Colwith Force

The walk in

The classic approach is the Elterwater and Skelwith Force walk Planned extended up the river: from Skelwith Bridge, follow the Cumbria Way upstream for about 1.5 miles, climbing gently away from the river through fields and into the NT's Colwith woods, where a signed path drops to viewing spots below the falls. It's about 40–50 minutes each way at an easy pace, on paths that are rooty, muddy and stepped in the woodland section — good boots weather most of the year.

The short cut: from the narrow lane at Colwith Bridge (the Skelwith–Little Langdale road), a signed woodland path reaches the falls in about 5 minutes. Parking there is one small lay-by — treat the walk from Skelwith Bridge as the honest plan and the short path as the bonus if you strike lucky.

When to go

After rain the upper tier is a proper white plume and the gorge fills with noise; in a dry week it thins to an elegant trickle. The oak canopy gives some shelter from the wind, though not from the wet: the woodland path is rooty, muddy and stepped. It is atmospheric in mist and colourful in autumn. Mornings are quietest; the Cumbria Way brings a steady trickle of walkers through the middle of the day.

The setting

The River Brathay drains Little Langdale Tarn and slides east through a soft, wooded in-between country of farms, coppice and old quarry workings — Cathedral Quarry's caverns are just up the valley, and Slater Bridge, a lovely packhorse bridge, crosses the river above. Colwith Force is the moment the Brathay drops off Little Langdale's shelf toward Elterwater's flat valley floor. It's an intimate, closed-in fall — no big-sky drama, all moss, spray and oak — and the contrast with open, sociable Skelwith downstream is exactly what makes the pair worth doing together.

The name & its story

"Force" is the Old Norse fors, a waterfall — the word the Norse settlers left on almost every big fall in the district. Colwith is usually read as another Norse survival — commonly interpreted as "charcoal wood" (from viðr, wood), a memory of the charcoal-burning that once worked these coppices — though as with most Lakeland names, readings vary. The woods still carry the feel of a worked landscape: this was quarry and coppice country long before it was anyone's beauty spot.

Family, dogs & accessibility

A good family short walk — real waterfall, real woods, modest effort — but keep children in hand at the viewing areas: the paths stand above a steep-sided gorge with unfenced drops, and wet roots and rock are slippery. Not suitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs on any approach. Dogs on leads — NT woodland with stock in the approach fields. No facilities at the falls; the café and toilets at Skelwith Bridge are the nearest.

The fells above

Lingmoor Fell rises directly north of the falls between the two Langdales — its traverse looks straight down this valley. The gentler wooded knolls of Black Fell and Holme Fell stand just south, both covered on our walked Holme Fell and Black Fell route Walked June 2023. For the wider picture of Lakeland's falls, see the Lake District waterfalls guide.

Getting there & parking

Without a car: The nearest stations as the crow flies are Windermere (10 km away) and Staveley (15 km away). The bus map has every stop we hold.

Best plan: park at Silverthwaite (paid, between Elterwater and Skelwith Bridge) or Elterwater (NT pay & display) and walk in via the Cumbria Way — the 516 Langdale bus serves Skelwith Bridge and Elterwater from Ambleside, making this an easy car-free waterfall. By Colwith Bridge there is one small lay-by on the lane; don't force a park there on a busy day — the walk from Skelwith Bridge is half the pleasure anyway.

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat