A Force on High teases us in Teesdale with sun, sun, sun!
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 10:15 pmThe weather forecast was looking good; very good in fact and so we decided to go to Teesdale and walk to High Force. Jeff and I last visited there about 20 years ago when we were both young(ish) 
Anyway, with temperatures in the mid twenties (oh yes) and not a cloud in the sky we headed over to Teesdale via Weardale (Frosterley) along with many other people making the most of this summer bonus 
Parking cost us £2 and a further £1 each (as we're over 60 ) to visit the waterfall via the Woodland Walk.
There is an excellent gravel path that is sloping to start off but, does have well placed benches situated along the walk as well as several interpretation boards.
Having read the comment that wheelchair users may need assistance from a "strong and able pusher" I decided to use my sticks instead
The path seemed to slope down for quite a distance and the gravel, at times, wasn't the easiest to walk on as my sticks kept skidding 
Anyway, I was very pleased to see all the benches and made a note as to where they were for the return route.
The first part of the woodland walk went past a number of tree stumps that were as a result of a storm in 1992 but, it did mean you had views of the countryside the other side of the river. We've walked many times from Low Force, along by the River Tees, and above High Force onto the moorland beyond on a circular route so it was nice to be reminded of this
The path dropped down into the wood and it was beautiful with the dappled light of the sun shining through the trees. We walked over a bridge that had a stream running under it and then started climbing gently up.
Even though we were shaded by the trees, my hands kept slipping on the handles of the sticks as I was quite hot from the effort and was beginning to wonder how much further we had to go. Still, I kept telling myself it was good aerobic excercise and tried not to be tempted to sit down quite yet
By now we could see the river below us and hear the distant roar of the waterfall.
However, there were still more ups and downs to the path before reaching our goal.
Eventually, at last, the waterfall was in front of us
Pity about the big flight of steps that took you down to the rocks and water 
Nevertheless, I hadn't walked all that distance not to be able to get the photos I wanted of High Force and so, down those steps I went. I have short legs and those steps weren't designed with people like me in mind but, my daughters don't call me stubborn for nothing
Some people also think I'm pretty impatient as well
But, I was determined and I patiently took my time getting to the bottom of the steps I took lots of photos on different settings and have included some.
The waterfall itself consists of three different types of rock. The upper band is made up of whinstone, or dolerite, a hard igneous rock which the waterfall takes a lot of time to erode. The lower section is made up of Carboniferous Limestone, a softer rock which is more easily worn away by the waterfall. Between these two layers is a thinner layer of Carboniferous sandstone, which was baked hard when the Whin Sill was molten 295 million years ago. The wearing away of rock means that the waterfall is slowly moving upstream, leaving a narrow, deep gorge in front of it. The length of the gorge is currently about 700 metres.
After climbing back up the steps I felt knackered and it seemed a really long distance to walk for the first of many benches that I sat on It was even hotter and, when we eventually reached the car park, it was straight into the shop for an ice cream The temperature by then was 25deg but thank goodness for the breeze!
Anyway, with temperatures in the mid twenties (oh yes) and not a cloud in the sky we headed over to Teesdale via Weardale (Frosterley) along with many other people making the most of this summer bonus Parking cost us £2 and a further £1 each (as we're over 60 ) to visit the waterfall via the Woodland Walk.There is an excellent gravel path that is sloping to start off but, does have well placed benches situated along the walk as well as several interpretation boards.
Having read the comment that wheelchair users may need assistance from a "strong and able pusher" I decided to use my sticks instead
The path seemed to slope down for quite a distance and the gravel, at times, wasn't the easiest to walk on as my sticks kept skidding Anyway, I was very pleased to see all the benches and made a note as to where they were for the return route.The first part of the woodland walk went past a number of tree stumps that were as a result of a storm in 1992 but, it did mean you had views of the countryside the other side of the river. We've walked many times from Low Force, along by the River Tees, and above High Force onto the moorland beyond on a circular route so it was nice to be reminded of this
The path dropped down into the wood and it was beautiful with the dappled light of the sun shining through the trees. We walked over a bridge that had a stream running under it and then started climbing gently up.
Even though we were shaded by the trees, my hands kept slipping on the handles of the sticks as I was quite hot from the effort and was beginning to wonder how much further we had to go. Still, I kept telling myself it was good aerobic excercise and tried not to be tempted to sit down quite yet
By now we could see the river below us and hear the distant roar of the waterfall.
However, there were still more ups and downs to the path before reaching our goal.
Eventually, at last, the waterfall was in front of us
Pity about the big flight of steps that took you down to the rocks and water Nevertheless, I hadn't walked all that distance not to be able to get the photos I wanted of High Force and so, down those steps I went. I have short legs and those steps weren't designed with people like me in mind but, my daughters don't call me stubborn for nothing Some people also think I'm pretty impatient as well
But, I was determined and I patiently took my time getting to the bottom of the steps I took lots of photos on different settings and have included some.
The waterfall itself consists of three different types of rock. The upper band is made up of whinstone, or dolerite, a hard igneous rock which the waterfall takes a lot of time to erode. The lower section is made up of Carboniferous Limestone, a softer rock which is more easily worn away by the waterfall. Between these two layers is a thinner layer of Carboniferous sandstone, which was baked hard when the Whin Sill was molten 295 million years ago. The wearing away of rock means that the waterfall is slowly moving upstream, leaving a narrow, deep gorge in front of it. The length of the gorge is currently about 700 metres.
After climbing back up the steps I felt knackered and it seemed a really long distance to walk for the first of many benches that I sat on
It was even hotter and, when we eventually reached the car park, it was straight into the shop for an ice cream The temperature by then was 25deg but thank goodness for the breeze!
