The Langcliffe Water Supply

5 October 2003
 JOURNAL 
 2004 
 North Craven 
 Heritage Trust 

Leaders - Audrey & Harold Foxcroft

The route of the walk led from the Langcliffe car park via Pike Lane to Goat Scar Lane, Stainforth. The return journey led to Stainforth and passed the Hoffman Kiln of the Craven Lime Works and thence back to Pike Lane and Langcliffe. The route normally provides excellent views of the Three Peaks and surrounding hills, but on this occasion they were obscured.

The main theme of the walk was the history of the water supply for Langcliffe, starting at the Fountain. Langcliffe was the last township of the Settle Rural District to be provided with an adequate public supply (1914) and the walkers were provided with the chronology of events and delays which caused this. The walked route crossed the pipeline from Cowside on a number of occasions. This provided the opportunity to see at first hand the engineering difficulties involved in laying such a pipeline at that time, and also to wonder at the relatively low costs involved. A separate article in this Journal provides more detail of the design of the several schemes which were considered and the details of the contracts involved.

FoxcroftWalk03.jpg
Gathered round Lancliffe's original water supply



FoxcroftWalk03.jpg
Gathered round Lancliffe's original water supply