The three stepped waterfalls at Aysgarth have been a tourist attraction for over 200 years. Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy visited while they waited for their coach horses to be changed and Turner sketched them on a tour of the north. More recently they provided a dramatic setting for a scene from the Hollywood movie Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.
The National Park Authority own Freeholders' Wood Local Nature Reserve alongside the falls and there are several easy paths winding through it. In spring the wood is full of wood anemones and primroses. You may even be lucky enough to see roe deer darting away into the shadows.
In recent years dormice have been reintroduced and we are pleased to say that they are thriving. They only come out at night so you are unlikely to see them but maybe you will hear them snoring if you are very very quiet!
There is a National Park Centre, café and car park at Aysgarth Falls so it easy to visit. A top tip is to remember that the waterfalls are at their most dramatic after heavy rain.
