Ryburn - Steps on the disused railway path.

This was the follow-up visit from Friday the 10th to replace the rotted out, lower section of a flight of steps, leading from the path atop the embankment, down to the path that follows the old railway line. A map showing the actual location is on the previous Blog. Again, this work has been funded by the "Ripponden Community Crowd Funder", organised by Rebecca Dixon, a huge thankyou to Rebecca and all who donated.

Getting to the site was a bit of a long carry of materials and equipment for Jak, Jerry, Graham, Rich, Angus and new volunteer Sean, on his first taster session, still, plenty hands make light work! With everything on site, Jerry, Graham and Angus set about dismantling the lower section of the steps, Jak did some cutting back along the footpath, whilst Rich and Sean inspected a drainage issue further along the side of the old railway bed.

The flight of steps showing the damaged bottom section.

The problem was that the bottom four steps, along with the lower sections of the supporting stringers at succumb to years of bad weather and a build-up of mud, moss and vegetation, eventually rotting out. On the first visit, Jak and Jerry had cleared the worst of the rotten steps and put stepping stones in place, along with a couple of grab posts to help walkers traverse this lower section.

Today, we removed the lower section completely, unearthed the buried bottom step and fitted two new lengths of wood to the end of the stringers and four new steps. This should extent the life of this flight of steps for a few more years, before the whole thing will need replaced.

Lower section now removed.

New stringer sections in place and attached to the original construction.

With the stringer extensions in place, we set about measuring and fixing the new step tread boards, this were set at 250mm spacing rather than the original steps which were fixed at 300mm, making a fairly tough ascent/descent, especially for youngsters, the elderly and dogs with short legs.

New section starting to take shape, plenty of measuring and cutting.

 

The finished steps and the first user !

As the work on the steps progressed, Rich, Sean and Graham uncovered several sections of the old drainage ditch running along side the original railway bed. There are several points along this section which become waterlogged during the winter, so this was a good opportunity to invest some preventative maintenance.

Following the line of the Riverside path, this is a great walk along what must have been a spectacular railway line before the Beeching Axe, there are still several examples of impressive brisdge construction and deep cuttings through the rock along the length from Sowerby Bridge to Slithero Bridge where the line terminated.

Before and after images of the drainage channel, plenty more to do!

All in all, a successful day, Sean seemed to enjoy his first day with CROWS, he will work with other teams at Todmorden and Mytholmroyd as part of his induction, hopefully, we will see a lot more of him.

 

TODMORDEN - A day of many tasks

 There was a team of seven out from Todmorden today.

The main task of the day was to build a new two-step stile on a fence line crossing Tod 095 above Lydgate.  All of the team carried timber and tools for this work which we delegated to Frank H, Dunstan and Gareth! Please see the separate Blog for their exploits.

After carrying items needed for the stile across an exceptionally slippery hillside, the team of four (Andrew, Catherine, Kasher and Neil Mc) then tried to locate the elusive Tod 095 as it plummeted down the hillside, emerging onto the main Burnley Road immediately opposite Lydgate Post Office. We have cut-back this route and trimmed a path which should make it easier to follow. We are extremely grateful to 'persons unknown' for cutting back the first section of the path - you did an amazing job!

We will need to return to firm up a few yellow-topped posts along this route.

The team then split up with Kasher and Neil Mc going to Cornholme and fettling-up the seat on Pudsey Road. This bench was installed in memory of one of our CROWS colleagues who died in 2020. The wooden seat was sanded down and then given a new coat of wood preservative/stain. It now looks so much better. Sit awhile, admire the views, look at the nearby harebells and remember Gerald King.

Andrew and Catherine travelled to Bridestones to work on an open access stile (between Bridestones and Golden Stones) which had been reported as being slightly loose. The team have firmed-up this stile and levelled the treadboard to make it even easier to use!.

The quartet then met up to finish the cutting back on Tod BW 059 and Tod FP 059 from the 'dinosaur' at Shore to Pitts. We have had two previous work parties on this route and this session completes our work here for this summer. The route is clear and much easier to use. However, if you are walking this way please take some secateurs to cut-back the fast-growing brambles!

Today's work has been jointly funded by Calderdale Highways and by Todmorden Wind Farm through CFFC (Community Foundation for Calderdale). Many thanks.

The path from the main road in Lydgate up towards the new stile.

Stile repairs at Bridestones.

Cutting-back the path between Shore and Pitts.

Cutting-back on Tod 095 above Lydgate:

Catherine clearing the steps at the bottom of Tod 095.

Andrew and Catherine trying to clarify the 
direction of the path.

Cutting back . . .  Andrew and Neil Mc in action.

Brilliant views from this path.

The bench on Pudsey Road

Clearing the vegetation from near Gerald's seat . . .
taking care to avoid the harebells.

The fettled-up seat. The 'wet paint' signs have now been removed!

Sorting out the Bridestones Stile

Andrew: and "where do we start with this??"

Progress has been made. A strengthened upright and
an easier to use stile.

Cutting back between Shore and Pitts

Neil: the final section to be cut back.

The FP to Pitts (before)

The FP to Pitts (after).

The final section of the bridleway now cut-back.

TODMORDEN: Stile building on the slippery slopes above Lydgate

 Lydgate: Steeps paths and a tricky stile

On a multi-working party day. Gareth, Dunstan and Frank H worked in ever-increasing heat to install a stile where the right-of-way (Todmorden 095) crosses a stock fence to drop down to Lydgate (see Map).

1. Worksite marked with blue 'pin'.

 Fortunately, thanks to landowner's permission, we were able to get a vehicle with tools and materials reasonably near to the worksite thereby reducing the carrying distance across awkward slopes. Kasher, Neil Mc, Catherine and Andrew helped with load hauling before diverting to their own tasks. Phew! Thanks.

