High Force... High impact!

Roaring waterfall in County Durham (70 foot high or 21 metres)
Forest in Teesdale

Apparently open all year round - imagine the ice on this one!
Summer Opening Hours: April to October 2014: 10am - 5pm daily

The Gift Shop, car park and other visitor facilities will all be open

Walk through Tolkienesque woodlands
Steep steps down to the viewing point
Good walking area, including a walk up to the head of the falls
Go south on either the A68 or A1 - then west on A66  - then northwest on the B6277, 4.5 miles NW from Middleton-in-Teesdale

If you and your kids are looking for drama, then get yourself down to what has got to be one of the loudest, prettiest, most powerful examples of white water in the UK. I would say the journey down from Newcastle will take you about an hour and a half but don't worry about that.  You can stop for an ice-cream in Staindrop or just just stop to look around in Barnard Castle or Middleton in Teesdale - all pretty as owt.  The area west of West Auckland is lovely.

High Force is well signposted off the  A 678 and you need to use the designated car-park ( £2), which also has some very presentable picnic tables for the family.  You buy tickets at the shop - 
Admissions to Waterfall Walk:

• Adult: £1.50
• Child (5 - 15 yrs): 50p
• Concessions: £1.00 

Cross the road on foot and pick up the track on the other side, which leads you through some of the most elvish (or maybe entish) woods I have seen for some time... Remember that scene where the hobbits have crawled under sprawling tree roots to hide from a black rider? Hmmm. Did Tolkien or Peter Jackson ever visit this place, I wonder?

We couldn't help noticing the rock forms, sandstone, shale and whinstone; we took photo after photo of the ferns and moss-covered trees and watched for birdlife.  Himself did notice some dippers and lots of cute, yellow wagtails, which he has never seen before.  But mostly what you notice is the growing roar from the waterfall.  It's not a long walk - about 1/3 mile-  turn the corner and, voila! 

It only gets better.  A steep set of 26 steps will take you and everyone else down to the rocky platform and I was glad of my sturdy trainers on those enormous, sloping rocks. This is truly magnificent and I am really pleased we went. We are now planning on bringing the family - though we will be keeping a tight hold on the little ones!

Further still, there is Low Force, which requires a hike across a field and sharp eyes to spot the stopping place in time. Another lovely day.