Colsterdale towers

The Colsterdale towers are stone sighting towers scattered across the moorland and valleys near Colsterdale in North Yorkshire. They were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to guide surveyors and engineers during the construction of Leighton and Roundhill reservoirs and their pipelines. One tower stands above an aqueduct near a water-pumping station, visible from Roundhill Reservoir. Carle Tower lies 3 kilometres southeast near Wandley Gill, while Carlesmoor Sighting Tower is another 2 kilometres east. A wooden tower to the north has long since disappeared. These towers were essential for mapping the steep-sided Dallowgill valley, which was once considered for a reservoir. They also served as reference points for laying a pipeline from Spout Gill Farm to Roundhill Reservoir and beyond to Carlesmoor, where it joins the River Laver. The reservoirs themselves were built between 1895 and 1911 by Harrogate Corporation Waterworks. Nearby, the Greygarth Monument marks Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Today, the towers remain standing as quiet reminders of the area’s industrial past. Walkers can spot them while exploring the moorland paths between reservoirs. The old Colsterdale Waterworks Light Railway, built in 1901, once ran from Masham to Roundhill Reservoir but was removed in 1932, though traces can still be seen on the dale’s south side. The landscape around the towers offers wide views over the reservoirs and valleys, linking engineering history with natural scenery.