest, Spout Force hides in the trees of Whinlatter Forest near Cockermouth.
Many of these run hardest after rain, so pick a wet spell if you want them at full pelt, and pack boots for the rougher upland ground. Here are eight waterfalls for a day trip from Carlisle.
Crammel Linn
Photo: David Liddle via Geograph.org.uk
Visit Crammel Linn above Gilsland Just east of Carlisle, above Gilsland on the Northumberland and Cumbria border, Crammel Linn drops around twenty-five feet on the River Irthing. A rocky outcrop in the middle of the fall splits the river into two channels as it pours through a sandstone gorge.
A small parking area sits out on the moor, and a steep, slippery path leads down into the gorge to the water. This is a quiet fall in open border country, closest of any on this list to the city, and it makes an easy first outing if you are just starting to explore the waterfalls around Carlisle.
Take care on the descent, as the path can be greasy.
Cash Force
Photo: David Brown via Geograph.org.uk
Find Cash Force on Cross Fell Southeast of Carlisle, high in the North Pennines on the northern slopes of Cross Fell, Cash Force sits on the Cash Burn near Garrigill. This is one for the committed walker: there is no marked path, and reaching it means crossing several miles of rough ground, tussock, heather and bog.
The fall drops over a band of hard rock in a fold of otherwise empty hill country, with nothing around but open moorland. Go prepared with a map, boots and good weather, because this is remote ground where the going is slow.
For anyone who likes their waterfalls hard-won and utterly quiet, it is a proper adventure out from the city.
Aira Beck
Photo: Adrian Taylor via Geograph.org.uk
Aira Beck At Aira Force the water drops around twenty metres into a narrow rock gorge, framed by a pair of arched stone bridges built above and below the fall. This is the best-known moment of the beck, which comes off Gowbarrow Fell above Ullswater and threads a wooded ravine down to the lake.
Above and below the force it runs in a chain of smaller cascades and still pools, shaded by old oaks and ornamental trees planted more than two centuries ago as part of a designed landscape. Paths climb steeply over wet, mossy rock steps.
Red squirrels live in the woods, and Herdwick sheep graze the ground.
Scalehow Force
Photo: Bill Boaden via Geograph.org.uk
Walk to Scalehow Force on Ullswater Also above Ullswater, south of Carlisle, Scalehow Force tumbles off the fell of High Dodd on Scalehow Beck down toward the lake's eastern shore. You pass it on the low-level Ullswater Way between the hamlet of Sandwick and Silver Bay, the path climbing up beside the falls through woodland before curving back to the water.
This is a wild cascade seen on the walk rather than a signposted stop, and there are no facilities. Do not confuse it with the taller Scale Force over near Crummock Water, which is a different fall altogether.
It makes a rewarding stretch on a lakeshore ramble, best combined with the wider Ullswater walk for a full day out.
Spout Force
Photo: Simon Leatherdale via Geograph.org.uk
Discover Spout Force in Whinlatter Forest Southwest of Carlisle, near Cockermouth, Spout Force hides in a steep, wooded gorge on Aiken Beck in Whinlatter Forest. The beck drops some thirty feet into a mossy ravine, seen from a wooden platform set on the far side of the falls and reached on a short forest walk of about half a mile from a car park off the Whinlatter Pass.
The gorge is narrow and canyon-like, and the fall runs best after rain, so time your visit for a wet spell. It is a quiet spot among the conifers, part of a wider network of forest trails, and easy to fold into a family day out in the woods.
Ashgill Force
Photo: Mike Quinn via Geograph.org.uk
Stand behind Ashgill Force near Garrigill Southeast of Carlisle, in the high North Pennines near Garrigill above Alston, Ashgill Force drops around seventeen metres over a wide rock shelf. Its best feature is the ledge behind the water: the fall pours clear of an overhang, so you can stand in the space behind it and look out through the curtain.
Ashgill Beck runs on below in smaller cascades, crossed by a wooden footbridge, with a road bridge just above the main fall. The setting is open moorland cut by the beck, with old lead-mine ruins scattered across these hills.
Lodore Falls
Photo: G Laird via Geograph.org.uk
Visit Lodore Falls by Derwentwater South of Carlisle, near the southern end of Derwentwater in the Lake District, Lodore Falls drops through a rocky cleft between two crags into the Borrowdale valley on Watendlath Beck. It runs hard and loud after heavy rain and can shrink to a trickle in dry weather, so timing matters.
The falls stand just behind the Lodore Falls Hotel, in protected oak woodland, and are reached on a short walk from the National Trust car park at the foot of the lake. The poet Robert Southey wrote a well-known tumbling poem about the water, The Cataract of Lodore, back in 1820.
Fordingdale Force
Photo: Michael Graham via Geograph.org.uk
Find Fordingdale Force above Haweswater South of Carlisle, above the head of Haweswater in the Lake District, Fordingdale Force sits on Measand Beck in the Fordingdale Bottom. This is genuinely obscure ground, out on the walkers' country between Patterdale and Haweswater, and the fall is little written about beyond its name and its position on the map.
The surrounding landscape is bare fellside of outcrop and scree, with nothing in the way of facilities or crowds. Save it for a long day on the fells when you want somewhere truly off the beaten track; it rewards the effort with solitude rather than spectacle, and pairs well with a wider walk in this quiet corner of the eastern Lakes.
FAQs
Which is the closest waterfall to Carlisle?
Crammel Linn, above Gilsland on the Irthing, is the nearest at about 28km east of Carlisle, out in open border country.
Can you walk behind any of these waterfalls?
Yes. At Ashgill Force near Garrigill, southeast of Carlisle, the water pours clear of an overhang, so you can stand behind the curtain and look out.
When is the best time to see the falls at full flow?
After heavy rain. Falls like Lodore near Derwentwater and Spout Force in Whinlatter Forest run hard after a wet spell and can dwindle in dry weather.
Conclusion
From the border gorge at Crammel Linn to the wide shelf of Ashgill Force and the lakeside cascades around Ullswater, Carlisle opens onto some of the finest waterfall country in the north. The falls here range from easy strolls, like Aira Force and Lodore, to genuine expeditions across open moor, such as Cash Force and Fordingdale Force.
Many run best after heavy rain, so keep an eye on the forecast and go when the becks are full. Pack proper boots and a map for the higher ground, and pair a well-known name with a quieter one to make the most of your day.
Lake District or North Pennines, these are the waterfalls for a day trip from Carlisle.
