TODMORDEN - Scaitcliffe Wood and Knowlwood Road

 There were three teams out from Todmorden today:

Team 1 : RJ and Kasher returned (yet again!) to Scaitcliffe Wood (Tod 082) to replace even more steps.

Team 2: David and Ken returned to a stile, started last week, to finish the rebuilding and to install a dog-gate. This is on Tod 209 between Knowlwood Road and Lumbutts Road

Team 3: Gareth and Mick started on a long "to do" list for the Lumbutts and Mankinholes area - see separate Blog.

Today's work has been funded by generous individual donations to CROWS. Many thanks to everyone who contributes to making out paths safer and easier to use.

Team 1:

The end really is in sight! We replaced/added-in another eight steps today. Each one will hopefully make the route safer and easier to negotiate. The easily 'rolled-on' acorns are still making this route harder than it usually is! Our next visit should see a completion of the steps and the installation of a final section of revetment. After that it's a little more path widening, the infilling some of the steps and a general clear up of the decayed timbers of the old steps. 

Scaitcliffe Wood: Tod 082.

RJ putting in pilot holes for the stobs.

The riser being positioned as far as possible
from the edge of the steep slope.

A novel way of measuring the distances 
between the step risers . . .

The next section to be tackled.

The steps near the bottom of Tod 082.

Team 2:

Last week's session of stile building resulted in a stile upright being replaced, new cross rails being fitted and some sense being made of the sheep netting surrounding the stile. Today the team managed to embed a final upright and then install the dog-gate. A disproportionate amount of time was spent sorting out the netting which, sadly, had been cut. Hopefully, with the a dog-gate in place such damage to the wire fence will no longer happen.

We still have some work to do on this route: the handrail at the bottom section will be replaced; the path around the perimeter of the house will be made safer and then the stone steps from the stile through the field alongside Swineshead Clough can be cleared.

Tod 209 near Swineshead Clough.

The stile at the start of the day.

Ken on quality control duties. Note the 'spaghetti' 
of wires from the sheep netting.

David with the completed stile and dog gate.

The end of the day . . .  a safe and secure stile.

Sowerby - Footpath (Hebden Royd 103) on Aaron Hill

This was the completion of a job started in July this year following a request from Calderdale Long Distance Walkers who also funded the work- a  big thank you to them. It was hoped to be a relatively simple job for a Friday but as Jerry, Graham and Angus were to discover, this was not the case!

Location of today's work site shown along the blue arrow.

Things started off simply enough - a bit of stimming, some cutting back, minor pruning of low/fallen branches and the installation of a markerpost to show the best direction across the adjacent access land.

The first section to be strimmed back.

If you look carefully at the above image you will see two strands of barbed wire which sag downwards from the strainer post into the grass. What Jerry discovered, over a stretch of about 50 m, was that they led to several buried posts and three lengths of barbed wire tangled into the grass! When the previous fence had been replaced, the old one had just been left lying on the ground to become partly overgrown.

This posed a significant risk to 2 and 4 legged walkers, not only as a trip hazard but also, of more concern, as a potential source of puncture wounds to feet and paws. We set about exposing the wire and carefully removed it from the buried posts (which we also extracted) and rolled it up. Despite it being high-tensile and extremely "springy", the removal was completed without injury . . . other than a torn waterproof.

Three rolls of wire now removed and taken off site.

The finished section, wire removed, support post fitted and treadboard made safe.

The second section to be strimmed back.

No such drama on the second section, so job done!

Air-bnb anyone?

WALSHAW and BLACKSHAW

 A day at two' Shaws

Conditions were ideal for Ian S and Andrew to work firstly at Walshaw to re-embed a fingerpost and then move on to Blackshaw Head to re-fix waymark posts on the paths from Lane Side towards Harleywood Gate.

i) Walshaw:

1. Map: Location of fingerpost at bridleway junction.

The old post had rotted but some neat work by Ian S in the depot salvaged the upper part of the post and spliced it with an overlap joint to a new 'leg' section.

2. Restored post: final adjustments to
the 3-way post.

3. Angled view: All three bridleway
directions now clear

ii) Blackshaw Head

1. Map: Approximate location of work area.

The right of way (Long Row) goes south from The Long Causeway, past Lane Side and loops around as right of way Lower Lane to Harleywood Gate before re-joining The Long Causeway. The parts of this loop above Daisy Bank Clough are marked by yellow-topped posts. The livestock in this area (mainly horses) regards these posts as personal back-scratchers and, as even a small horse weighs about 1/3 tonne, the horse-post contest is not an equal one!

