Bernard and Dick completed the 2nd section of steps at Cross Stone Todmorden.
Last week's steps are in the background.
Meanwhile, on the Pennine Way just above Colden Water,
Mick's marauders (aka
Gerald, Paul, Stuart, Fred and Frank H) embarked on a strenuous session of step clearing, step construction and aggregate hauling.
Mick, Gerald, Paul and Stuart cleared a long run of steps prior to the tread areas being in-filled. The following two pictures show typical conditions before clearing.
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| Overgrown steps on the Pennine Way near Colden Water. |
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| Overgrown steps on the Pennine Way near Colden Water. |
After some clearance work we have:
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| Steps cleared prior to addition of aggregate. |
Aggregate is heavy stuff and we had lots of it! Fortunately a local farmer was able carry the industrial size bags on the 'forks' of his tractor and lower them onto the path. For this we are
most grateful as the alternative (an 800 m haul of tonnes of aggregate down a narrow path and over two stiles) doesn't bear thinking about!
However there was still lots of carrying to be done from the 'dump' point.
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| Aggregate on the move . . . or it will be once Stuart stops leaning on his shovel! |
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| Later in the day: tread areas of steps with aggregate. |
Lower down the path, in the high humidity zone just above Colden Water,
Fred and Frank simultaneously swatted off swarms of insects and contemplated a steep slope which needed a set of replacement steps. Fortunately we could supplement new timber with re-cycled 'old-but-sound' risers salvaged from earlier work higher up the path.
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| Step-work in progress |
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| Steps added, revetment in place and tread areas in-filled. |
This was an energy-sapping day and there is still lots to be done:- a considerable amount of in-fill work on the Pennine Way and some consolidation of the lower steps. However those are tasks for next week . . . providing we survive the rigours of Noah Dale on Friday!
