Hawes, Gayle and Aysgill Force

Appersett and Cotter Force from Hawes

Six miles and about three and a quarter hours west from Hawes through the meadows to the hamlet of Appersett and on to Cotter Force, a broad staircase waterfall reached by a level, well-surfaced short path that is one of the few genuinely accessible falls in the Dales. Start at the Dales Countryside Museum car park in Hawes; the 156 bus passes through Appersett if you want to walk one way. The final approach to the fall is flat, gated and easy for an older dog and the Ure gives good drinking and a safe paddle at several points, but sheep graze every meadow so the lead stays on, there is a short and unpleasant section on the A684 near Appersett where the traffic is fast and there is no verge, and the meadow paths mix gates with narrow stone stiles - fewer than on the Sedbusk route, but a couple are still too tight for a broad dog.