Galleny Force lies hidden within a short gorge on Stonethwaite Beck, where the river narrows beneath a canopy of alder and ash before tumbling into a chain of clear plunge pools. The surrounding banks are thick with fern and moss, sheltering this quiet corner of Borrowdale from view. It is one of the valley’s most secret bathing spots — a place where the beck pauses, gathers, and falls again in silver ribbons through the Fairy Glen.

The plunge pools of Galleny Force lie in shaded hollows below the falls, their clear green depths inviting on warm summer days. Long favoured by wild swimmers and occasional skinny dippers, these natural basins gather beneath rock shelves polished smooth by centuries of flow. The spot sits just north of Smithymire Island and is well known to campers from the Stonethwaite site, who come to cool off where the beck slows and sunlight filters through the trees.

The Fairy Glen is a short, secluded gorge on Stonethwaite Beck near Smithymire Island, where the river tumbles through twin waterfalls separated by a winding reach of mossy rock and alder shade. The beck threads its way through narrow chutes and gleaming cascades, each pouring into a calm plunge pool below. Sound and spray mingle here in a tranquil Borrowdale hollow — a hidden glen that feels touched by enchantment.

Galleny Force hides deep within its ravine, unseen from the banks of Stonethwaite Beck and unknown to most who pass nearby. It is the only true gorge along the beck’s course, a narrow cleft where the water funnels through rock and drops in a bright cascade. Those who find it often linger — swimmers drawn by solitude, sunlight, and the soft roar of the falls echoing between moss-dark walls.