With international travel on hold and all my trips canceled this year thanks to the pandemic, I’ve been exploring much closer to home! Thankfully, there’s so many wonderful places around Yorkshire that are accessible from where I live in York. Once lockdown was lifted, I finally made it to Aysgarth Falls in the Yorkshire Dales. This set of waterfalls on the River Ure is spectacular, especially on a warm, sunny, summer day! Here’s a quick guide for visiting Aysgarth Falls, and what you should know before you go!

Parking at Aysgarth Falls

There is a large car park (80 spaces) at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Center. Charges are £3 for up to 2 hours, or £5 for 2+ hours. There is another car park slightly further down the road, across the river. However, this is actually more expensive! There are more spaces (120) but it’s either £1.50/hour or £6 for all day parking. I’d recommend parking at the national park center as it’s cheaper.

The visitor center was closed when I was there, as places were only starting to re-open following lockdown. So I’m not sure what it’s like unfortunately! However, they do have (free) toilets at the center. There is very limited public transportation here (see planning your trip below) so I’d recommend having your own car to visit Aysgarth Falls.

Aysgarth Falls: Upper Force

The Upper Force part of Aysgarth Falls was definitely the busiest on the day we went. It’s a short walk from the car park and there are several tables and a huge grassy area. We were there on a warm sunny day and lots of people had brought picnics! You can also go wading around here, or if you’re brave (and have a swimsuit) then you can swim a bit. Be safe though, keep in mind the depth of the river will change throughout the year so it might not always be safe to go swimming!

Aysgarth Falls (but especially Upper Force) is very well-known as it was a filming location for the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves movie! I didn’t actually know this until after I went, but it was really fun watching the clips. The waterfalls are used during a swordfight scene where they are jumping around the water! Aysgarth Falls is definitely a really cool part of the Yorkshire Dales!

From Upper Force, you can re-trace your steps back through the car park to walk towards Middle Force and Lower Force. It’s an easy path to follow to Middle Force. This is really just a viewing platform—there’s no river access here.

Aysgarth Falls: Lower Force

This was by far my favorite part of Aysgarth Falls! There were a lot fewer people at the lower falls when we went. The river was so low, we could walk all over the waterfalls and out along the rocks!

There were a few places on the rocks at the bank of the river to sit down. I just loved getting to see all the funky rock formations! When I posted about this on Instagram, so many people messaged me saying how shocked they were at the low level of the river! It fluctuates throughout the year so much!

I didn’t know just how easy it would be to swim, there are some fairly deep pools at Lower Force that would have been perfect! But I didn’t have my swimsuit and didn’t realize people could swim here—so maybe next time. It was still great soaking my feet and walking around the waterfalls.

Walking From Aysgarth Falls to Castle Bolton

One of the other main attractions in Wensleydale is Castle Bolton. This is a small village a few miles away—home to Bolton Castle, which is a large castle with gardens in Castle Bolton. You’ll probably see it as you’re driving to or from the falls!

There is meant to be a nice circular walk (2.5-3 hours) from Aysgarth Falls to Castle Bolton and back. But as the castle and gardens were closed, we decided to skip it and do it another time. Hopefully I’ll be back soon to do this properly!

Planning Your Trip

There is very limited public transportation to Aysgarth Falls, so I’d recommend having a car. There is a DalesBus service (DalesBus 856) that runs on Sundays in the summer from Northallerton through Leyburn to Aysgarth and Hawes. Northallerton has a train station—I always use Trainline to book train tickets. Or you can take Bus 156 (Little White Bus) from Leyburn to Aysgarth. You may need to book this in advance. However, I’m unsure if either of these will be operating this summer—so again, you’ll need a car.

I visited Aysgarth Falls as a daytrip from York but it was a long day. There are lots of things to do in Wensleydale in this part of the Yorkshire Dales, so you could easily make it a weekend break. You can search for hostels here, and for hotels and B&Bs here! You can also sign up to and search accommodation on Airbnb here. Considering travel insurance for your trip? World Nomads offers coverage for more than 150 adventure activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.

If you’re visiting Aysgarth Falls and Wensleydale, Hawes is a pretty market town. You can also visit the Wensleydale Creamery, home of the famous Wensleydale cheese! On this trip, we took the long way home and drove through Buttertubs Pass—one of the most scenic roads in the Dales! I loved this and if you’re visiting Aysgarth Falls and have some time, definitely check it out. Aysgarth Falls also isn’t too far from Brymor Ice Cream, which is some of the best ice cream in Yorkshire.

Aysgarth Falls is a beautiful set of waterfalls in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. If you haven’t been to this part of the Dales, put it on your list! You can’t beat wading in the river on a nice warm day. I hope this post helps planning a trip to Aysgarth Falls!

Have you been to Aysgarth Falls or the Yorkshire Dales before? What was your experience like?

You might also like my posts:

The BEST Places to Visit in the Yorkshire Dales

Hawes, Hardraw Force, and More: Waterfalls in Wensleydale

88 Incredible Places To Visit In Yorkshire

Exploring Wharfedale: Hiking From Grassington To Hebden In The Yorkshire Dales

Hiking In The Yorkshire Dales: Malham

Exploring The Yorkshire Dales: Hiking Pen-y-Ghent

Waterfalls, Caves, And More: Exploring Ingleton In The Yorkshire Dales

21 Of The BEST Places To Visit In The North York Moors

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