About Taylor Gill Force
The Taylor Gill Force Waterfall was said to be the tallest waterfall in the Lake District of Northern England.
It was said to have a 140ft drop, which made me wonder whether they were talking about a particular section of this cascade or if the name really did pertain to the entire cumulative drop.
Whatever the case, I wasn’t sure if the mountain cascade pictured above was indeed the Taylor Gill Force or if there happened to be another nearby one that I somehow missed.
Nonetheless, I had read that this spot was the rainiest part of England, and perhaps fittingly, my visit was met with a pretty persistent rain as well.
Experiencing the waterfall
This cascade that I’m proclaiming to be the Taylor Gill Force was pretty easy to experience once we made it down the narrow roads from Keswick towards Borrowdale Valley by the Seathwaite Farm (see directions below).
From there, I was able to see the cascade from right off the end of the road, but there were lots of stone fences in the way.
So that was what prompted me to explore the Seathwaite Farm for a bit until I found a gate that we could open and close.
That gate didn’t look like a public access route as it stumped a handful of other people also wishing to get a closer look at the falls.
Anyways, beyond the gate, the trail headed towards the base of the cascade while crossing a bridge over the start of the River Derwent.
By the way, that river ultimately made its way further down the valley towards the Derwent Water lake near Keswick.
Up until the base of the Taylor Gill Force waterfalls, the walk was pretty short and flat as it passed right through the Seathwaite Farm.
As I looked in the upstream direction, I could see where the Borrowdale Valley stopped as the surrounding hills closed in on it.
However, the path then became a steep ascent after crossing over a stile (a steep pile of stones) before climbing quickly alongside the cascade.
Because it was raining pretty hard during my visit, this stone path became very slippery and dangerous.
So I was only able to get roughly half-way to two-thirds of the way up before I was content with my partial view of the Taylor Gill Force waterfall as well as the gorgeous views looking back down towards Borrowdale Valley.
The trail kept going up, but given the dangerous conditions (thanks to the rain) I didn’t keep going.
In hindsight, perhaps I never got to see the 140ft section that the literature tended to show or talk about regarding the Taylor Gill Force.
In any case, I didn’t feel like I really missed out on much so I carefully made my way back down into the valley.
After a little over an hour, I rejoined Julie and a napping Tahia who were sheltered from the rain in the parked car.
Authorities
Taylor Gill Force resides near Keswick in Cumbria County, England. It is administered by the National Trust. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
To drive to Taylor Gill Force from Keswick, we headed towards the west end of town where the Borrowdale Road (B5289) followed the eastern shores of Derwent Water.
We continued on the B5289 road for about 7.5 miles until we reached an obscure turnoff for Seathwaite on our left.
We then followed this road into the Borrowdale Valley, where the road ended after another 1.2 miles.
Note that we did not continue on the B5289 road past the Seathwaite turnoff onto the very narrow and steep Honister Pass Road.
This drive took us about 30 minutes from the town centre of Keswick, which itself was about another 30 miles (an hour drive) northwest of Kendal.
The roads were all narrow so that’s something to consider if you’re caught behind a truck, tractor, or some other diesel-belching slow-moving vehicle.
The drive could be a bit quicker than 30 minutes without the traffic delays.
Bottom line is you have to be patient when driving in this area.
Finally, as for some geographical context, Kendal was 87 miles (over 2 hours drive) west of York, 73 miles (90 minutes drive) north of Manchester, 236 miles (4.5 hours drive) north of Bath, and 271 miles (over 5 hours drive or 3-4 hours by train) northwest of London.
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Sweep of a more commanding view over the Borrowdale Valley as I was making my way up the slippery and rocky path alongside Taylor Gill Force
360 degree sweep from the camping area right in front of the falls. Reveals the entirety of the cascade as well as the head of the Borrowdale Valley
Right to left sweep of the slippery rocky trail and hints of Borrowdale Valley before ending with a side view of the Taylor Gill Force from as close to it as I was going to get
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Visitor Comments:
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Wrong waterfall, Sourmilk ghyll August 30, 2018 8:07 pm - I'm pretty sure you've got the wrong waterfall here. This looks like sour milk ghyll. You started off correctly, through the farm, over the river, but then turn left and follow the river southwards. This provides the best view but becomes a serious scramble as you climb up the RIGHT hand side of the fall.… ...Read MoreVisitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
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