The top bridge
Crossing the small bridge above the falls gives the best view of the stream splitting into two channels between the rocks before they rejoin.
Samantha Waddington — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Samantha Waddington — CC BY-SA 2.0 · John H Darch — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Steve Houldsworth — CC BY-SA 2.0
Ten minutes uphill from the cafés of Ambleside, a waterfall roughly 70 feet high roars through a narrow ravine hung with beech trees. This is Stock Ghyll Force, and for two and a half centuries it has been the standard sight of Ambleside: Thomas West's guide to the Lakes was recommending it by 1778, Turner and Ruskin both painted the ghyll, Keats stood in front of it in 1818 and wrote home about one fall darting down the slate rock like a rocket while another spread out like a fan, and Wordsworth called it one of the sights of the neighbourhood. Entry has long been free, though local accounts say the Victorians who laid out these wooded walks charged a few pence for them. The route is simple. A signed lane climbs from the market place past the old inns, then slips into a small wood where steps and a well-worn path take you up to railed viewing points, one below the falls and one above, before a small bridge crosses the top of the water and gives the best view of the stream splitting into two channels between the rocks and rejoining below. A full loop with photo stops takes twenty to forty-five minutes. Along the lane stand the stone mill buildings that this stream once turned, most of them now converted to other uses, which made bobbins for the Lancashire cotton trade. When to go? After rain, without question: the volume doubles and the ravine fills with the noise of it, whereas a dry week in August can leave a modest thread of water that underdelivers. In March and April the woodland floor at the foot of the falls is carpeted in daffodils, which is worth the visit on its own. The path is slippery, uneven and muddy in places and not suited to pushchairs or wheelchairs, but children from about five upwards manage it without fuss, provided they keep back from the edges, because the drop behind the railing is real. The honest verdict: this is not a destination in itself and not worth an hour's drive for its own sake. It is an excellent green interlude between Ambleside's shops and the shore of Windermere, and a good place to burn off small children before lunch. There is no dedicated car park; leave the car in one of the pay-and-display car parks in town, Rydal Road being the largest, and walk up, since Stockghyll Lane itself has almost nowhere to stop.
Crossing the small bridge above the falls gives the best view of the stream splitting into two channels between the rocks before they rejoin.
In early spring the woodland floor below the falls turns into a yellow carpet, the prettiest time to bring children here.
Thomas West's 1778 guide sent the first tourists up this lane, Keats followed in 1818, and the stone bobbin-mill buildings still line the way.
Stockghyll Lane, Ambleside LA22 0QT
After a week without rain the falls are genuinely modest and can disappoint anyone who has seen the winter photos. If you are already in Ambleside the walk is short and free, so you lose nothing; but do not drive here specially in a dry spell. Go the morning after a wet night and you will see it at its best.
No. The path has steps, tree roots, mud and uneven stretches, and the viewing points are not pushchair-friendly. Carry toddlers; children from about five walk it easily with attention at the edges.