Goit Stock Waterfall- Short waterfall walk

This summer is the fantastic time to enjoy new walks here in Yorkshire. I fancied a waterfall walk after a reader suggested the Goit Stock Waterfall walk a few weeks back on the Yorkshire Tots to Teens Facebook page. The waterfalls are located just outside the village of Cullingworth near Bingley. There are no toilets or cafes on the walk, but if you want a short waterfall walk, it’s a great little morning out!

Parking at Goit Stock Falls

We parked along the road just beyond the Malt Shovel Pub in Harden (post code BD16 1BG). I can imagine that on the weekend parking spaces must be difficult to find, but mid-week we had no problem parking up. We walked five minutes down the road back opposite the Malt Shovel where the footpath was clearly marked. Please be mindful of the local residents when parking and only park in designated parking spots.

The first bit of the walk is along a paved road which follows the river. We had to stand at the side of the road a few times to let cars pass, but in general the road was pretty quiet.

You pass Lower Falls along your way and get some nice views of the river.

Please, please take your trash back out with you. I read many reviews on Trip Advisor saying how much trash has been left by day trippers! The day we visited was quiet and we didn’t see much rubbish, but we did see two very full bins.

Once you walk past the caravan park, you continue along a path through the woods. There are plenty of rocks to climb and places to paddle!

As you can see, the path is uneven and can be narrow. It wasn’t an issue on a week day morning, but a visit on a busy weekend could make social distancing difficult.

Goit Stock Falls

The walk to Goit Stock Waterfalls is just over a mile and an easy walk for little legs, although too uneven to be pram friendly. The waterfalls themselves are a spectacular sight, and there are some big flat rocks perfect for a snack or a rest!

While we were enjoying our treats, some teenagers showed up and swam in the pool ignoring the no diving signs. My kids were highly amused as it was too cold for us to go much above our ankles.

Since posting this I have had people reporting that there can be large parties of teens drinking during warm afternoons. (There has also been recent a tragic drowning death of a teenage boy so please do use caution even when paddling.)

Once we had finished our picnic we continued up the steps at the side of the falls. There we found a second, smaller waterfall.

From there it was less then 10 minutes to a dirt road and a bridge which we crossed. The footpath was clearly marked just beyond the bridge but it was very soggy underfoot. Rather than continue on, we turned back and continued along the dirt road, following another family in front of us.

This turned out to be a big mistake. Rather than take us back to our starting point, we ended up walking along the B6429, which was a busy country road. The kids were hot, tired and fed up by the time we got back! Rather than a two mile walk it was a 5+ mile walk in the end. I really wish we had just carried on through the swampy bit along the footpath like the black line indicates.

Goit Stock Waterfall Walk Map

We’d love to try some more kid friendly waterfall walks. If you have any to suggest, please let me know in the comments!

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Try more family walks

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