Falling Foss & the Hermitage

History

The Hermitage is a Georgian garden folly carved in 1790 from a single huge block of sandstone. Its south face is lettered 'THE HERMITAGE' and its west face bears the date and initials 'G C 1790' (the carving actually reads 'G + C').

Documents held at Whitby Museum credit the work to George Clubb, described as a Whitby schoolmaster and a 'jack of all trades' or factotum to the Brown family of Newton House — the gentleman's estate whose pleasure grounds once reached to this part of the wood. (Many older and secondary accounts give the name as George Chubb, but this is now regarded as a transcription error, the correct name being Clubb.)

Newton House itself belonged to Jonas Brown, a Whitby ship-owner and merchant who laid out the surrounding grounds in the late 18th century. The folly belongs to a wider 18th-century vogue for hermitages and rustic retreats, ornaments to a landscaped estate where the leisured could play at the solitary, contemplative life.

Falling Foss itself has long been a celebrated North York Moors beauty spot; the cottage beside it, Midge Hall — a former gamekeeper's cottage dating from the 1700s — had been derelict for decades before it was bought in 2008 and revived as a tea garden, continuing a use that goes back at least to the 1930s.

The surrounding Little Beck Wood passed from the Forestry Commission to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, which took the lease in 1970 and bought the wood in 1986.

Myth & legend

Two seats hewn into the Hermitage's roof are the Wishing Chairs: stories say a wish made in one is granted only once you cross and sit in the other. Local legend credits the carving to George Chubb, an out-of-work seaman set to hollowing the stone, though Whitby Museum papers name another hand.

Geology

The fall drops over the Middle Jurassic sandstones of the Ravenscar Group, the same hard, permeable beds that give the eastern moors their steep, wooded dale-sides and that crop out in the coastal cliffs from Whitby to Scarborough. May Beck has cut down through these strata to create the short gorge, and the durable sandstone forms the clean lip over which the water falls.

It is the same rock, worked as a single great block, from which the Hermitage was carved. Soils on the valley floor are thin and free-draining over the sandstone, supporting the rich broadleaved woodland.

Wildlife & nature

Falling Foss lies within Little Beck Wood, a roughly 26-hectare woodland nature reserve managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. The canopy is a characterful mix of oak, ash, alder and cherry over an understorey of hazel, holly and rowan; ferns dominate the shadiest, dampest ground beside the beck. In spring and early summer the floor is bright with bluebell, wood anemone, primrose, moschatel and early purple orchid.

The beck holds dipper and grey wagtail, while treecreeper, nuthatch, marsh tit and great spotted woodpecker work the trees, and spotted flycatchers visit in summer. Look too for signs of badger and deer in the soft ground. As across the region's woods, ash dieback is changing the canopy, so expect some standing and fallen deadwood — itself a valuable habitat.

The view

After the open, often windswept miles of Sleights Moor, the descent into Littlebeck Wood is one of the great changes of mood on the whole walk: from bare heather to a green, dripping, fern-hung ravine. The path threads the steep east bank above Little Beck before opening at the natural amphitheatre of the falls, where the water slides white over dark sandstone into a shaded pool.

The Hermitage, half-swallowed by moss and trees, adds a touch of Romantic theatre. It is a place to linger in the last cool shade before the climb out and the first sight of the sea.

Photography

Best light is soft and overcast — bright sun blows out the white water and the deep shade together. Photograph the fall from the elevated C2C terrace path and from the pool below; a slow shutter (with a small tripod or by bracing on a rock) silks the water, while the surrounding ferns and mossy boulders frame it.

The Hermitage rewards a wider lens to take in the whole carved boulder and its setting; catch the 'G C 1790' inscription and the rooftop wishing chairs in detail. Spring (bluebells) and autumn (turning oak and beech) are the most photogenic seasons; after heavy rain the fall is at its most powerful.

When to visit

Spring brings the woodland flowers and a lively flow after winter rain; autumn gives golden colour and, again, a fuller fall. High summer can reduce the cascade in dry spells, though it is generally reckoned to keep a respectable flow even then; the glen stays cool and shaded.

Winter is atmospheric but the woodland paths and the riverside terrace can be muddy, slippery and leaf-strewn — take care on the steps and roots. The Midge Hall tea garden is seasonal and weather-dependent, and in 2026 its opening is very restricted — only over the late-May bank holiday and then weekends in July and August — so do not rely on it on any other date or in bad weather, and carry your own food and drink.

Getting there

The falls sit on the final stage between Grosmont and Robin Hood's Bay. Grosmont is served by the heritage North Yorkshire Moors Railway and by the Esk Valley line (Middlesbrough–Whitby). At the finish, Robin Hood's Bay is linked by bus to Whitby and Scarborough.

Drivers visiting the falls directly use the Forestry England Falling Foss car park or the May Beck car park, reached by narrow lanes off the B1416, which connects to the A171 Whitby–Scarborough road; the waterfall itself is at about OS grid reference NZ 888 035.

Where to stay

There is no accommodation at the falls themselves. Walkers overnight either back at Grosmont/Sleights or, more usually, push on to the journey's end at Robin Hood's Bay, which has B&Bs, guesthouses and pubs with rooms, with the nearest youth hostel at Boggle Hole about a mile down the coast — book well ahead in the peak summer season. Littlebeck hamlet and Whitby (a short drive/bus away) offer further beds. Most C2C walkers use a baggage-transfer service so they can walk this final wooded section with only a day-pack.

Food & water

The beck water is not a safe drinking source untreated. The seasonal Midge Hall tea garden beside the falls (water, tea, cake) can help, but in 2026 it opens only over the late-May bank holiday and on July and August weekends, so on most days it is shut — do not count on it. Fill up in Grosmont at the start of the stage; the next dependable food and drink after the wood is on the approach to and at Robin Hood's Bay.

Safety

The riverside path is uneven, with tree roots, mud and steps, and runs along an elevated terrace above the gorge — keep to the path and well back from drop-offs, especially in the wet or with children and dogs. The rocks around the falls and pool are slippery; the pool is shallow enough to paddle but currents rise quickly after rain. Mobile signal is patchy to absent deep in the wooded valley.

This is the long final stage (a full day from Grosmont with a stiff climb over Sleights Moor first), so carry water, food and waterproofs and allow time.

Accessibility

This is an off-road woodland and riverside section reached on rough, rooty, sometimes muddy paths with steps, steep banks and an exposed elevated terrace above the beck — not wheelchair- or buggy-accessible, and care is needed in the wet. There is no step-free route to the falls or the Hermitage from the path.

Drivers can shorten the approach by using the Forestry England car park near Falling Foss (a few minutes' walk to the falls) or the May Beck car park, from which a footpath of about three-quarters of a mile follows the beck down to the fall; the woodland walking is on natural surfaces throughout.

Visitor tips

Do not plan on the Midge Hall tea garden — in 2026 it opens only over the late-May bank holiday and on July and August weekends, so on most days it is closed; carry your own water and food. Wear footwear with grip for the wet, rooty terrace path and the slippery rocks by the pool, keep dogs and children close to the drop-offs, and don't count on a mobile signal in the gorge.

After heavy rain the fall is at its most dramatic; in a dry spell it is gentler but the glen is still a beautiful, cool place to rest before the last climb to the sea. Spring bluebells and autumn colour are the loveliest times to come.