Scale Force
Nature’s impact on a fallen tree has made a big difference to how this classic scene is photographed
At 170 feet, Scale Force at Crummock Water is the Lake District’s highest single-drop waterfall. It’s at the end of a moss filled chasm, and there are two other small drops, each of about 20ft. Hidden away, in a deep treelined gorge on the way to Red Pike, Scale Force was described by William Wordsworth as “a fine chasm, with a lofty, though but slender, fall of water”.
Scale Force has been featured in the BBC TV series Secret Britain and is visited by hikers, walkers and definitely by photographers – including me, many times! It is one of my favourite spots. At about an hour’s walk from Buttermere, it isn’t too strenuous: I would still recommend you lighten your camera load, but ensure you include a tripod and a wide-angle lens to shoot the waterfall up close.
You can photograph the lower falls from the bridge on the main path. If you are feeling confident and adventurous, you can climb the rock on the side and reach the view of the main falls drop. To get to the view in the gorge requires a 15ft climb up a crag, then a 30ft scramble over some large rocks. You might get wet feet if the water is flowing well.
When I visited in 2021, the view from inside the gorge allowed the inclusion of a number of cascades of water, as well as the main attraction of the 170ft drop. It flowed down the gorge and then over a fallen tree, which gave a lovely focal point in the foreground. It has always been a favourite scene of mine, and I have loved images of it in both colour and black and white.
My most recent visit was very different. The fallen tree had finally given way and broken apart, meaning that the foreground interest of a small cascade was no more. I don’t feel it has the same visual impact without this, but this is nature, and locations and views change as the weather and conditions affect the environment around us. The tree had been there for many years; it had fallen naturally, and was slowly rotting. The water had been keeping it constantly wet over the years, so it was only a matter of time before it broke apart.
It is not only the tree that has changed. I have found an image taken here in 1893, long before the tree had fallen: it shows a bank on the left side of the lower fall, which would have made it possible to walk to the upper falls, no climbing required. But time and conditions have eroded this away.
This is nature, and locations and views change as the weather and conditions affect the environment
Waterfalls are a favourite in photography, giving so many options to capture the cascading water. Scale Force is still a spectacular waterfall to witness and photograph: it just needs a different approach with composition now.
With the fallen tree, the classic composition was to include the small cascade in the foreground. This viewpoint isn’t quite the same without the tree. I did always think that one day the tree would give way, just not so soon. But alternative compositions can be created of the main drop and the gorge with the cascades over the rocks.