Aysgarth Falls

Aysgarth Falls lie in the Yorkshire Dales near the village of Aysgarth. The River Ure has carved three broad limestone steps over a stretch of almost two kilometres. Woodland and farmland surround the falls, which become dramatic after heavy rain when thousands of gallons rush over the steps. The three stages are called Upper Force, Middle Force and Lower Force. The falls drop sixty-one metres in half a mile. For more than two centuries visitors have come to admire the scene. John Ruskin, J. M. W. Turner and William Wordsworth praised its beauty in writing. The falls formed when Ice Age meltwater broke through a terminal moraine and wore away the boulder clay and limestone. The site lies inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Nearby St Andrew’s Church holds a medieval painted screen rescued from Jervaulx Abbey. Public footpaths wind through the wooded valley and offer views of the river and falls. In spring snowdrops appear in January and February, followed by primroses in April and bluebells in May. Birds, squirrels and deer are often seen, and salmon may leap up the falls in autumn. The name Aysgarth comes from Old Norse and means the open space in the oak trees.