Aira Force
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Aira Force is a waterfall in the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. The stream which flows over the waterfall is Aira Beck, which rises on the upper slopes of Stybarrow Dodd at a height of 720 metres and flows north-easterly before turning south, blocked by the high heather-covered slopes of Gowbarrow Fell. It turns south on its eight-kilometre journey to join Ullswater, at a height of 150 metres. One kilometre before entering the lake, the Beck makes the 20-metre leap down a rocky ravine at the falls known as Aira Force. The word "force" is used in many parts of northern England as a synonym for "waterfall"; it comes from the old Norse word fors.
Aira Force lies on land owned by the National Trust. The Trust has provided facilities, such as car parking, disabled access, graded paths and viewing platforms to make Aira one of the most famous and most visited waterfalls in the Lake District. A small arched bridge spans the stream just as the beck goes over the falls giving a spectacular view from the top as the water makes its magnificent leap.
The Lake Poet William Wordsworth paid many visits to the area around Aira Force; he was inspired to write his poem "Daffodils" with the famous opening line, "I wandered lonely as a cloud" as he observed daffodils growing on the shore of Ullswater near where Aira Beck enters the lake. The falls themselves are mentioned in three Wordsworth poems, with the most famous reference being in "The Somnambulist", where in the final verse he writes:
- Wild stream of Aira, hold thy course,
- Nor fear memorial lays,
- Where clouds that spread in solemn shade,
- Are edged with golden rays!
- Dear art thou to the light of heaven,
- Though minister of sorrow;
- Sweet is thy voice at pensive even.
- And thou, in lovers' hearts forgiven,
- Shalt take thy place with Yarrow!
External link
- [Ullswater and Aira Force information at the National Trust]
- [Aira Force- an illustrated Guide to the Lake District]
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