Top Waterfalls Day Trips from Leeds
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The top Waterfalls Day Trips from Leeds include Goit Stock Waterfall, Ogden Waterfalls, Folly Dolly Falls, Lumb Hole Falls, Valley of Desolation Waterfall, Wessenden Head, Blea Gill Waterfall and Linton Falls.
Leeds may sit in the middle of West Yorkshire, but the surrounding hills and dales are threaded with falling water, and a short drive in almost any direction leads to a good one. Head west toward Bingley and you reach Goit Stock, hidden in ancient woodland on Harden Beck, while the reservoir and feeder stream at Ogden Water lie a little further on above Halifax.
Down toward Meltham, Folly Dolly Falls slips over a reddened sandstone fault, and over past Hebden Bridge the packhorse bridge above Lumb Hole Falls makes a picture. Swing northwest instead and Wharfedale opens up: the cascades of the Valley of Desolation on the Bolton Abbey estate, and the limestone rush of Linton Falls near Grassington.
For wilder ground, Wessenden Head sits high above Marsden on the Peak District edge, and lonely Blea Gill hides out on the moors below Great Whernside. Whether you want an easy woodland stroll or a proper moorland walk, there is plenty to choose from.
Here are eight waterfalls for a day trip from Leeds.
Goit Stock Waterfall
Photo: habiloid via Geograph.org.uk
Goit Stock Waterfall drops around twenty feet on Harden Beck, within the ancient woodland of Goitstock Wood near Harden, just west of Bingley in West Yorkshire. The fall spills into a plunge pool among the trees, reached only on foot by a walk of about a mile through the wood, with no parking inside it.
Local people look after this stretch of woodland, which has been up for sale in recent years. Swimming in the pool is not allowed and has proved dangerous, so it is best enjoyed from the bank as part of a quiet woodland ramble.
Ogden Waterfalls
Photo: Gordon Hatton via Geograph.org.uk
Ogden Waterfalls sit at Ogden Water, a Victorian reservoir ringed by woodland and moorland about five miles north of Halifax in West Yorkshire. This country park and nature reserve has a small waterfall on one of its feeder streams, and an easy path of roughly a mile and a half loops around the water, through conifer and broadleaf woodland, past a dam and a car park with open Pennine views beyond.
It is a well-used spot for family walks, dog-walking and wildlife. The falls run on a stream above the reservoir and are at their liveliest after rain.
Folly Dolly Falls
Photo: habiloid via Geograph.org.uk
Folly Dolly Falls Iron has stained the rock red along the line of a sandstone fault here, where softer shale meets harder stone and the water spills over joints and ledges on its way down. This small waterfall lies about half a mile from Meltham in West Yorkshire, off the old railway path now called the Meltham Greenway.
It stands on private ground, reached by steep steps and a short way up the stream, and trees have closed in around it over the years, so it now stays out of sight of the old line. Easy to walk straight past without knowing.
Lumb Hole Falls
Photo: Humphrey Bolton via Geograph.org.uk
Lumb Hole Falls is a woodland waterfall on Crimsworth Dean Beck, a few miles north of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, where the beck drops into a plunge pool. A stone arched packhorse bridge crosses just above the fall, giving the classic view of the spot.
The pool is used for wild swimming, though the surrounding land is private and access has at times been limited. Reaching the falls means a scramble down, and they can also be seen from above.
Bluebells and wild garlic come out in the woods in spring, and the walk in follows lanes and paths from Hebden Bridge or nearby Hardcastle Crags.
Valley of Desolation Waterfall
Photo: Anthony Parkes via Geograph.org.uk
Valley of Desolation Waterfall The grim name is a leftover from 1826, when a violent storm ripped this valley apart, though you would never guess it from the green, gentle scene today. Posforth Gill tumbles down through the wooded ground of the Bolton Abbey estate in Wharfedale, breaking into a run of small waterfalls and cascades.
A footpath climbs past them and keeps going, out onto the open moor of Barden Fell and up toward Simon's Seat at 485 metres, so a short stroll can become a proper hill walk. The estate charges for parking, and dogs are not allowed in this corner of it.
Wessenden Head
Photo: George Tod via Geograph.org.uk
Wessenden Head is the moorland head of the Wessenden valley, on the A635 above Marsden in West Yorkshire, at the edge of the Peak District. It is a well-used starting point for walks, with a track dropping down the valley past a chain of four reservoirs toward Marsden and the Pennine Way running along the tops.
A small waterfall on the brook below the reservoirs is a feature along the way. The land forms part of the National Trust's Marsden Moor estate, so it makes a fine focus for a longer moorland walk out of Marsden.
Blea Gill Waterfall
Photo: Richard Spencer via Geograph.org.uk
Blea Gill Waterfall is a little-known fall on the high moors above Grimwith, on the flanks of Great Whernside in the Yorkshire Dales. It lies out on rough grouse moor, on a gill draining the high ground, in a spot that sees very few visitors and has almost nothing written about it.
The surrounding ground is open heather moorland, wild and empty, and the fall is awkward to reach, tucked away on land that is not easy to cross. What waits here is the beck dropping over dark rock in a lonely upland setting, with the long swell of the moors all around.
Linton Falls
Photo: Ian S via Geograph.org.uk
Linton Falls puts a footbridge directly over the roar, so you stand above limestone cascades that run loud and full after rain, a pair of weirs at their side. The falls step down the Craven Fault, where an ancient shift in the rock left the limestone to the north standing higher than the ground to the south.
On the Wharfe between Grassington and Linton village, they are barely five minutes' walk below Grassington's main car park. Beside the water sits a small hydro plant, first built in 1909 and turning again since 2012, among traces of old mills.
Little Emily's Bridge, a stone packhorse crossing over Linton Beck, lies a short stroll away.
FAQs
How far are these waterfalls from Leeds?
The nearest, Goit Stock near Bingley and Ogden Water above Halifax, lie roughly 22 to 25 kilometres west of Leeds. Others, such as Linton Falls at Grassington and Blea Gill below Great Whernside, sit around 40 kilometres out in the Yorkshire Dales, still an easy day trip.
Which of these falls is easiest to reach?
Ogden Water, north of Halifax, is among the gentlest, with an easy looped path of about a mile and a half and a car park on site. Linton Falls is also simple, just a five-minute walk down from Grassington's main car park in the Dales.
Are the waterfalls good for wild swimming?
Some pools near Leeds, such as Lumb Hole Falls above Hebden Bridge, are used by wild swimmers, but access can be limited and conditions vary. At Goit Stock near Bingley swimming is not allowed and has proved dangerous, so always check locally first.
Conclusion
For a city so firmly rooted in West Yorkshire, Leeds is spoiled for waterfall walks. In under an hour you can be watching the Wharfe pour over Linton Falls near Grassington, wandering the wooded pool at Goit Stock, or looping the easy path around Ogden Water above Halifax.
Some of these outings suit a gentle family stroll, while others, like remote Blea Gill on the moors below Great Whernside or windy Wessenden Head above Marsden, ask for boots and a map. Most of the becks run at their best after rain, so check the forecast and pick your day.
Whether you fancy the woods around Hebden Bridge, the cascades of the Bolton Abbey estate or the limestone dales further north, these are the waterfalls for a day trip from Leeds.
