while in between there are intervals of blazing sunshine, under which
the green fells turn bright yellow and orange in powerful contrast to
the indigo shadows on every side. Such rapid changes from complete
saturation to sudden heat are trying to the hardest rocks, and at
Hardraw, close at hand, there is a still more palpable process of
denudation in active operation.
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 way 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
[Illustration: HARDRAW FORCE
THIS fall of water on a tributary of the Ure is generally considered to
be the finest in Yorkshire. The water comes over a lip of overhanging
rock, and drops sheer into a pool 80 feet below. It is a most romantic
spot at all times, but it is seen at its best after a heavy rainfall. It
is possible to walk behind the fall on a slippery spray-drenched
path.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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