Aysgarth Falls
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Aysgarth Falls are a triple flight of waterfalls,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> surrounded by woodland and farmland, carved out by the River Ure over an almost Template:Convert stretch on its descent to mid-Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales of England, near the village Aysgarth. The falls are quite spectacular after heavy rainfall as thousands of gallons of water cascade over the series of broad limestone steps, which are divided into three stages: Upper Force, Middle Force and Lower Force.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The falls are an SSSI.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Description
Aysgarth Falls have attracted visitors for more than 200 years, including John Ruskin, J. M. W. Turner and William Wordsworth,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> all of whom enthused about the falls' outstanding beauty.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The falls were created when meltwater from the Ice Age that had been held back by a terminal moraine spilled down over the area and eroded the boulder clay and the bedrock limestone underneath.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The falls drop Template:Convert over a half-mile section of the river.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The Falls are situated in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. There is a visitors' centre with an exhibition, information, items for sale, a café, toilets and a pay-and-display car park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
There are public footpaths through the wooded valley, offering views of the river and falls.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Wild flowers appear in the spring and summer, for example snowdrops in January and February, primroses in April and bluebells in May, and birds, squirrels and deer may also be seen. Occasionally salmon can be seen leaping up the falls in autumn. Nearby is St Andrew's Church, which reputedly has the largest churchyard in England. The church has a medieval painted wooden screen rescued from the destroyed Jervaulx Abbey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The name originates from Old Norse and means the open space in the oak trees.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Popular culture
All three falls were featured in the films Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and they were featured on the television programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the North.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>