The Colsterdale towers are a set of sighting towers in and around Colsterdale, North Yorkshire, England.
These sighting towers were used to conduct surveys during the construction of Leighton reservoir and Roundhill reservoir, other proposed reservoirs and accompanying pipelines. [1]
Visible from Roundhill Reservoir and Leighton Reservoir above Arnagill Crags is a stone sighting tower built over an aqueduct near a water pumping station. [2] The similar Carle Tower is situated 1.9 miles (3 km) southeast just above Wandley Gill, [3] Carlesmoor Sighting Tower is a further 1.2 miles (2 km) east [4] and another sighting tower to the north is long since gone having been constructed of wood. The Greygarth Monument is also in the area, [5] commemorating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
The sighting towers were erected to conduct surveys (the steep-sided valley of Dallowgill was once a proposed reservoir site) and as references for construction of the pipeline over hill and dale toward Harrogate. The pipe begins at the bottom of a small catchments reservoir above Spout Gill Farm and flows to Roundhill Reservoir, where it meets with the dam overflow pipe that runs to Carlesmoor and empties into the River Laver.
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 but the proposal was rejected due to concerns over lead and coal mines in the area. The narrow-gauge Colsterdale Waterworks Light Railway built in 1901 as a supply line from Masham to Roundhill Reservoir closed in 1926 and was removed in 1932 (after being used during World War I for troop transport to the Leeds Pals camp at Breary Banks just north of Leighton) but is still evident on the south side of the dale.
Yorkshire Water is a water supply and treatment utility company servicing West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and part of Derbyshire, in England. The company has its origins in the Yorkshire Water Authority, one of ten regional water authorities created by the Water Act 1973, and privatised under the terms of the Water Act 1989, when Yorkshire Water plc, the parent company of the Yorkshire Water business, was floated on the London Stock Exchange. The parent company was Kelda Group in 1999. In February 2008, Kelda Group was bought by a consortium of infrastructure funds.
The Nidderdale AONB is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in North Yorkshire, England, bordering the Yorkshire Dales National Park to the east and south. It comprises most of Nidderdale itself, part of lower Wharfedale, the Washburn valley and part of lower Wensleydale, including Jervaulx Abbey and the side valleys west of the River Ure. It covers a total area of 233 square miles (600 km2). The highest point in the Nidderdale AONB is Great Whernside, 704 metres (2,310 ft) above sea level, on the border with the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
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.
Healey is a small village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the valley of the River Burn, to the immediate west of Fearby. It is about three miles west of Masham in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There are several holiday cottages and four Grade II Listed buildings, one of which is Healey Mill, a former corn mill.
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, about 7 miles (11 km) west of Masham. The population of the civil parish was estimated at 20 in 2010. The lower part of the dale around the hamlet of Gollinglith Foot is in the civil parish of Healey. The area is in Harrogate district.
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 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Masham. It takes its name from the nearby village of Leighton.
Nidd Valley Light Railway was a light railway in upper Nidderdale in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was owned by Bradford Corporation Waterworks Department and the corporation also operated its public passenger services. Power & Traction Ltd of London obtained a Light Railway Order for the 6.5-mile (10.5 km) railway from Pateley Bridge to Lofthouse in 1900, but these powers were taken over by Bradford Corporation. A contract to build Angram Reservoir was awarded to John Best & Son in 1903, and he also won the contract to build the public railway and a 6.5-mile (10.5 km) private extension to the reservoir site. This was initially built to 3 ft gauge but was converted to standard gauge by 1907, when the public railway opened. Best had his own locomotives, and Bradford Corporation equipped the public railway with second hand locomotives and carriages from the Metropolitan Railway.
Bramhope Tunnel is on the Harrogate Line between Horsforth station and the Arthington Viaduct in West Yorkshire, England. Services through the railway tunnel are operated mainly by Northern. The tunnel was constructed during 1845–1849 by the Leeds and Thirsk Railway. It is notable for its 2.138-mile (3.441 km) length and its Grade II listed, crenellated north portal. The deaths of 24 men who were killed during its construction are commemorated in Otley churchyard by a monument that is a replica of the tunnel's north portal.
