cockermouth logo
Scale Force

Crummock Water
Buttermere
Grid Ref: NY 150171

Scale Force is the highest waterfall in the Lake District, with a single drop of 170 ft, and two others of about 20 ft.

It is hidden away in a deep tree-lined gorge on the way from Crummock Waterto Red Pike on land owned by the National Trust.

William Wordsworth described it as “a fine chasm, with a lofty , though but slender, fall of water”.

The force is a spectacular site even after dry periods, and has been an attraction from the earliest days of Lakeland tourism. From the Buttermere car park it is a distance of some 2.5 miles - there and back, needing about 2 hours.

The waterfall is on land owned by the National Trust.


Photo by Ann Bowker


Location map

Multimap map

Get directions on Google Maps :

Type your address or postcode: