Force Gill Beck

Force Gill
Force Gill Beck
A stream, surrounded by stone walls and flowing towards the camera over rough stone steps
The aqueduct carrying Force Gill
Relief map of North Yorkshire
Relief map of North Yorkshire
Location within North Yorkshire
EtymologyWaterfall ravine
Location
CountryEngland
CountyNorth Yorkshire
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationGreensett Tarn
 • coordinates54°14′10″N 2°23′17″W / 54.2361°N 2.3881°W / 54.2361; -2.3881
 • elevation550 metres (1,800 ft)
Mouth 
 • coordinates
54°13′41″N 2°22′05″W / 54.2280°N 2.3681°W / 54.2280; -2.3681
Basin features
River systemRiver Lune
WaterfallsHigh Force; Force Gill Force

Force Gill (or sometimes Force Gill Beck) is a small upland beck in North Yorkshire, England, which feeds into Winterscales Beck, then the River Doe, and the Greta to enter the Irish Sea via the River Lune. The beck is noted for its waterfalls, (the name Force Gill derives from Old Norse meaning waterfall ravine) and its aqueduct which carries the beck over the Settle-Carlisle Railway. There is a pathway on the northern side of the aqueduct adjacent to the beck.

Force Gill

Force Gill, or Force Gill Beck, is partially fed by springs, and waters exiting Greensett Tarn on the slopes of Whernside. Some water from Greensett Tarn disappears underground and is thought to be that which rises in the caves at the top of Force Gill at a height of 550 metres (1,800 ft) above sea level. The beck is channelled eastwards on an aqueduct over the railway, only to join with Little Beck and then flow westwards back underneath the railway. Little Beck becomes Winterscales Beck, then the River Doe, thereafter the River Greta, and flows through Ingleton, eventually into the River Lune. Some sources state that the beck feeds into the Ribble, but this is a common misunderstanding.

The bridge that carries the beck over the Settle–Carlisle Railway line is grade II listed and also doubles as a walkers' bridge, carrying the Dales High Way. The aqueduct is 200 yards (180 m) south of Blea Moor Tunnel, and it goes over the railway from north west to south east, having a u-shaped, curved bed composed of stones, laid on a bed of tar, with eight stepped drops as it travels over the railway. In the building phase of the railway, Force Gill was a problem for the workers as it washed away temporary bridges and flooded quarries in the locality that were being used as sources of stone for the railway. The small tunnel that takes the railway under the beck is 30 metres (100 ft) long. There has been some suggestion that the bridge also carried a tramway to take limestone from where it was quarried in Force Gill to the railway line for Ribblehead Viaduct, or shale to be added to clay for brick-making.

Waterfalls

Force Gill Force

Water in Force Gill travels over several waterfalls, but the two most notable are the upper waterfall (at SD754822 and labelled as High Force on Ordnance Survey mapping) and the lower waterfall (at SD758819) which is often referred to as Force Gill Force. The two waterfalls are part of the stepped landscape in the area, which has alternating sandstone and limestone outcrops, with the lower waterfall falling into an "amphitheatre surrounded by sheer cliffs", which has led to comparison to nearby Hardraw Force waterfall in Wensleydale. The upper falls have a less vertical drop than the lower falls. Crystal states that Force Gill Force has a drop of about 6 metres (20 ft); others claim the fall is closer to 16 metres (52 ft). The waterfalls can be seen on the walk from Ribblehead to Dentdale or Whernside. The falls at Force Gill are recognised by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority as being '"spectacular", an association they share with other falls in the area such as Thornton and Pecca Falls further down the valley.

The name Force Gill derives from Old Norse meaning "waterfall ravine", the name first being printed on mapping in 1858. The watercourse is sometimes known as Force Beck. In his book Land of the Lune, John Self rates Force Gill Force at number six in his top ten of waterfalls in the Lune catchment area. Alfred Wainwright describes them as "fine... which would earn an admiring patronage if they were better known", and John Gillham describes both waterfalls as "exquisite".

