Low Force

We'd parked in the Bowlee's Visitors Centre carpark. My planned walk turned into a three spoked affair with the carpark being the hub of the operation. We could quite easily have left our rucksacks in the car and just got snacks and drinks  when we returned from each spoke of the route. Our first spoke was an out-and-back up to High Force along the River Tees. 

The river was a 10 minute walk from the carpark. On the way, we came across a field containing two pigs. They both trotted across to us and started snorting. A foul smell materialised and I wasn't sure whether it was the pigs or that I'd stood too close to the Kapitan. I presume it was the pigs since the stink dissipated when we walked away from the field. After a short walk through the wooded area, we got to Low Force. Depending on how much water is coming down the River Tees, I can find Low Force just as impressive than High Force. You get a clearer and closer view of Low Force than you do of High Force, at least from viewpoints on the south side of the river. There was plenty of water coming down today and Low Force looked spectacular. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten my cameras and so I had to make do with my phone to snap the photos for this trip.

After a thorough review of the falls, we crossed the 'one person at  a time' suspension bridge to the south side of the river and joined the Pennine Way. We followed the national trail westwards.

High Force

It is possible to get a much closer and better view of High Force from the north side of the river. Ideally, this means parking at the High Force Waterfall carpark, where it seems that a significant number of people have given it a 'Terrible' rating on Tripadvisor. That's a rating for the carpark and not the view of High Force. It seems the carpark's licence plate recognition software isn't that accurate and some people have been left with hefty parking fines. That viewpoint on the north side is really to service potterers anyway. The south side of the river is the territory of the stalwarts stomping along the Pennine Way. We found some of these stalwarts at the south side viewpoint of High Force. They were a group of teenage girls and looked to have heavy rucksacks. They were doing a bit of faffing before continuing on their journey. One of the girls sat on a rock and looked as though she didn't want to move. Eventually, they sorted themselves out and vacated the area which enabled us to get a better view of High Force. And what a view! There was plenty of water tumbling down it. The Kapitan and Cabin Boy were impressed. We went further along the Pennine Way to the top of the falls themselves. The Cabin Boy stood well back as the water roared across the top. We had our lunch a little distance upstream of the falls. A Dipper carried out its squats on a rock. We'd seen quite a few Dipper's around in the Dales; they seem to be doing well this year. After lunch we made our way back to the Bowlees carpark.

Waterfall With No Name

I'd noticed 'waterfall' marked on the OS map, north of Gibson's Cave (which we'd see later on). I decided that if it was good enough for the OS to label, then it was probably worth seeing. We set off from Bowlees carpark on a trail that ascended through woodland to the west of Bow Lee Beck. It was pleasant walking with squirrels and rabbits our only company. It got a little boggier further up the trail, but nothing serious. The track dumped us out of the woodland and on to Hare Hill and we had an extensive view of the hills around us. They all looked rather grey and bleak today. A little further northwards, we descended into a valley where Bow Lee Beck was formed from two merging becks. At the bottom of the valley, we crossed the first beck and had a look upstream at the second beck. There was quite a nice waterfall which I took to be the one labelled on the OS map. It was no High Force, but it was worth the journey to have a gander at it. We turned around and took the same route back to the carpark.

Gibson's Cave

Our final journey from our Bowlees carpark base was to follow the trail northwards, along the east side of Bow Lee Beck, to have a look at Gibson's Cave and Summerhill Force. The walk was along a well made trail and didn't take long. There were some nice cascades leading up to the cave and waterfall.  It was the first time I'd walked this trail and I was pleasantly surprised when I reached the viewpoint. I bet most people who park at Bowlees carpark dash across to Low Force and High Force (like me) and didn't even consider visiting Gibson's Cave and Summerhill Force (like me).  The cave is really the sides and back of the wallfall. An information board gave some information about the place. Apparently William Gibson was a 16th century likeable rogue who was on the run from the constables of Barnard Castle (interesting I thought the police service was a 19th century creation). The locals gave him food and dry clothing while he hid behind the waterfall from the Peelers (even though, they'd not be invented yet). I'd imagine that Gibson would have wanted a change of clothes every 10 minutes, if he had hid behind Summerhill Force. I think he'd have been better hiding in somebody's dry attic. A sheep remained static near the outflow from the falls. It didn't move as we walked past. It didn't appear injured and wasn't really trapped by us. Maybe it just liked looking at the waterfall too.

Return

We returned to the carpark for the last time. Given the grey conditions, we were lucky to have only suffered a slight mizzle. The recent rain had obviously dumped a lot of water, considering the state of the waterfalls. We didn't go in the café at the Bowlees Visitors Centre, but I'd been in there before and it is well worth a visit. Since the carpark is a hub for the three separate out-and-back routes for the waterfalls, the walk can be done in any order. High Force and Low Force are unmissable, so go and see them. If you aren't feeling that energetic, then the 20 minute trail to Summerhill Force and Gibson's Cave provides the best return for the effort. For those wanting to extend one's walking time, then the walk to the waterfall to the north Bow Lees Beck is worth doing as a leg stretcher.