The Six Dales Trail is a long distance footpath in North Yorkshire, England, with a short section in West Yorkshire. It is 38 miles (61 km) long and connects Otley and Middleham.
The Nidd Valley Railway was a 11.5-mile (18.5 km) long single-track branch railway line that ran along the valley of the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. Built by the North Eastern Railway, it ran from Ripley Junction, on the Harrogate to Ripon Line, to Pateley Bridge via five intermediate stations, Ripley Valley, Hampsthwaite, Birstwith, Darley, and Dacre.
The Masham branch was a 7+3⁄4-mile (12.5 km) long North Eastern Railway built single track branch railway line that ran between a junction on the Harrogate to Northallerton line at Melmerby to Masham, North Yorkshire, via one intermediate station, Tanfield.
The Nidd Aqueduct is an aqueduct or man-made watercourse in North Yorkshire, England. It feeds water from Angram and Scar House reservoirs in upper Nidderdale, North Yorkshire 32 mi (51 km) to Bradford in West Yorkshire. The aqueduct supplies 21,000,000 imp gal (95,000 m3) of water per day to Chellow Heights water treatment works. The aqueduct and the reservoirs it connects to are all maintained by Yorkshire Water.
The River Burn is a river that flows wholly within North Yorkshire, England. The river starts as several small streams on Masham Moor and drains Colsterdale flowing eastwards before emptying into the River Ure just south of Masham. Conservation work on removing a weir, and introducing fish to the river in 2016, has meant that salmon have been recorded spawning in the river for the first time in over 100 years.
Masham railway station was the terminus of the Melmerby to Masham branch line serving the town of Masham in North Yorkshire, England. It was on the eastern side of the River Ure, so as such, was actually in Burton-on-Ure. The line operated between 1875 and 1931 for passenger traffic, but was retained for minimal freight train use until 1963.
The Guildford West pipehead and water supply canal is a heritage-listed sewerage infrastructure and water supply canal located at Frank Street, Guildford in the Cumberland Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as Headworks; Industrial Archaeological Site. The property is owned by Sydney Water, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 15 November 2002.
Edinburgh Water Company and its successors have provided a public water supply and latterly sewerage and sewage treatment services to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh since 1819. The original company was established to supply drinking water and did so until 1870, when it was taken over by a public Water Trust, with representatives from Edinburgh, Leith and Portobello. That in turn was taken over by Edinburgh Corporation and in 1975, responsibility passed to the Lothian Regional Council, as did the duty to provide sewerage and sewage treatment services. Both services were moved out of local authority control, and taken over by the East of Scotland Water Authority in 1996. The three Scottish regional water authorities were merged to form Scottish Water in 2002.
Upper Barden Reservoir is an upland fresh water reservoir, one of two reservoirs that collect water from Barden Moor, and dam Barden Beck, a tributary of the River Wharfe in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. The reservoir was opened in 1882 and also supplies fresh water to the Nidd Aqueduct, which transports it to Bradford. Upper Barden Reservoir was the second of the reservoirs to be built,.
Oak Beck is a watercourse that flows eastwards across the northern part of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. The beck flows through a broad V-shaped valley, before emptying into the River Nidd at Bilton, just upstream from the Nidd Gorge Viaduct. Water from Oak Beck has been used as a water supply for Harrogate and also for industrial purposes further downstream.
Harrogate Gasworks Railway was an industrial railway in the town of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. It was built to the gauge of 2 ft and ran between Bilton Junction on the North Eastern Railway, to the Harrogate Gas Company's (HGC) works at New Park, north of the town centre. It opened in 1908 to carry coal to the works for gasification, and outbound byproduct liquids. It closed to traffic in 1956. The railway was noted for its tight gauge restrictions in the tunnel at New Park. Two of its steam locomotives have survived into preservation, and are still in use on heritage railways.
The Colsterdale Light Railway (CLR) was a narrow-gauge railway line in Colsterdale, North Yorkshire, England. It was built between 1903 and 1905 to allow materials to be taken up the Colsterdale valley for reservoir building. The building of two reservoirs in the valley of the River Burn, was first approved for the councils of Harrogate and Leeds respectively in 1901. Construction on the second reservoir was halted during the First World War, although the railway was kept in use carrying men and supplies to the training camp, later a PoW camp, at Breary Banks.
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