Hardrew Force is a waterfall found on the Hardraw Beck in a wooded ravine outside the hamlet of Hardraw at the base of Buttertubs Pass and the head of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales. The Pennine Way long distance footpath passes very close to it.
Comprising a single drop of 100 feet from a rocky overhang, Hardraw Force is thought to be England's highest unbroken waterfall, at least discounting underground falls. The underground waterfall inside nearby Gaping Gill on the western flank of Ingleborough does in fact have an unbroken fall of over 300 feet.
The falls were used as a location in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, in the scene where Maid Marian finds Robin Hood bathing under the waterfall.
Access behind the falls is no longer allowed. Public viewing of Hardraw Force is rather strange to say the least, as the visitor has to go through the bar of the Green Dragon Inn public house in Hardraw to reach the falls; an entrance fee being payable on the way through the pub, which is currently £2 per adult.
Hardraw Force is the setting for a brass band competition held each year on the second Sunday in September. The competition was first held in the falls' natural amphitheatre in 1884 when six bands took part; and having lapsed in 1927 was revived in 1976 and has gone from strength to strength since. In recent years two other musical events have also started up at the falls: the Hawdraw Bash is a Folk Rock concert in early July and the Hardraw Gathering a three-day festival of traditional music around the end of July.
