BREARLEY, Mytholmroyd

 The footpath from the A646 up to Lower Ewood needed some TLC and today, in dry weather with a sharp wind, Jerry & Stella went to replace a rotting stile.  It had been reported to us by the Highways Department and also by a local walker.  

The stile is in a stock fence so it is important to maintain tension in the fence and make sure to leave no gaps a lamb might wriggle through.

The stile is under the red arrow

First job is always carrying tools and materials to the site, and we had a lot of both.

This lot had to go up the steps and across a field

.

Then we dismantled the existing stile............

Stile to be replaced

Removed

Old timber

........before digging six post holes into rocky ground and heavy clay.  An old rotting post we had to remove had been so well installed back in the day that it took Jerry the best part of an hour to dig it out.

A regular CROWS working position

Digging six of these takes a while

And this is the recalcitrant stump

 looking so innocuous!

But we managed to make the stile safe and stock-proof before stopping for the day.  We'll be back in a couple of weeks to tension the fence a little better, add some waymarks, and build up the ground to make the first step-up easier.  We also need to add two more steps up from the road above the seven Frank H & Ian S put in last week.

Stella modelling the new stile and dog-gate

And the downhill view.

Today's work, and the work on the steps below is being funded by Calderdale Council Highways Department.  We are grateful.

LUMB FALLS - both sides of the river

Nick, Andrew, Howard (first session) and Rich went to deal with several problems:- two streams overflowing the path, a fallen tree and water flowing down the path. While in the area we looked at two other reported problems. Today's work was funded by donations to CROWS.

 The first job was to deal with a birch tree that had fallen across the path. 

All clear

At the same time we cut back several dead larch branches and some invasive brambles.

The next job was to stop the water running down the path by digging out a channel alongside the path. 

 Water on the path has forced people (some with unsuitable footwear!) to walk on the uneven, slippery bank next to a very steep drop. 

Getting down to the job!

 

We found the source of the water and managed to channel it down to the bottom. 

Good to see the water flowing down the channel. 

By the time we left, there were signs that the path was starting to dry out, but we will need a second visit to widen the path and to check that the channel is still working. 

Assuming the water management remains successful, we will need to come back to deal with the water damage at the bottom (we have a draft plan).  

The overflow from two streams was sorted. 

Two of us went up to look at a reported drainage issue above Nook. Water is pouring down the track, with several ditches choked. We will need to check with landowners before we can deal with this. 

Brambles snipped on the path leading to Haworth Old Road.  

The final job, further along the road. was to check a waymarking issue reported by Calderdale Highways. 

Ryburn - Woodhead down to Hey Lane, continued.

Today was a completion of the work started a couple of weeks ago in Banquet House Clough:- installing revetment to prevent path collapse into the clough; replacing a stile tread-board and further drainage work. 

Jak, Jerry, Graham and Angus headed out to complete these tasks which have been funded by Ripponden Parish Council. Many thanks.

The blue circles identify the location of the revetment and the stile.

The section of path starting to erode into the clough.

Section of revetment secured and backfilled.

The finished job: looking up the clough.

The stile below the revetment also received attention as the tread-board, whilst in good order, had become extremely slippery. Jak set-to with hammer and staples to give some grip to the surface. 

At the bottom of the path was a second stile which CROWS had rebuilt but now needed a wider tread-board. Previously, as a temporary measure, we had recycled a length of decking from the original structure, but this had become slippery and was narrower than we would like to ensure a safe crossing the drainage channel we had to excavate on the field side of the stile. 

 Wider tread-board being fitted.

Back in 1970, the lower section of this path would have formed the site boundary to the ill-fated Krumlin Festival which occupied several fields along the side of the valley (see image below). 

For those interested in this event, there is an excellent book written by Ben Graham, entitled, "Pink Floyd are fogbound in Paris: The story of the 1970 Krumlin Festival". Alternatively, CROWS members can ask Frank H (who was there!) for his version of events!

Weekend entry ticket for Krumlin Festival

 

Krumlin Festival in 1970. Banquet House Clough (highlighted in blue on the map at the beginning of the blog) forms the boundary to the left of the festival fields.

Having completed this work we headed to a couple of other locations in the area to survey issues identified by Calderdale Highways and members of the public. Look-out for updates on these tasks.

COLDEN - three sites

 Ian V, Andy and Rich had three issues to deal with:

i) A set of steps off the track up to Colden had six rotten risers and the stone steps were covered in mulch. 

ii) A finger post at the bottom of Colden Wood was damaged. 

This work was funded by a donation to CROWS.

iii) A permissive path in Slater Bank Wood (part of one of the Ted Hughes walks) was not waymarked and was overgrown with holly. 

This work was funded by Heptonstall Parish Council. 

 The steps off Colden Road were reported as being scary - they were!

 Mulch-covered stone steps and rotten wooden steps. 

Lower steps cleared, six wooden steps replaced (we will need to come back to install some side revetment), path waymarked and the path above the steps scraped. 

Then it was up the valley to deal with a broken finger post. 

Following that, it was up to a path that is part of the Ted Hughes Colden Walk (to see this walk go to the Heart of the Pennines website and look at the '100 walks page'). 

 Two fallen trees in this area had been dealt with by Ian Clarkson a few weeks ago. 

This one was across the track above. 

This one was across the Ted Hughes path (apologies for losing Ian's head!)

While we were there, we spotted lots of overgrown holly encroaching onto the path. 

Holly all cut back

 

The beautiful but worn stone steps were cleared. 

 And finally the path was waymarked at the bottom. 

 All in all, a very productive day. 

TODMORDEN -Various

 There were two team out from Todmorden today:

Team 1: Duncan and RJ continued the work on the steps from the Recreation ground in Walsden to Inchfield Road, (Right-of-way Tod 212). They installed a length of revetment , tried to make the route over the tree roots safer, and cut back the section from Carriage Drive to the Recreation ground. We will return to add geotextile and some gravel/MOT over today's "fix" to ensure the existing infill does not wash away. That should be our final visit to this site . . .  but you never know!

Team 2: Andrew and Mick headed to the frozen north to replace the pink-topped marker posts across Todmorden Golf Course on Tod 026. This footpath is on the definitive map but it has been marked with pink-topped posts rather than the more usual yellow-topped. CROWS had been informed that the majority of the posts were down and needed re-erecting. After a gruelling day of waymarking and bashing in pink posts the hardworking pair retired to the car to drink copious amounts of tea and watch the weather get progressively worse.

Many thanks to the resident of Inchfield Manor who allowed us to park in their driveway, close to the worksite.

Today's work has been funded by individual donations to CROWS, Many thanks for your support.

The route across Todmorden Golf Course.

From Walsden Recreation ground to Inchfield Road.

Team 1:

Start of the day with trip hazard roots.

RJ positioning the revetment,

Revetment in place.

End of the session.

Team 2: 

Lots of work done but no photos available from this mammoth session....!!