The Colsterdale towers are a number of interesting towers in and around Colsterdale

Colsterdale

Colsterdale is the valley of the River Burn, a tributary of the River Ure, in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It gives its name to a hamlet and civil parish in the upper part of the dale. The area is in Harrogate district...

, North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Visible from Roundhill Reservoir

Roundhill Reservoir

Roundhill Reservoir is situated near Leighton Reservoir in North Yorkshire, England. It was constructed by Harrogate Corporation early in the 20th century. Water from the reservoir is fed into Yorkshire Water's grid....

 and Leighton Reservoir

Leighton Reservoir

Leighton Reservoir is a reservoir which drains via the River Burn to the River Ure in North Yorkshire, England. It neighbours Roundhill Reservoir and is about west of Masham...

 above Arnagill Crags is a stone sighting tower built over an aqueduct

Aqueduct

An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....

 near a water pumping station. The similar Carle Tower is situated 3 km southeast just above Wandley Gill, Carlesmoor Sighting Tower is a further 2 km east and another sighting tower to the north is long since gone having been constructed of wood. The Greygarth Monument is also in the area, commemorating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

Erection

The sighting towers were erected to conduct surveys (the steep-sided valley of Dallow Gill was once a proposed reservoir site) and as references for construction of the pipeline over hill and dale toward Harrogate

Harrogate

Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...

. The pipe begins at the bottom of a small catchments reservoir above Spout Gill Farm and flows to Roundhill Reservoir

Roundhill Reservoir

Roundhill Reservoir is situated near Leighton Reservoir in North Yorkshire, England. It was constructed by Harrogate Corporation early in the 20th century. Water from the reservoir is fed into Yorkshire Water's grid....

, where it meets with the dam overflow pipe that runs to Carlesmoor and empties into the River Laver.

Reservoirs

The reservoirs were built by the Harrogate Water Corporation between 1895 and 1911. The Leeds Corporation explored construction of another reservoir to the north-west in Colsterdale

Colsterdale

Colsterdale is the valley of the River Burn, a tributary of the River Ure, in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It gives its name to a hamlet and civil parish in the upper part of the dale. The area is in Harrogate district...

 but the proposal was rejected due to concerns over lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

 and coal mines in the area. The narrow-gauge Colsterdale Waterworks Light Railway built in 1901 as a supply line from Masham

Masham

Masham is a small market town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 1,235. Situated in Wensleydale on the western bank of the River Ure, the name derives from the Anglo-Saxon "Mæssa's Ham", the homestead belonging to Mæssa. The Romans had...

 to Roundhill Reservoir

Roundhill Reservoir

Roundhill Reservoir is situated near Leighton Reservoir in North Yorkshire, England. It was constructed by Harrogate Corporation early in the 20th century. Water from the reservoir is fed into Yorkshire Water's grid....

 closed in 1926 and was removed in 1932 (after being used during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 for troop transport to the Leeds Pals

Leeds Pals

The Leeds Pals were a First World War Pals battalion of Kitchener's Army raised in the West Yorkshire city of Leeds. When the battalion was taken over by the British Army it was officially named the 15th Battalion , The Prince of Wales's Own .The battalion was formed in September 1914 and...

 camp at Breary Banks just north of Leighton

Leighton, North Yorkshire

Leighton is a hamlet in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is near the similar named Leighton Reservoir that provides for Yorkshire Water....

) but is still evident on the south side of the dale.

External links

• Google Earth KMZ with markers, photos and 3D sketchups