Hardraw Force

Hardraw Force stands in a wooded ravine called Hardraw Scar, just north of the hamlet of Hardraw and 1.5 kilometres from the town of Hawes in Wensleydale. The Pennine Way long-distance footpath passes close by. A single drop of thirty metres makes it England’s highest unbroken waterfall. The river bed and plunge pool are shale, topped by sandstone and carboniferous limestone. The falls lie on private land but public access is allowed through a turnstile behind the Green Dragon Inn. The waterfall has drawn notable visitors over centuries. J. M. W. Turner and William Wordsworth both stayed at the Green Dragon Inn and painted or wrote about the scene. In 1991 the falls appeared in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves as the place where Maid Marian finds Robin bathing. Since the 1880s the annual Hardraw Scar Brass Band Contest has been held here every September, drawing bands from across the North of England. Visitors walk through the ravine to reach the falls. The limestone gorge forms a natural amphitheatre and the path runs alongside the Pennine Way. Metal stakes now hold the lip of the waterfall after a great flood in 1899 damaged it. The Green Dragon Inn hosts folk-music events such as the Hardraw Summer Gathering and traditional sessions in 2023.