Best Waterfalls in Northumberland
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best waterfalls in Northumberland are Jerry's Linn, Roughting Linn, Hethpool Linn, Linhope Spout Waterfall, Hareshaw Linn Waterfall, Wainhope Linn, Harthope Linn and Bells Linn.
Northumberland hides its waterfalls in the Cheviot Hills and the great forests of the border, quiet linns and spouts far from the crowds. The best known are Linhope Spout, a single sixty-foot drop into a deep pool in the Breamish valley, and Hareshaw Linn above Bellingham, reached up a wooded valley crossed by six footbridges.
The Cheviots hold more: Hethpool Linn in its rock gorge on the College Burn, and Harthope Linn high in its valley below the peak of Cheviot. In the border forests, Jerry's Linn drops among the conifers of Wark Forest, while Wainhope Linn and Bells Linn hide deep in Kielder country near the line between England and Scotland.
Near Ford, Roughting Linn pairs a ferny waterfall with the largest prehistoric carved rock in northern England. Some are gentle valley walks; others are genuinely obscure forest corners.
Here are eight waterfalls to seek out across Northumberland.
Jerry's Linn
Photo: Les Hull via Geograph.org.uk
Jerry's Linn is a small waterfall on the Chirdon Burn in Wark Forest, near Bellingham in Northumberland. The burn drops into a pool among conifer plantation, a few miles' walk from the nearest parking on the edge of the forest.
It is a genuinely obscure spot, little written about, with quiet forest country all around.
Roughting Linn
Photo: Jon Taylor via Geograph.org.uk
Roughting Linn, in the countryside near Ford in north Northumberland, brings together two quiet features a short walk apart. One is a small waterfall dropping into a pool in a secluded, ferny ravine on a wooded burn.
The other, close by, is a great domed outcrop of sandstone covered in prehistoric cup-and-ring carvings, thousands of years old and the largest such carved rock in northern England, with the banks of an ancient hillfort on the rise above. It is an out-of-the-way spot reached by a farm track and a footpath, with room for only a few cars.
Hethpool Linn
Photo: Andrew Curtis via Geograph.org.uk
Hethpool Linn is a small waterfall set in a short, narrow rock gorge on the College Burn, near the hamlet of Hethpool in the College Valley of the Cheviot Hills. The burn drops through a cleft in the rock into a dark, deep pool, with an old weir nearby.
A short, mostly level path from a car park at Hethpool follows the burn to it, muddy after rain. It is a quiet, out-of-the-way spot in the northern Cheviots.
Linhope Spout Waterfall
Photo: Derek Harper via Geograph.org.uk
Linhope Spout is a single-drop waterfall in the Breamish valley of the Cheviot Hills, within Northumberland National Park. Water falls about sixty feet down a rock face into a deep plunge pool set in a small wooded hollow, a well-liked spot for a picnic or a swim.
It is reached on foot from a car park past Ingram village, roughly a mile and a half of track each way, passing the little cluster of stone cottages at Linhope on the way. The pool is around sixteen feet deep and is known locally as bottomless.
Hareshaw Linn Waterfall
Photo: Andrew Curtis via Geograph.org.uk
Hareshaw Linn is a waterfall at the head of a wooded valley above Bellingham in Northumberland, where the burn drops around thirty feet into a rocky, enclosed hollow. The walk to it follows the burn up the valley from the town, crossing it on a series of six footbridges through old woodland.
The woods are rich in mosses, ferns and lichens, home to red squirrels and dippers. It is an out-and-back walk of a few miles to the falls and back.
Wainhope Linn
Photo: Michael Duckett via Geograph.org.uk
Wainhope Linn is a remote waterfall and mini-gorge deep within Northumberland's Kielder Forest, near the border between England and Scotland. It lies close to Wainhope, where a remote shelter is kept up by the Mountain Bothies Association.
It is a genuinely obscure spot in quiet, out-of-the-way forest country, little written about and reached only by heading well into the Kielder plantations.
Harthope Linn
Photo: Eileen Henderson via Geograph.org.uk
Harthope Linn is a secluded waterfall high in the Harthope Valley, deep in the Cheviot Hills, below the peaks of Cheviot and Hedgehope. The Harthope Burn drops into a plunge pool in a steep, mossy, fern-lined gorge, reached by a path up the valley from the parking at Langleeford.
A lower fall is often mistaken for the Linn, which lies a little further upstream. It stays quiet and little visited even in summer.
Bells Linn
Photo: Andrew Curtis via Geograph.org.uk
Bells Linn is a small waterfall on the Bells Burn, in the quiet border country between Liddesdale and the edge of Kielder Forest. It is a modest fall where the little burn drops over rock on its way down to join the headwaters of the North Tyne, tucked into rough, wooded ground near the line between Scotland and England.
Very little is written about it, and there is no marked path or grand approach; it is simply a minor fall in an out-of-the-way corner of forest and hill. A couple of other small falls lie further up the same burn.
FAQs
What is the most impressive waterfall in Northumberland?
Linhope Spout is the best known in Northumberland, a single drop of about sixty feet down a rock face into a deep plunge pool in the Breamish valley of the Cheviots, within Northumberland National Park. It is reached on a track of about a mile and a half from a car park past Ingram village.
Which Northumberland waterfall walk is best for families?
Hareshaw Linn, above Bellingham, makes the best family waterfall walk in Northumberland, a fine out-and-back of a few miles following the burn up its wooded valley and crossing it on six footbridges. The old woodland is rich in mosses and ferns and home to red squirrels and dippers.
Are there waterfalls in Northumberland's Kielder Forest?
Yes, though the waterfalls in Northumberland's Kielder Forest are remote. Jerry's Linn drops among the conifers of Wark Forest near Bellingham, while Wainhope Linn and Bells Linn hide deep in the Kielder country near the England and Scotland border, all obscure spots reached by heading well into the forest.
Conclusion
Northumberland's waterfalls belong to the hills and forests of the border, quiet linns for those who seek them. Linhope Spout drops sixty feet into its Breamish pool, Hareshaw Linn waits at the head of its wooded valley above Bellingham, and the Cheviots hold Hethpool Linn in its gorge and Harthope Linn high below the peak.
In the border forests, Jerry's Linn, Wainhope Linn and Bells Linn hide among the Kielder plantations near the Scottish line, while Roughting Linn near Ford pairs its fall with the largest prehistoric carved rock in northern England. Some are easy valley walks; others are remote and unsigned, so take a map into the forest country.
These are the waterfalls to seek out across Northumberland.
