Can you visit Lodore Falls without staying at the hotel?

Yes, there's a public footpath along the B5289 road that provides access to viewpoints of the falls. You can park at nearby National Trust car parks like Kettlewell (about half a mile north) and walk along the roadside path. Hotel guests get more direct access through the grounds with better maintained paths and viewing platforms.

How long is the walk from Lodore Falls to Watendlath?

It's about four miles round trip. The walk takes you upstream past the falls, through the source valley to Watendlath hamlet and its tarn, where there's a scenic stone bridge and a café serving cake.

Who was Robert Southey and why did he write about Lodore Falls?

Robert Southey was Poet Laureate who lived in Keswick for forty years, just a few miles from the falls. In 1820, he wrote "The Cataract of Lodore"—allegedly to amuse his children—which lists over a hundred lines of water-related sound effects and verbs, making the waterfall famous enough to become a Victorian tourist attraction.

From Force to Falls

Lodore Falls: When Southey Wrote Onomatopoeia and Keswick Added a Hotel

Lodore Falls drops thirty metres through woodland into Derwentwater, and Robert Southey's 1820 poem listed every sound it made. The Lodore Hotel opened shortly after, and the waterfall's flow depends entirely on whether Watendlath Beck is in spate.

18 September 20267 min read