Cotter Force is a small waterfall

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

 on Cotter Beck, a minor tributary of the river Ure

River Ure

The River Ure is a river in North Yorkshire, England, approximately long from its source to the point where it changes name to the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only one of the Dales now named after a village rather than its river...

 in Wensleydale

Wensleydale

Wensleydale is the valley of the River Ure on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire, England.Wensleydale lies in the Yorkshire Dales National Park – one of only a few valleys in the Dales not currently named after its principal river , but the older name, "Yoredale", can still be seen...

, North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, England.

The Falls and Cotter Beck

Cotter Beck has several other, but smaller falls in its course, before joining the Ure, but Cotter force is the largest. The force is not visible from the road, but it takes only a short walk to reach it. It comprises a series of six steps each its own small waterfall with the largest single drop being about 5 feet (1.5 m). The force is narrow at 3 foot (0.9144 m) at the top widening to 15 feet (4.6 m) at the bottom. A short path allows easy access from the A684

A684 road

The A684 is an A road that runs through Cumbria and North Yorkshire, starting at Kendal, Cumbria and ending at Ellerbeck and the A19 road in North Yorkshire...

 near Holme Heads Bridge approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Hawes

Hawes

Hawes is a small market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, being granted its market charter in 1699...

.

(OS

Ordnance Survey

Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...

grid ref: )

Cotter force is accessible by wheelchair users and less mobile visitors, after The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust carried out an upgrade to the access route

External links

• The Walking Englishman