Top Waterfalls Day Trips from Lancaster
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The top Waterfalls Day Trips from Lancaster include White Spout, Lower Leck Beck, Thornton Force Waterfall, Short Gill Waterfall, Flinter Gill, Gastack Beck Waterfall, Stainforth Force and Force Gill.
Lancaster sits within easy reach of some of the finest waterfall country in the north of England, and a day trip in almost any easterly direction turns up something worth the drive. Closest of all is White Spout, a lonely moorland fall in Littledale on the fringe of the Forest of Bowland, just a few miles out of the city.
Push a little further east and the limestone dales open up: Lower Leck Beck below Leck Fell, the celebrated Thornton Force on the Ingleton trail, and the hidden ravines of Short Gill in Barbondale. Around the village of Dent you will find Flinter Gill tumbling into Dentdale and Gastack Beck dropping beside a quiet Deepdale lane.
Over toward Settle, Stainforth Force steps down the River Ribble by an old packhorse bridge, while Force Gill pours off the flank of Whernside near the Ribblehead Viaduct. Each one makes a rewarding outing, whether you fancy a gentle riverside stroll or a proper walk across open fell.
Here are eight waterfalls for a day trip from Lancaster.
White Spout
Photo: Tom Richardson via Geograph.org.uk
White Spout is a small moorland waterfall tucked into upper Littledale, on the edge of the Forest of Bowland and only a few miles east of Lancaster. It drops on a minor stream called Whitespout Gutter, part of the high grazing land that drains down through Udale Beck and Artle Beck.
Remote and unspoilt, it has no signposts and no facilities, and reaching it means walking across rough open ground on the Littledale circuit. The finest view comes from beside the beck, where the path crosses near the old shooting butts.
It is a quiet spot for anyone happy to seek it out.
Lower Leck Beck
Photo: N Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
Lower Leck Beck sinks clean out of sight, its water dropping underground through the rocks of Ease Gill and welling up again lower down at Leck Beck Head, part of the longest cave system in the country. This is karst, all limestone and hollows, where Lancashire meets Cumbria on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales below Leck Fell.
The star of the surface is Ease Gill Kirk, a steep-sided gorge of leaning rock walls and gaping cave mouths, reached on a long circular walk out of Leck village. Mind the upland shafts, which are fenced off along the way.
Thornton Force Waterfall
Photo: Kevin Rushton via Geograph.org.uk
Thornton Force is a wide waterfall on the River Twiss and the high point of the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail in the Yorkshire Dales, where the river pours over a lip of limestone into the pool below. You can walk right under the overhanging rock.
Its real interest lies in the geology exposed in the cliff behind: level beds of limestone sit straight on top of much older, tilted slates, with a gap of hundreds of millions of years between them, a classic example of what geologists call an unconformity. It is reached on the paid circular trail from Ingleton, which links a whole string of falls.
Short Gill Waterfall
Photo: Michael Graham via Geograph.org.uk
Short Gill is a small stream that runs down through a narrow limestone gorge in Barbondale, on the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales and south-west of the village of Dent in Cumbria. The gill drops in a series of cascades through the ravine, whose near-vertical beds of limestone follow a great geological fault that once marked an old county boundary.
Below ground the same stream has carved a cave system known to cavers, while above it the dale is a steep-sided glacial valley of open fell. This is a wild, off-the-beaten-track spot, reached only on foot.
Flinter Gill
Photo: Karl and Ali via Geograph.org.uk
Flinter Gill An old, gnarled Wishing Tree stands beside the track here, wrapped up in a local tradition of circling it for luck. The track is the Flintergill Outrake, a rough cobbled way that climbs a steep, wooded ravine dropping into the village of Dent in Dentdale.
Beside it the beck runs down over rock steps and small cascades through the gorge, past flat slabs known as the Dancing Flags. Climb higher and the trail reaches a viewpoint looking out over Dentdale, a fine reward at the top.
It packs a lot of character into a short walk from the village.
Gastack Beck Waterfall
Photo: John H Darch via Geograph.org.uk
Gastack Beck Waterfall drops right beside the lane in Deepdale, near the village of Dent in the Yorkshire Dales, at the point where the road crosses the beck. The water comes down a rock face in tiers, close enough to see from a small layby by the crossing.
There is no path to it, and the rocks at the base are slippery underfoot. It is an obscure roadside fall in a quiet dale, easy to pair with a visit to Dent or a longer wander deeper into Deepdale.
Bring sturdy footwear if you plan to get close.
Stainforth Force
Photo: John S Turner via Geograph.org.uk
Stainforth Force is a set of stepped limestone waterfalls on the River Ribble just below the village of Stainforth, north of Settle in the Yorkshire Dales. The river drops over rock ledges into a large pool beside an old stone packhorse bridge of the seventeenth century, now cared for by the National Trust.
In autumn, salmon and sea trout can be watched leaping up the falls on their way to spawn upstream, and the pool below is a well-loved wild swimming spot, though it turns dangerous in spate. It is reached on a short walk from a car park in the village, under the road and across the railway.
Force Gill
Photo: Peter McDermott via Geograph.org.uk
Force Gill is a waterfall on the flanks of Whernside, about a mile and a half north of the Ribblehead Viaduct in the Yorkshire Dales. The beck drops through a small gorge and is at its most forceful after heavy rain, sitting right on the popular walking route up Whernside.
Close by, the beck is carried over the top of the Settle to Carlisle railway on an aqueduct, near the mouth of the long Blea Moor Tunnel, where a bridleway crosses. It rounds off the day in open fell country below the mountain, a good pairing with a look at the viaduct.
FAQs
How far are these waterfalls from Lancaster?
The closest, White Spout in Littledale, lies only about ten kilometres east of Lancaster on the edge of the Forest of Bowland. Most of the others sit in the Yorkshire Dales around Ingleton, Dent and Settle, roughly 25 to 35 kilometres out, comfortably within a day's drive.
Which waterfall near Lancaster is best for families?
Thornton Force on the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail is a great choice, since the paid circular route from Ingleton is well made and takes in a whole string of falls. Stainforth Force, north of Settle, is another easy option, reached on a short walk from the village car park.
When is the best time to visit?
Many of these falls, including Force Gill on Whernside and Gastack Beck near Dent, run hardest after heavy rain, so autumn and winter can be dramatic. Visit Stainforth Force in autumn and you may catch salmon and sea trout leaping the ledges on the River Ribble.
Conclusion
Few cities are as well placed as Lancaster for a waterfall hunt. Within an hour or so you can be standing beneath the overhang at Thornton Force, watching salmon leap at Stainforth Force, or picking your way to the lonely drop of White Spout above Littledale.
Some of these falls sit beside quiet lanes and gentle riverside paths, while others reward a longer walk out across open moor and fell, so there is something to suit every sort of day and every level of energy. Pack decent boots, check the weather, and remember that many of these becks are at their best after rain.
Whether you head into Bowland, up into Dentdale or across toward Settle and Ribblehead, these are the waterfalls for a day trip from Lancaster.
