Stock Ghyll Force is a waterfall of about twenty metres in a wooded ravine directly behind Ambleside, eight kilometres north of Windermere. What makes it exceptional is not the height — the Lake District has bigger falls — but the access: it is a fifteen-minute walk from the middle of a town on a made path, and at the end of it the water comes down a rock step in two channels into a dark pool with trees closing overhead.
For effort against reward it is the best waterfall in the Lake District.
Stock Ghyll rises on Red Screes above Kirkstone Pass and runs about six kilometres down through Ambleside to join the River Rothay. The name is Old English stocc, a tree trunk, and Old Norse gil, a deep glen — which is a fair description of what you walk into.
The beck did the work that made Ambleside. Its fall powered a series of mills — corn, bobbin, fulling — and the town grew around them. Bridge House, the tiny two-room building straddling the beck in the middle of Ambleside and one of the most photographed structures in the Lakes, sits on the same water.
The falls have been a tourist attraction since the eighteenth century, and were painted by Turner and Ruskin among others. The Victorians laid out the paths and railings you still use.
From the middle of Ambleside, the lane climbs beside the Salutation Hotel and up Stock Ghyll Lane. Look for the small signpost — the path is entered through a gate on the left, and visitors regularly walk past it.
From there a path climbs through woodland beside the beck, with viewing points, footbridges and a circular route that takes you above the fall and back down the other side.
Time: fifteen to twenty minutes up, about forty-five minutes for the full circuit.
Surface: a made path, but with tree roots, loose stone and old iron stanchions from the Victorian steps in places. It is slippery when wet and it is not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs.
There are benches along the way and it is comfortably within reach of most people who can manage a steady uphill walk.
After rain. This is the essential point about any Lake District waterfall: Stock Ghyll in spate is a genuinely powerful thing, and in a dry August it is a trickle over a rock. Rain the day before is the difference.
Spring for the bluebells and wild garlic in the ravine. Autumn for the colour. Winter for full water and, occasionally, ice on the rocks.
Early morning for the falls to yourself — Ambleside is busy, and so is this path by eleven o’clock.
On foot from Ambleside: the start is a five-minute walk from the town centre.
From Windermere: the 555 and 599 buses run to Ambleside in about fifteen minutes, or Windermere Lake Cruises land at Waterhead, a kilometre from the town centre — arriving by boat and walking up to the falls is the most enjoyable version of the trip.
By car: park in Ambleside; there is limited roadside parking on Stock Ghyll Lane and it is not worth the aggravation.
Ambleside itself, with the Bridge House, the Roman fort at Waterhead and an unreasonable number of outdoor shops. Rydal and Grasmere are up the road for Wordsworth. And Wansfell Pike, the fell above the town, starts from the same lane and is the usual first fell from Windermere.
Fifteen to twenty minutes each way from the middle of Ambleside, or about forty-five minutes for the circular route.
Yes. It is open access at all times with no charge.
No. It is a made path but with roots, loose stone and steps, and it is slippery when wet.
After rain. In a dry spell it reduces to a trickle; a day of rain transforms it.
Take Stock Ghyll Lane uphill from the middle of Ambleside past the Salutation Hotel, and look for a small signpost and gate on the left. It is easy to walk past.