Walk Summary
An opportunity to leave your rucksacks in the car with three out-and-back routes using Bowlees Visitors Centre's carpark as the hub. Walk a stretch of the Pennine Way, along the south side of the River Tees, and get dramatic views of Low Force and High Force. Take a 20 minute out-and-back stroll to see the hidden delights of Summerhill Force and Gibson's Cave. For those with excess energy, walk through pleasant woodland and over Hare Hill to see an 'unnamed' waterfall.
Click on the above map for an interactive map of the route. The Trails Map (dropdown, top right) is the best free map for displaying footpaths and topography. Expand to full screen (cross arrows, top right) to see route detail. Ordnance Survey maps can be used with a small subscription to Plotaroute.
GPX Download - Download a GPX file of the route to your phone or GPS.
Plotaroute Map - Full page interactive map. Additional download options are also available.
Map/Directions PDF - PDF file with a map and directions.
Date: 17/05/2024
Length: 6.487 miles
Height Gain: 232 m
Terrain: Stone Tracks, Grassy Tracks, Woodland Trails, Steps, Lightly Used Roads.
Navigation: Map and compass. The High/Low Force and the Summerhill Force/Gibson Cave routes are well signed. The 'Unnamed Waterfall' route has adequate signage.
Start: Bowlees Visitors Centre Carpark (honesty box)
Route: Bowlees Visitors Centre Carpark, Low Force, High Force, Low Force, BVC Carpark, Hare Hill, 'Unnamed Waterfall', Hare Hill, BVC Carpark, Summerhill Force/Gibson's Cave
Map: OL31 - North Pennines - Teesdale & Weardale, OL19 - Howgill Fells & Upper Eden Valley
Weather: Grey with outbreaks of mizzle.
Walkers: Nun, Kapitan and Cabin Boy
Captain's Log
Questions
'Have you time to answer some questions?' A remarkable question. Not because of the nature of the question, but because it was perfectly spoken by a foreign teenage girl. When I was her age, I was struggling to wrap my Yorkshire accent around basic French phrases that I'd memorised. She was supported by half a dozen other youngsters who had cornered me as I was putting on my boots. I had time, off course, and I was prepared to give that time to them too. When I asked where they were from, she told me that it was from Germany. 'I'm from France' piped in one young lad; I'm not sure how he'd managed to tag along with the group. Their questionnaire only consisted of four questions, based around our experience of the area. I guess its main purpose was to get them speaking English, although it was quite evident they were good enough already. 'How would your experience of this area from 1 to 10, with 1 being bad and 10 being good?' Since they'd seen that I'd only just arrived, I'm not they were ever going to get a fair answer to the question. Although, I'd been to this carpark and the area a few times before, and so I had no hesitation giving it a 10.
The area in question was the River Tees, near High Force in County Durham. The weather forecast had not been good for today and so I'd suggested to the Kapitan and the Cabin Boy that we make the hour's drive from our base in Bainbridge in the Dales, into County Durham to see how much water was flowing over High Force and Low Force. It would be a low level walk and so we'd escape any inclement weather higher up. They'd never seen the waterfalls before (well, except on tv) and so they agreed.
'Hey, have you read Animal Farm? Cracking book.'
Low Force
Bridge Over The River Tees
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.
Interesting Drop From The Top Of High Force
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.
High Force
The Converging Of The Becks Into One
'Unnamed Waterfall'
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.
Summerhill Force And Gibson's Cave
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.
Waterfall On The Way Up To Summerhill Force
Stone Sheep Near Low Force
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.