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fellows, Griff (2003). The waterfalls of England. Wilmslow: Sigma Leisure. p. 123. ISBN 1-85058-767-1.
  2. ↑ Self 2008, p. 109.
  3. ↑ Simpson, E. (29 April 1932). "Cave exploration in Craven". The Craven Herald. Vol. 58, no. 2, 991. p. 7. OCLC 751637778.
  4. ↑ Ree, Harry (1988). The Three Peaks of Yorkshire. London: Whittet. p. 69. ISBN 0905483626.
  5. ↑ Mitchell, William Reginald (2007). James Herriot in conversation with W.R. Mitchell. Giggleswick: Castleberg. p. 23. ISBN 9781871064032. The line crosses under Force Gill, a tributary of Little Dale beck, by means of a short tunnel.
  6. ↑ Marsh, Terry (1989). The Pennine mountains: the Cheviots, the Northern Moors, the Howgill fells, the Yorkshire Dales and the High Peak. London: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 143. ISBN 0340430397.
  7. ↑ Self 2008, p. 108.
  8. ↑ Mussett 2011, p. 56.
  9. ↑ "SCRCA structure 249200: Bridge SAC/71 - Force Gill Aqueduct (occupation + stream + PROW - bridleway) | SCRCA". scrca.foscl.org.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
  10. ↑ Seddon, Sue (1994). YHA walking in Britain. London: Ward Lock. p. 98. ISBN 0706373219.
  11. ↑ Historic England. "Aqueduct Bridge Number 71 on the Settle and Carlisle Railway Line (Grade II) (1031510)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
  12. ↑ Mussett 2011, p. 182.
  13. ↑ Williams, Frederick Smeeton (1877). The Midland Railway; its rise and progress (3 ed.). London: Bemrose & Co. p. 499.
  14. ↑ "The Settle Carlisle Railway". Huddersfield Examiner and West Riding Reporter. Vol. XX, no. 2, 647. 6 May 1876. p. 12. OCLC 751654221.
  15. ↑ Occomore, David (2020). The new railway to Scotland. Kendal: Hayloft Publishing. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-910237-43-4.
  16. ↑ "SCRCA Knowledge Base for Bridge SAC/71 - Force Gill Aqueduct | SCRCA". scrca.foscl.org.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  17. ↑ "OL2" (Map). Yorkshire Dales - Southern & Western Area. 1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2016. ISBN 978-0-319-26331-0.
  18. ↑ "LCA 10 Yoredale Uplands" (PDF). yorkshiredales.org.uk. Yorkshire Dales National Park. p. 3. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
  19. ↑ Gillham, John (1991). Peaks of the Yorkshire Dales : a hillwalkers' companion. Hoddlesden: Grey Stone. p. 77. ISBN 0951599615.
  20. ↑ Sellers, Gladys (1984). The Yorkshire dales : a walker's guide to the National Park. Milnthorpe: Cicerone. p. 154. ISBN 0902363522.
  21. ↑ Chrystal, Paul (2017). The place names of Yorkshire; cities, towns, villages, rivers and dales, some pubs too, in praise of Yorkshire ales (1 ed.). Catrine: Stenlake. p. 106. ISBN 9781840337532.
  22. ↑ "LCA 10 Yoredale Uplands" (PDF). yorkshiredales.org.uk. Yorkshire Dales National Park. p. 8. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
  23. ↑ Leather, David (2003). Yorkshire Dales. London: Collins. p. 129. ISBN 000710619X.
  24. ↑ Smith, A. H. (1961). The place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire: East and West Staincliffe and Ewcross Wapentakes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 245. OCLC 1554850345.
  25. ↑ Ekwall, Eilert (1968) [1928]. English River-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 162. ISBN 019869119X.
  26. ↑ Self 2008, p. 62.
  27. ↑ Wainwright, Alfred (1999). Wainwright in the Limestone Dales. London: Michael Joseph. p. 68. ISBN 0718134923.
  28. ↑ Gillham, John; Iddon, Phil (1991). The Peaks of the Yorkshire Dales. Hoddesden: Grey Stone Books. p. 70. ISBN 0951599615.

Sources