We don’t have the tallest (that’s an understatement); we don’t have the most powerful, the loudest, or the widest, but, that’s not really the point.
Michelin-star restaurants aren’t rated highly because of their portion size.
This brings me to one waterfall that I believe fits the category of a ‘hidden gem’ Catrigg Force.
It’s located just outside Stainforth, which if we’re being more precise, is located just outside Settle.
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You can find it in a wooded gorge about a 30-minute walk from the doors of the Craven Heifer pub, a fine hostelry in the centre of Stainforth.
Getting to it I’d say requires an okay level of fitness, the footing isn’t the best so it’s worth bearing in mind.
But any sort of hardships faced on the climb are indeed worth it, once the crashing drone of the waterfall hits your ears as you enter its proximity.
What makes it fantastic, is that you hear it long before you see it.
Then, you can descend into the wooded gorge, and it’s only as you get halfway down the spiralling path, that you get a frontal view of Catrigg Force.
Catrigg Force itself consists of two main drops, both about equal in length. Figures aren’t concrete but the waterfall is around ten to 15 metres tall.
Not quite the 979-metre-tall Angel Falls in Venezuela… but does Angel Falls have a Thwaites pub nearby? The answer is almost certainly no.
If you’re heading from south of Settle, the route is quite picturesque as well following the A65.
