Aira Force, Ullswater

A couple of weeks ago we headed down to the Lake District for the day and we wanted to get some pictures of the Aira Force waterfall at Ullswater we had heard about but never visited.  

So in addition to sharing some pictures with you I thought I would tell you a bit about the logistics of it all in case you want to visit. 

Essentially most of the details are on the National Trust website, which you can see here (and it is actually free unlike anything else the National Trust does).  

So the first thing is the parking for the Aira Force is really easy to find - it's signposted and literally just off the road when you're driving around Ullswater.  However you have to pay about a gizillion pounds as it's National Trust.  There are other facilities such as toilets, snack bars and picnic benches which seemed very family friendly although we didn't stop at them. 

The walk to get to the falls is really quite short (20 mins max) and quite easy, although to get up and down around the waterfall to get your pictures there are quite steep and deep steps.  These would be a struggle for the less agile and I had to carry Hetty up and down them, except from when there was a grassy verge.  

There are wider loops and walks to do which makes it quite a nice day out and customisable to what you want.  On the way back we walked down to the river and let the dogs paddle!  

Top Photography Tips 
Firstly - timing - if you want a nice empty shot like ours, don't visit when we did - peak times on a Saturday.  It was mobbed!  I think a golden hour shot would be really nice and quieter, however our time was doable but it just required a lot of patience and willingness to sit down and wait!  

Secondly, to get nice perspectives you'll want to go down the first set of steps and set up camp there.  One of you (me in the blue coat) can go up and around to stand on the top bridge while the camera stays down on the bottom bridge. 

Another shot is you/me on the bottom bridge and the camera can go down one more track to get a wider shot - which we tried but didn't love because of ALL the people!  

There's not really much else to add - it's not a hard place to photograph and for them to turn out nicely - especially if you have some patience and slow the shutter to get a nice blurring of the water like we did!