Today's task for Ian and Andrew was to re-fix any existing posts that had been dislodged and install some extra posts to make this wet route clearer. Unfortunately, no pictures are yet available but 65 mm diameter posts with a yellow top are not too hard to imagine!

BLACKSHAW HEAD: A little bit of this and a little bit of that . .

 Blackshaw Head:

Having helped to unload a substantial timber delivery from CALVAG, Kasher and Frank H went 'on tour' to complete the following:

i)  Rodmer Clough: Improve the link between the new stile (constructed two weeks ago) and the adjacent stockfence. Add waymark disks to indicate the right of way (Blackshaw 010) that heads SW from this stile to Scotland. Install a post (with waymark) to mark the start of a mysterious right of way (Blackshaw 009) that heads West to Slade.

1. Map: Location for stile improvement and new markerpost

2. Reminder: Original state of 'stile'.

3. Reminder: Re-build earlier this month.

The earlier work temporarily secured the right-hand ends of the cross-rails with a short section of vertical rail (just visible). This was replaced by a taller rail hammered deeply into the ground and battened to the existing fence post. The whole structures is now very secure indeed and, if  requested by the landowner, could accommodate an extra section of top rail and/or a dog-gate.

4. In progress: new vertical being fixed in place.

Meanwhile, barely 5 m away, a post (with waymark) was installed . . .

5. R-o-W for the intrepid! It points to
Slade - good luck!

ii) Burnt Edge Lane: A gate on the bridleway (Blackshaw 012) which crosses Burnt Edge Lane and leads towards Strines Clough Farm has suffered! The gate 'bolt' does not quite clear the catch and repeated forcing by enthusiastic users has created a partial split in the gate timber.

1. Map: Worksite location

2. The problem: Partial split, and bolt
not clearing the catch!

3. The Problem: gate handle cannot move
sufficiently to let the bolt clear the catch.

4. The Solution: Gate timber 'splinted' on both sides
and gate-handle 'cage' re-positioned to let
the bolt clear the catch.

iii) Lower Fold

 The right of way (Heptonstall 025) between Rodmer Clough Farm and Lower Fold Farm skirts Great Clough. The path is marked with yellow-topped posts and the narrow stream channel can carry an impressive volume of water in wet conditions. The tasks were to hammer-in any loose posts and cut-back excessive growth that was blocking both the path and a footbridge.

1 Map: Approximate location of worksite.

2. Great Clough. There's a stream in
here . . . somewhere! . . . 

3. . . . and here it is!

4. Footbridge: now bramble-free!

5. Post adjustment. Good technique - stable
stance, hammer held correctly, non-slip
gloves, eye on task and 'square-on' hit.

 iv) Hippins: Right of way (Blackshaw 058) forms part of the Calderdale Way. Where it passes Hippins, the magnificent 17th century yeoman's house, the fingerpost had collapsed. Total rot at ground level was to blame. The easiest solution was to cut away the rot, dig-out the 'stump' and re-install. Mmm! Lots of 'grunt'.

1. Map: Hippins and the Calderdale Way.

 

2. Collapsed post: Barely visible; wedged
drunkenly between wall and old pallet.

3. Re-embedded: 'Shortie' post in place - vertical,
firm and pointing in the correct direction!

Calm, clear conditions made this an ideal day for working. The tasks were a bit 'fiddly' but minor glitches were overcome and we were happy with the eventual outcomes.

A moment of high amusement came at end of lunchbreak when Kasher, ever eager to move onto the next task, neatly reversed her car over Frank's plastic water bottle - it quickly became a squash bottle! Mmm! We didn't think to put that on the risk assessment! 

Edge End Moor, Erringden

A gorgeous Autumn day for offering some TLC to a fallen finger post and a dodgy stile on the south side of Edge End Moor below Lodge Hill.  This is on the path which contours around and just below the moor, with fabulous views the whole way.

Stella, Andy and Steve set off from Swillington with a heavy load of tools and some timber to fix the stile's rotten treadboard and supports, and to re-erect the finger post pointing the way to Cruttonstall.

This work has been funded by donations to CROWS.  Thank you for your generosity and support.

Here is the stile

The trek in

Treadboard adrift , balanced on a rock......

.....and rotten

Work with a view

Sad finger post

Revived finger post

Stile re-fettled... 

..

...with a recycled treadboard and some new legs

.