Ryburn - Path clearance below Great Greave farm.

 This site was originally inspected by Jerry and Angus in early March when a member of the public raised concerns about a fallen tree which was blocking the path. There was also a considerable growth of brambles beyond the fallen tree and a collapsed stock fence.

The blue line indicates the length of the path to be cleared.

Access through Great Greave farm is a bit of a squeeze.

The initial visit showing the fallen tree to be removed.

View from the other side of the valley showing the path below Great Greave farm.

So, on a warm sunny day, Linda, Jerry, Peter, Charlie and Angus set off to tackle the clearance armed with CROWS latest purchase of Husqvarna electric hedge cutter and multi-tool brush cutter. Upon arrival we discovered that someone had beaten us to the job, we found out later from the owner of Great Greave farm, that the council had employed a contractor to remove the tree and clear the ditch at the side of the path; the lower section of the path was still overgrown.

Work done by the council contractor to the top section of the path.

The lower section of the path was still badly overgrown.

Linda, Charlie and Peter set to clearing the brambles and undergrowth whilst Jerry and Angus made good the collapsed stock fence which had been put in to cover a section of collapsed wall. The fence had collapsed onto the path so we decided that we would replace it to open up the access.

The stock fence collapsed onto the path.

The finished section of stock fence.

Many thanks to the kind donations received by CROWS which allowed this work to be done.

TODMORDEN - Obadiah Wood and New PRoW Cornholme

 There were two teams out from Todmorden today:

Team 1:    Ken, David and Frank H  constructing a new stile on Blackshaw 056 near Staveley Cote just up from Great Rock. (See separate Blog).

Team 2:     Catherine, RJ and Kasher were constructing a boardwalk at the entrance to Obadiah Wood on Todmorden 060. Meanwhile Mick and Neil M were planting two small trees, which had been donated, and then fettling up and removing unnecessary tree guards from the mixed woodland through which the new PRoW, our project over a number of weeks, now meanders.

We will return to sort out other tree guards and stakes at a later date.

Today's work in Cornholme has been funded partly by Active Calderdale (sorting out of tree guards) and partly by Vale Walkers (the construction of the boardwalk). Many thanks.

The location of the new stile near Staveley Cote.

Boardwalk construction and tree guard checking in Cornholme.

Catherine and RJ and the water course to be "bridged".

The first job was to deepen the water channel
to keep water off the pathway.

Why are the biggest stones always in the most
inconvenient places?

Completing the main construction of the boardwalk.

The boardwalk was then manoeuvred into position.

Stobs were put in to anchor the boardwalk.

Catherine having too much fun adding in the staples
on the boardwalk.

Finished boardwalk with RJ and Catherine

A small oak tree planted.

A forest of tree guards and stakes to be checked
and, where necessary, removed.

TODMORDEN: Staveley Cote (near Great Rock) stylish stile!

 Staveley Cote: the dilapidated - a resurrection job.

The day was ideal for Ken, David and Frank H to work on the 'stile' where footpath Blackshaw 056 meets the access track to Staveley Cote (see map)

1. Map: The blue 'pin' marks the work site. 

Following the workaday delights of ideal temperature and magnificent views towards Stoodley Pike we had an extra bonus - the timber and tools could be unloaded within a metre (!) of the job. No long carries. Hooray!

Funding towards this work was provided by Calderdale Ramblers. Many thanks.

The details.

The original access from field to track seemed to have been by clambering over a low wooden stile-bar near a semi-collapsed wall but more recent efforts had obviously involved squashing down a section of stockfence and its barbed top-wire. 

2. Before work began: View from track-side.
Mmm! We've seen better construction!

This section of fence has had a hard life! Posts are rotten and out of line. The 'stile-like' structure to the left of picture is unstable, The wire fence and its barbed top-wire are badly fitted and lack tension. Overall it barely functions as a livestock barrier and fails to offer a reasonable right-of-way.

What to do? After some discussion we decided to construct a 'standard' two-step stile (positioned approximately in centre picture) then patch-up and re-tension stock fencing across the gaps on either side using new or re-positioned posts as required.

Time to start digging . . .

