Dungeon Ghyll Force
Getting there, parking, where to stay and the fells you can walk straight from Dungeon Ghyll Force.
Dungeon Ghyll Force at a glance
First, the name problem: in Great Langdale, "Dungeon Ghyll" mostly means two famous hotels — the Old and the New Dungeon Ghyll, the twin bases of Langdale walking. The waterfall they're both named for is neither of them: it's a fall often cited at around 40–60 ft, hidden in a genuinely dungeon-like slit of a ravine on the fellside above, where Dungeon Ghyll (the beck) drains the southern face of Harrison Stickle. It's the district's great hidden-in-plain-sight fall — thousands walk within a couple of hundred metres of it every day on the Stickle Tarn path and never know it's there. Wordsworth knew: it's the "dungeon-ghyll so foully rent" of The Idle Shepherd-Boys.
Quick facts
| What it is | A fall of ~40–60 ft (sources vary) in a deep, narrow ravine below the Langdale Pikes — NT land |
| Not to be confused with | The Old and New Dungeon Ghyll hotels below — the fall is up the ghyll they're named after |
| The walk | Short but rough: ~20–30 minutes up from the New Dungeon Ghyll, off the Stickle Tarn path |
| Can you swim? | No — an enclosed ravine pool; slippery, confined, and not a place to be after rain |
| Dogs | On leads — NT fellside with sheep; rough, steep ground |
| Pushchair / family | No — the viewing involves rough, slippery ground above and inside a ravine; older kids under close charge only |
| Getting there | NT car parks at the New or Old Dungeon Ghyll, Great Langdale; 516 bus from Ambleside |
| Best time | After rain for water; a dry spell for a safer scramble to the view |
| Above it | Harrison Stickle and Pike of Stickle — the Langdale Pikes |
Where is Dungeon Ghyll Force?
Dungeon Ghyll Force near Great Langdale, in the Lake District. Zoom and pan to explore — or see every Lake District waterfall on one map.
The walk in
From the New Dungeon Ghyll car park, take the well-made Stickle Ghyll path and, after the first climb, bear left on the path that contours toward Dungeon Ghyll itself — the ravine announces itself by sound before sight. The fall is perhaps 20–30 minutes up, but be clear about what "seeing it" means: the Force drops inside a narrow, sheer-sided cleft, and the full head-on view needs a careful pick down rough, wet ground into the ravine mouth — awkward boulders, slick rock, and no path to speak of. Many settle, sensibly, for the partial view from above. In or after heavy rain, stay out of the ravine entirely — the beck fills it fast.
When to go
The eternal waterfall trade-off is at its sharpest here: after rain the fall is at its best and the ravine at its most dangerous; in a dry spell the descent to the view is at its safest and the fall at its thinnest. If you must choose, a day or two after rain is the compromise. The ravine's ferns and mossy walls make it atmospheric even in modest flow — this is a place you visit for the chamber as much as the water.
The setting
Great Langdale needs no introduction — the most dramatic valley floor in the district, with the Langdale Pikes stacked above it like a stage set. The Force sits in the steep apron between valley and crag, one of three becks (with Stickle Ghyll and Mill Gill) that drain the Pikes' southern face. Our walked Langdale Pikes round climbs directly above it. The two hotels below have served walkers and climbers since the fell-walking Victorians — the Old DG's Hikers' Bar is a piece of mountaineering history in its own right.
The name & its story
"Dungeon" here is honest description: the ravine is a dark, sheer slot that swallows the light — a natural dungeon. William Wordsworth set The Idle Shepherd-Boys (1800) here, in which a lamb falls into the ghyll's pool and is rescued by the poet-figure while the boys play — his description of the ravine as a rent in the rock with the brook falling through it remains exactly right two centuries on. "Ghyll" is the walkers'-era respelling of gill, from Old Norse gil, a ravine — Wordsworth himself popularised the fancier spelling. The hotels took the ghyll's name in the nineteenth century, and the confusion has been faithful company ever since.
Family, dogs & accessibility
Treat this one as not a family waterfall: the worthwhile view involves rough, slippery, pathless ground at the mouth of a confined ravine with deep water and no easy escape upstream. Older, surefooted children under close charge can manage it in dry conditions; toddlers and pushchairs categorically not — take them to Stickle Ghyll's open cascades next door instead, or to Colwith Force down the valley. Dogs on leads (sheep everywhere, and the ravine is no place for a loose dog). Facilities at both hotels below.
The fells above
The fall drains the face of Harrison Stickle, with Pike of Stickle across the upper ghyll and Loft Crag directly above the ravine — all crossed by our walked Langdale Pikes round. Lingmoor Fell across the valley has the classic full-frontal view of the Pikes with the ghyll's slot visible in the fellside. More falls in the Lake District waterfalls guide.
Fells & walks near Dungeon Ghyll Force
Straight-line distances from the centre of Dungeon Ghyll Force — the nearest summits with a full guide on this site.
All walks from Dungeon Ghyll Force → — every route and fell within about 5 km, ranked, with today’s conditions.
Getting there & parking
Two National Trust car parks serve the spot: at the New Dungeon Ghyll (Stickle Ghyll, the closer one for the Force) and the Old Dungeon Ghyll half a mile up-valley — both pay & display, both full by mid-morning on any fine day, Langdale being Langdale. The 516 Langdale Rambler bus from Ambleside stops at both hotels, and is honestly the better plan in summer.
Events & festivals
Planning a trip around a show or festival? See our Lake District events & festivals guide for what's on near Dungeon Ghyll Force — traditional Lakeland sports, agricultural shows and seasonal events, month by month.
📚 Maps & guidebooks for Dungeon Ghyll Force
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