One time the boundary between Lancashire and Westmorland, Skelwith Bridge is really just a hotel and a handful of houses by a road junction...where the B5343 to Langdale branches off the A593. A few yards off this 'A' road here are the Kirkstone Galleries, the showroom for slate products made from stone quarried near the Kirkstone Pass. Annexed to it is a coffee shop, restaurant,and gift shop.
A path sign-posted through the yard of the slate workshops leads to the river and to Skelwith Force, not the tallest Lakeland waterfall at a mere 20 feet, but the fall bearing the greatest volume of water. It is through this narrow gap formed by glacial action that all the water from the high fells around the Langdales rushes after heavy rainfall...definetly the best time to view (and photograph) 'Force' incidentally, is the local name for a waterfall (O.N. fors).
Concentrated within a half days walk from Skelwith Force is a variety of scenery that it would be difficult to match anywhere else in the Lake District...Elterwater the exquisite Loughrigg Tarn, and the charming setting of Colwith Force are examples of the pleasures in store.
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