3. View from track-side: Good alignment
now, avoids a lot of problems later on!

4. View from field-side: Old fence temporarily 
removed. Holes dug and stile side-posts
deeply and firmly embedded.

5. View from field-side: three step legs embedded
with hole number four a work in progress.

The step legs were cross-braced; treadboards were nailed in position; cross-rails were fixed in parallel; the stock fence to left (as in the above picture) was secured and re-tensioned; the stock fence to the right was similarly treated (new fence post needed); a waymark disk was affixed and finally a grab post was screw-bolted to the taller of the stile posts. Phew! Lots of sweat and a long day. . .  but what was the outcome? . . .

6. View from track-side: Hard to see but wire fencing
blocks the' gap' to right of picture. This is where
a dog-gate could be fitted if requested..

7. View from field-side: Ken's final assessment.
Pass or fail? The excitement mounts!

Today was hard graft but despite a couple of glitches and a lot of finicky work involving the stock fences we were pleased with the outcome. The changes from picture 2 to picture 6 are impressive - there might be some creaking tomorrow . . . but it won't be the stile!

Ryburn - Repositioning a bridleway sign on Slack Lane, Krumlin.

This morning saw Jak and Angus recover and reposition a fallen bridleway marker post located at the end of Slack lane where it joins Scammonden Road at Park Nook.

Location of the fallen post circled in blue.

The marker post had been previously removed when the stone wall was rebuilt a couple of years ago. It was recently discovered (by a dog walker) lying in the undergrowth next to the wall. When we recovered the post we found that it had a minor fracture two-thirds of the way up its length. Fortunately we were able to 'splint' this defect.

The post as it was found, lying in the grass next to the wall.

Minor surgery required to splint the fractured post.

This path is well-used by walkers, horse riders, cyclists and the occasional errant delivery driver. The latter think it's a short-cut to the B6114. Mmm! Several have tried, few have succeeded, and many have been dragged out by tractor or recovery vehicle.

The finished job.

This short but important Friday task was funded by public donations to CROWS. Many thanks.

BLACKSHAW HEAD - Near Popples

What a fantastic place to work on a fine day! Neil D and Kasher were repairing a stile near to Popples, off Marsh Lane in Blackshaw Head. This stile is at the junction of Blackshaw 085 and Blackshaw 069. 

The views from this area are amazing - it's well worth walking these paths just to admire the panorama. Additionally, we were serenaded by Curlew and Lapwing, and were joined for a short while by Pennine Way walkers (from the Netherlands) who were on their way to camp at the 'New Delight'.

CROWS folklore: "It's often easier to completely re-build a stile rather than having to repair it."

This one-step stile, had an exceptionally high top cross-rail. We soon we found out why, as during excavation the remnants of a leg for a second step were unearthed . . . this dilapidated one-step stile was originally a two-step stile (but equally dilapidated)!

However, the stile did have one sound leg so the other three legs were installed in alignment. Annoyingly, the correct location for one of the new long legs was exactly where a large boulder was buried . . . but after much digging and some useful help from the two Pennine Way walkers this obstruction was removed to be later recycled as a take-off stone.

After further hole digging; rock extracting; leg aligning; hauling out of buried sheep netting; levelling of molehills to fill in the post holes and staring obsessively at a spirit level we finally constructed a safe, stable, secure and robust two-step stile. Phew!

We fitted cross-rails, reused the sheep netting, installed a grab post and adjusted the height of one of the side-uprights (aka sawing off the rotten top!). We will return to treat and "cap" the 'raw' end of this post. 

Today's work was funded by Calderdale Ramblers. Many thanks.

Thanks too to the residents of Popples who allowed us to park in their yard a few metres from the worksite. No long carries . .  .absolute bliss!

1. Map: Blue 'pin' shows location of the Popples stile.

2. Before: The stile with a wincingly high top-rail!

3. The work begins: Kasher wrestling with a rotten stile leg.

4. Going Dutch?: Timely assistance from Pennine Way walkers (many thanks!!).

5. Alignment is all: Neil fixing the two farm-side legs.

6 .The work advances: Neil re-cycling netting
to make the stile lamb-proof!

7. Trim time: Neil cutting off the
decayed top of the side-post.

8. The way is clear: A grab-post attached
and new waymark disks in place.

9. End of session: The completed stile. Neat work.