2. Beasts of burden! . . . but well balanced.

3. Brew time . . . then it's off to our different tasks

The detail.

The right-of-way is clearly signed but any trace of a previous stile had disappeared although the direction is marked with a r-o-w disk. The task therefore was to install a stile to get walkers safely across a well-installed and correctly-tensioned stock fence. 

4. Before: Lovely views . . . here's the stock fence . . . 
. . . but where's the stile!

The plan was to make this virtually a one-step stile on the upslope side and a definite two-step on the downslope with the side-uprights being in the line and plane of the existing stock fence . . . all without removing any of the excellent fence. Here's how the job went:

5. Short side-post hole: 750 mm depth.
"Keep digging, Dunstan!"

6. Taller side-post hole: 900 mm depth. There's
some lee-way, Gareth, if you hit bedrock!

7. Not a snooze: but a full-stretch excavation!

8. Step-leg hole: Heavy bar needed to
break up the impacted rocky ground.

9. Cross-rails: Top and bottom cross-rails
being fixed in place.

10. Fine adjustments: sizing-up the treadboard.

11. Nearly there. Another cross-rail and further
treadboard adjustments.

12. Will it take a load? "Never in doubt" says Frank!

The perspective is deceptive in the final picture. The ground slopes down towards and beyond the stile so walkers coming up hill have a 300 mm step-up on to the first treadboard then another 300 mm step-up onto the second treadboard before a 400 mm swing-of-the-leg over the top rail . . . just as recommended in 'British Standards for Stiles'.

Although working conditions were not ideal - rising temperatures, slippery slopes, hard impacted ground and a slight compromise of build to accommodate the alignment of the stock fencing - we were pleased with the end result. The stile is secure, stable and can certainly take an 85 kg load!

Today's work was paid for by Calderdale Highways. Many thanks.

DODD NAZE ESTATE - High Hirst Walk

Under an agreement with Dodd Naze Community Association (DCA) and the now disbanded Friends of High Hirst Woodmeadow (FOHH), CROWS have undertaken to ensure that the 'High Hirst Walk' - which follows a mostly tarmac path that passes through the woodland from the entrance to the allotments on Manor Drive to some steps down to Wadsworth Lane - will be cut back twice a year.

                                            Entrance to the High Hirst Walk from Manor

                                            Drive on the Dodd Naze Estate

In addition, a permissive path previously opened up and signposted by CROWS which loops round the top of the wood - offering an alternative route when another permissive path up from Sandy Gate through the meadow itself has to be closed after Hay Time when sheep are grazing the 'aftermath' - is included in this agreement.

So, after some delay at the depot when we arrived to find a team of even-earlier birds had already taken some of the tools we'd specially reserved (no names, no pack drill!), Angus, Kasher and Neil D. met with a couple of DCA Volunteers up at Dodd Naze to tackle the extensive overgrowth.

Slowly, paths were cut back and widened, long lost path edges appeared, as did picnic tables and benches which had been completely overgrown with brambles, bracken and the like.

Here are a few typical shots taken 'before'...

 

 

... and 'after':

 

 

  

 

The High Hirst Walk was first opened in 2004, and is a popular and convenient route for local people. It is also well used by the Forest School children who are based at the Community Centre nearby. Towards the end of our work, we even uncovered one of the entrance stones, long lost to the years' cumulative vegetative growth!

Before: 

And after:

                                                   The High Hirst Walk entrance stone sees the light of day again!

Of course, while working along the length of the path, a fair bit of litter was removed too - most commonly the ubiquitous dog poo bags!

                                                        The Commonly Spotted Dog Poo Bag

Residents we met walking the path seemed very pleased, and readily expressed their gratitude at the work we were doing to open up their path again for community use.

Reflecting on our day's work, we left feeling that despite the setbacks and seemingly excessive amount of 'admin' time behind the scenes that was taken in setting up the agreement in the first place, at the end of the day this is really a great example of CROWS working at what it does best. 

P.S. We've plan to return in the autumn, as per our agreement, to tackle this summer's growth again - and have already booked the tools out on the CROWS calendar. Fellow volunteers please note the date: Wednesday, 21st October! 

 

TODMORDEN - Ramsden Wood and Slant Lane

 David and Duncan worked in two different areas near Todmorden today.

Task 1: sorting out some of the revetments on Tod 135 below the Fishing Lake near Ramsden Wood. The problems with these revetments were identified a couple of weeks ago when the team were cutting back on this section of the footpath. We managed to re-use some of the revetment timbers and installed new sections and stobs. 

Today's team then continued the cutting back of this route behind the "new" houses. How can brambles grow so quickly? We will investigate whether we can improve the route down from the fishing lake by adding in new geotextile and some MOT.

Task 2: Cutting back on Slant Lane (Tod 040) from Cross Stone Road towards Little Cornwall. This local path is one we try to clear regularly as it is a well used . . . and also a popular blackberrying route! Thank you to the residents of this area who had already tackled some sections of this footpath.

Many thanks to Todmorden Town Council for providing funds for today's work.

Slant Lane, Cross Stone.

Tod 135 at Ramsden Wood.

Today's revetment work started out like a 
giant game of 'Jenga' or 'Pick-up-Sticks'.

A small amount of fettling, and a new stob, needed here.

Revetments in place and anchored securely with new stobs. 

Now on to tackle the brambles on the second
section of the path.

Slant Lane which gets overrun with brambles, ferns and
Rhododendrons.

Cutting back but trying to leave foxgloves
and flowering plants (even if it's Ragwort) is a real skill!