Family Waterfalls in Cumbria (Lake District)
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The family waterfalls in Cumbria (Lake District) are Dungeon Ghyll, Scale Force Waterfall, Whorneyside Force, Cash Force, Thornthwaite Force, Fordingdale Force, Bleaberry Force and Ashgill Force.
Cumbria and the Lake District offer families a fine range of waterfalls, though many of the best sit out on open fell and reward those happy to walk. Some, like Ashgill Force in the North Pennines, are only a short step from the road, with a footbridge and a ledge you can stand behind.
Others ask more: Scale Force near Buttermere lies a couple of boggy miles from the village, Whorneyside Force sits a few miles up Oxendale, and Dungeon Ghyll hides in a rock cleft on the climb toward the Langdale Pikes. The remotest of all, such as Cash Force, Fordingdale Force and Bleaberry Force, cross miles of rough moorland with no marked path.
Thornthwaite Force, by contrast, is a gentle riverside fall in the Lowther valley. Choose the walk to match your children's legs and the weather, pack proper boots, and treat the wilder falls with respect.
Here are eight family waterfalls to seek out in Cumbria (Lake District).
Dungeon Ghyll
Photo: Maigheach-gheal via Geograph.org.uk
Dungeon Ghyll Force is hidden in a deep rock cleft in Great Langdale, below the Langdale Pikes. The beck drops into a dark, narrow chasm crossed above by a boulder jammed between the walls like a natural bridge.
It lies on the fellside above the New Dungeon Ghyll hotel, reached on the path climbing toward the Pikes, so this is one for families happy to walk uphill rather than a roadside stop. Wordsworth wrote of a shepherd boy at the fall in one of his poems.
Take care near the edges of the cleft, and seek it out on the climb into the fells.
Scale Force Waterfall
Photo: Trevor Harris via Geograph.org.uk
Scale Force Waterfall is a tall, slender fall dropping through a narrow, mossy, tree-lined cleft in the fells near Buttermere, generally reckoned the highest waterfall in the district at around 170 feet. Wordsworth described it as a fine chasm with a lofty, slender fall of water.
It is reached on a walk of a couple of miles from Buttermere village, on a path that can be wet and boggy, over ground below Red Pike on National Trust land. The main leap is followed by smaller cascades below.
This is one for families happy to walk in and out; wear boots and pick a drier spell. Seek it out on a clear day.
Whorneyside Force
Photo: Michael Graham via Geograph.org.uk
Whorneyside Force is a clean fall of around twelve metres that drops into a deep, rock-walled plunge pool at the head of Great Langdale, in the side valley of Oxendale. It sits below Crinkle Crags and Bowfell, on the walking route up to that horseshoe of fells.
The way there runs from the National Trust car park at Old Dungeon Ghyll, along the valley track past Stool End farm and up beside the beck, a few miles there and back, so this is one for families happy to walk. The pool is used for wild swimming in warm, settled weather.
Seek it out after a dry, sunny spell.
Cash Force
Photo: David Brown via Geograph.org.uk
Cash Force is a waterfall on the Cash Burn, high in the North Pennines on the northern slopes of Cross Fell. It lies out in remote open moorland near Garrigill, with no marked path leading to it.
Reaching it means crossing several miles of rough ground, tussock, heather and bog, so this is strictly one for families with older children and a taste for wild walking. The fall drops over a band of hard rock in a fold of otherwise empty hill country.
Take map, compass and proper boots, and seek it out only in good conditions.
Thornthwaite Force
Photo: Philip Halling via Geograph.org.uk
Thornthwaite Force is a waterfall in the wooded Lowther valley in the eastern Lake District, near the villages of Bampton and Burnbanks, below the dam of Haweswater reservoir. The water drops in a rocky cascade on Haweswater Beck, which becomes the River Lowther a little way downstream, in a quiet, tree-lined stretch of valley.
It is passed on riverside walks and on the long-distance Coast to Coast route, a modest fall in gentle country rather than a set attraction, with no facilities. This is a good gentler option for families, and it runs fuller after rain and after water is let down from the reservoir above.
Seek it out on a riverside stroll.
Fordingdale Force
Photo: Michael Graham via Geograph.org.uk
Fordingdale Force is a waterfall on Measand Beck, in the Fordingdale Bottom above the head of Haweswater. It lies in open, rocky upland on the walkers' ground between Patterdale and Haweswater, a genuinely obscure fall little written about beyond its name and position on the map.
The surrounding country is bare fellside of outcrop and scree, so this is one for families happy with a long, wild walk rather than an easy visit. Bring map and boots, allow plenty of time, and seek it out on a settled day.
Bleaberry Force
Photo: Colin Gregory via Geograph.org.uk
Bleaberry Force is an obscure moorland waterfall in the eastern hills of Cumbria, on Bleaberry Beck below the summit of Nine Standards Rigg. The beck comes down off high, boggy moorland and drops over rock here before joining another stream to form the River Belah.
Very little is recorded about it, and there is no path or signpost; it sits out on open, empty upland well away from any road. What is here is simply the water falling over dark rock in a wide, lonely landscape of grass and peat.
It is a place for hill walkers crossing the moors, so save it for families used to long days out. Seek it out with map in hand.
Ashgill Force
Photo: Mike Quinn via Geograph.org.uk
Ashgill Force drops around seventeen metres over a wide rock shelf in the high country of the North Pennines, near Garrigill above Alston. Its best feature is the ledge behind the water: the fall pours clear of an overhang, and you can stand in the space behind it and look out through the curtain of water.
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 scattered with the ruins of old lead mines.
It is a short walk in from the road and a friendly one for families. Seek it out and look for dippers on the wet rocks.
FAQs
Are these Cumbria waterfalls suitable for young children?
Some are, and some are not. Ashgill Force is a short walk in from the road, and Thornthwaite Force is a gentle riverside fall. Others, such as Cash Force and Bleaberry Force, cross miles of rough moorland and are better kept for older children.
Which family waterfalls in the Lake District are easiest to reach?
Ashgill Force is the easiest, only a short walk from the road with a footbridge. Thornthwaite Force sits on quiet riverside walks. The rest involve longer or rougher walks over fell and moor, so plan according to your party.
What should families take on these waterfall walks?
Proper boots and waterproofs are essential for most of these falls, and a map and compass for the remoter ones like Cash Force and Fordingdale Force. Keep children well back from wet rock and steep edges, and check the weather before setting out.
Conclusion
Cumbria's family waterfalls span a wide range, from the easy step in to Ashgill Force to the long moorland treks that reach Cash Force, Fordingdale Force and Bleaberry Force. The trick is to match the walk to the ages and legs in your party.
Younger children will do well at gentler spots like Thornthwaite Force, while Scale Force, Whorneyside Force and Dungeon Ghyll suit families happy to put in a proper walk on rough or rising ground. Wherever you go, pack boots and waterproofs, keep well back from wet rock and steep edges, and let the weather guide your choice.
Treat the wilder falls with the respect they deserve and they will repay you with real Lakeland scenery: these are the family waterfalls to seek out in Cumbria (Lake District).
