Catrigg Force — Attraction in Stainforth

Ten years ago I walked here, amidst the woods, and that’s when I came across it. I was young back then, strong but stupid and so when an elderly woman warned me of what lay in the woods I ignored her. I should have listened. As I trekked for hours, the brush grew thick and soon darkness was sweeping over the land. I looked for a place to rest and as I closed my eyes I was roused from my sleep by drums, many hundreds of drums. I could barely see through the darkness and the woods but I followed the sound until I came to a clearing. It was massive and lit by countless burning torches, yet despite the light they provided I couldn’t believe my eyes. I closed my eyes in hopes I was mistaken, but once more the drums bayed me to look. There was no mistaking what I saw: it was a great force of cats. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of cats amassing as a grand army. Their weapons were deadly and their purpose was clear: the destruction of the human world. I moved to run but the crunching of branches alerted them and before I knew it I could hear the mewing of the vast host behind me. Fearing for my life, I dove into the river where I knew the cats would not follow. I barely escaped and have been haunted by the memory ever since. I warn others and yet none listen. The hour when these cats march on us is close at hand, I hope we are ready but I fear we are not. The age of cats will dawn.

That all said, the hike was lovely and I would recommend it to anyone in the area. Lots of good places to...

Easy walk from the road down to the small gate that is signed finally confirming you are in the right place, then it becomes a little more tricky if you have any mobility problems. From the gate it's a steep rocky path to the wooded area and then you encounter the same inside the wood plus fallen trees across the path that have been there for awhile but never cleared. It's a shame it wouldn't take long with a chainsaw to make access easier. There are some steps down to the river and yet another fallen tree to negotiate. The main waterfall is to the right and there is another one as the river falls away just to the left as you approach the river but there is no means of seeing it as there...

Really nice waterfall seems kept secret from most. Park in Stainforth, Google tries to get you to access from elsewhere entrance to path are co-ordinates (54.1020714, -2.2723886), then follow until sign to the left for falls. It is up a rather steep hill that can be tiring but only about 30-40 mins to the waterfall. We went in the snow and snowdrifts meant the final part of the path had waist high snow! Otherwise it is totally fine to take your dog and no styles etc just paths and gates. It seems you could have cool views from the top of the falls but deep snow and uncertain ground meant it was...