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There is a waterfall on the descent from Newlands Hause to Buttermere that drops approximately one hundred metres down an open fellside. Wordsworth wrote about it. Victorian travellers came specifically to see it. It appears in dozens of 19th century guidebooks.
Almost nobody visits it today.
This is partly because Moss Force sits on a minor road that most Lake District visitors never take, and partly because the Lake District has so many waterfalls that even exceptional ones get overlooked. But it is mostly because the falls that attract the crowds — Aira Force, Stock Ghyll, Scale Force — have car parks and paths and signage. Moss Force has none of these things. It simply falls down the hillside above the road, visible to anyone who looks up at the right moment, invisible to anyone who does not.
If you look up at the right moment, it is extraordinary.
Moss Force — sometimes written as Moss Force — is on the southern descent of Newlands Hause, the mountain pass that connects the Newlands Valley to the north with Buttermere and Crummock Water to the south. The waterfall is fed by Moss Beck, which rises on the high ground of Robinson (737m) above the pass and falls steeply to the valley floor below.
The falls are visible from the road on the descent from the pass towards Buttermere. They appear on the left as you come over the summit and begin to drop — a long white line against the brown and purple of the open fell, falling in two main sections with a brief interruption on a rocky ledge between them.
In dry summer conditions the flow can be reduced to a modest stream. After rain — and Newlands Hause is in one of the wetter parts of the western Lake District — Moss Force becomes genuinely impressive. The full flow, on a wet autumn day, with the water catching the afternoon light as it falls, is one of the finest waterfall views in the Lake District.
Wordsworth described Moss Force in his Guide to the Lakes — his remarkable 1810 prose guide to the Lake District that remains one of the finest descriptions of the landscape ever written. He was specific about the quality of the falls and recommended the Newlands Hause road to visitors precisely because of them.
This is worth noting. Wordsworth knew the Lake District more thoroughly than almost anyone who has ever lived in it — he walked every valley, crossed every pass, observed the landscape in all weathers and all seasons for decades. His recommendation of Moss Force was not casual. He knew what he was recommending.
Victorian tourists followed his guidance. The Newlands Hause road appears in guidebook after guidebook as the recommended route between Keswick and Buttermere for travellers who wanted to see the falls. For a period in the mid-19th century it was one of the standard elements of a serious Lake District tour.
Newlands Hause is the mountain pass at the southern end of the Newlands Valley, crossing the ridge between Robinson to the east and Knott Rigg to the west at approximately 333 metres above sea level. It connects the Newlands Valley — one of the quietest and most beautiful valleys in the Lake District — with Buttermere and Crummock Water to the south.
The road over Newlands Hause is a single-track lane for most of its length — narrow, steep on both sides and largely unknown to visitors staying in the main tourist centres of Windermere and Ambleside. This is precisely what makes it worth taking. The road is almost empty. The scenery is exceptional. And the transition from the pastoral Newlands Valley on the northern side to the dramatic western landscape of Buttermere and Crummock Water on the southern side is one of the finest pass crossings in the Lake District.
The summit of the pass is a simple high point on an open ridge, with no buildings, no car park and no facilities — just the road, the sky, and the view. To the north the Newlands Valley drops away towards Keswick and Bassenthwaite Lake. To the south the road drops towards Buttermere, with the great cirque of High Stile, High Crag and Red Pike filling the southern skyline.
The northern side of Newlands Hause descends into the Newlands Valley — one of the hidden gems of the Lake District. The valley runs roughly north to south between the Newlands Fells to the west and the Derwent Fells to the east, with a scattering of traditional whitewashed farms, a small chapel and almost no tourist infrastructure at all.
Most Lake District visitors never visit the Newlands Valley. It has no famous lake, no celebrated literary connection prominent enough to draw crowds and no particularly well-known walking destination. What it has is the quality of undisturbed pastoral landscape — the fells, the farms, the becks — that the Lake District contained everywhere before mass tourism arrived, and that now survives only in its less-visited corners.
The valley has one famous literary connection that is less well known than it deserves to be. Beatrix Potter set The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle in the Newlands Valley — the washerwoman hedgehog's house is notionally on the fell above the valley floor, and the specific landscape features Potter described are recognisable to anyone who knows the valley. On our tours, your expert storyteller will point out the landscape Potter was describing as you drive through.
Just south of Buttermere village, accessible by a short walk from the lake shore path, Scale Force drops approximately 52 metres in a single unbroken fall — the highest single-drop waterfall in the Lake District. It is a significant walk from the road — approximately 45 minutes each way — and is not on our tour route, but it is worth knowing about for anyone planning an independent return to Buttermere.
Moss Force is higher in total drop than Scale Force, though it falls in sections rather than a single plunge. The comparison between the two is one your expert storyteller will make on the descent from Newlands Hause — a reminder that the Lake District's finest natural features are often the least signposted ones.
Moss Force and Newlands Hause are on the The 10 Lakes Full-day Tour with Ullswater Cruise, on the afternoon section after Buttermere and Crummock Water. We climb from the Buttermere valley to the summit of Newlands Hause and descend through the Newlands Valley towards Keswick, passing Moss Force on the southern descent.
Your expert storyteller will give the Wordsworth connection and explain why the falls are less visited today than they were in the Victorian period — and why that is the visitor's loss rather than the falls' shortcoming.
Can I visit Moss Force independently?
Yes — the falls are visible from the road on the descent from Newlands Hause towards Buttermere. There is no formal car park or path to the falls base, but a roadside stop on the descent gives a good view of the upper sections. The falls are on Open Access land and can be approached on foot from the road.
When is Moss Force most impressive?
After rain — which in the western Lake District means much of the year. Autumn and winter, when the flow is highest, give the most dramatic display. In a dry summer the beck can be reduced to a trickle.
Is Newlands Hause difficult to drive?
The road is narrow and steep on both sides. It is a single-track lane for much of its length with passing places. In a normal car in good conditions it is manageable. In winter it can be icy and challenging. Our PHV-licensed drivers are experienced on this road.
What is the Newlands Valley known for?
Primarily for being one of the quietest and most beautiful valleys in the Lake District. It has good walking, traditional Herdwick sheep farming, a small chapel and the Beatrix Potter connection through The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle. It is almost entirely free of tourist infrastructure.
Is Scale Force near Moss Force?
Scale Force is approximately two miles from Moss Force, accessible from Buttermere village by a 45-minute walk. They are both on the western side of the Lake District. Scale Force is the highest single-drop waterfall in the Lake District; Moss Force has a greater total drop but falls in sections.
Moss Force and Newlands Hause are on our The 10 Lakes Full-day Tour with Ullswater Cruise. Check availability and book here.