Such a morning as this is quite ideal for seeing the remarkable
waterfall known as Hardraw Scar or Force. The footpath that leads up
the glen leaves the road at the side of the 'Green Dragon' at Hardraw,
where the innkeeper hands us a key to open the gate we must pass
through. Being September, and an uncertain day for weather, we have the
whole glen to ourselves, until behind some rocks we discover a solitary
angler. There is nothing but the roughest of tracks to follow, for the
carefully-made pathway that used to go right up to the fall was swept
away half a dozen years ago, when the stream in a fierce mood cleared
its course of any traces of artificiality. We are deeply grateful, and
make our among the big rocks and across the slippery surfaces of shale,
with the roar of the waters becoming more and more insistent. The sun
has turned into the ravine a great searchlight that has lit up the rock
walls and strewn the wet grass beneath with sparkling jewels. On the
opposite side there is a dense blue shadow over everything except the
foliage on the brow of the cliffs, where the strong autumn colours leap
into a flaming glory that transforms the ravine into an astonishing
splendour. A little more careful scrambling by the side of the stream,
and we see a white band of water falling from the overhanging limestone
into the pool about ninety feet below. Off the surface of the water
drifts a mist of spray, in which a soft patch of rainbow hovers until
the sun withdraws itself for a time and leaves a sudden gloom in the
horseshoe of overhanging cliffs. The place is, perhaps, more in
sympathy with a cloudy sky, but, under sunshine or cloud, the spout of
water is a memorable sight, and its imposing height places Hardraw
among the small group of England's finest waterfalls. The mass of shale
that lies beneath this stratum is soft enough to be worked away by the
water until the limestone overhangs the pool to the extent of ten or
twelve feet, so that the water falls sheer into the circular basin,
leaving a space between the cliff and the fall where it is safe to walk
on a rather moist and slippery path that is constantly being sprayed
from the surface of the pool.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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