Hardraw Force, about 1.5 kilometres north of Hawes in the hamlet of Hardraw, is the highest single-drop waterfall in England above ground, with a 30-metre plunge into a gorge of limestone and shale. To reach it, you walk through the Green Dragon Inn — the landowner charges a small access fee, usually collected at the pub — and follow a short path through a wooded gorge to the base of the fall.
The setting is dramatic in a way that the modest walk does not prepare you for: the fall drops into a natural amphitheatre of curved dark rock, with a ledge that allows you to walk behind the curtain of water. In winter, the fall sometimes freezes partially, creating curtains and pillars of ice that attract climbers. The gorge is atmospheric in any weather — the shade and spray make it refreshingly cool in summer and moody and remote-feeling even when the surrounding dale is crowded with visitors.
Access through the Green Dragon Inn, Hardraw.