Scale Force

Scale Force is the highest waterfall in the English Lake District, with a height of about 52 metres. It sits on Scale Beck, a stream that tumbles down a steep gorge. The waterfall lies on the northern side of Red Pike, a fell near Crummock Water and the village of Buttermere.

Wordsworth called it a fine chasm with a lofty fall of water. Coleridge described the white downfall glimmering through the trees like hair over a madman’s eyes. Letitia Elizabeth Landon wrote that it sweeps down the mountain side with the sound of thunder.

Visitors follow a path from the shore of Crummock Water to reach the gorge. The walk winds through woodland before opening onto the waterfall’s base. A wooden bridge crosses the stream just above the fall, offering a close view of the rushing water. The surrounding fells rise steeply, framing the scene with rugged slopes.