Crawley Cistern

It has been on my Blip radar for so long but this morning we made the expedition to Crawley cistern, which lies in open fields (see extra in this blip). Parking at Flotterstone and, instead of joining the throng walking up to Glencorse reservoir, we took the opposite direction, crossed the road and took the  Water Department access.

Designed by Playfair and built in 1825, the tank is at the head of a nine-mile cast-iron aqueduct, with a maximum diameter of 20 inches, passing via Liberton and under Castle Hill to Hanover Street in the New Town on a plinth in a 6 ft by 5 ft wide tunnel. (Canmore). The water was derived from springs around Crawley Haugh and were joined by underground water from the Glencorse Valley in a separate culvert. At the same time, to meet the increased demand for fresh water, the valley was flooded to create Glencorse reservoir.


There are references the 'Crawley Tunnel' in the city centre, which is actually the outer protection to the iron pipes. 


Extra 1 collage shows original winding handle for the inlet, a pipe marker a few yards to the south, and the gate into the cistern area from the access path.
Extra 2 a view of the Pentlands from the car park.