Friday 28 September 2018

HARDCASTLE CRAGS (Shackleton) and WALSDEN (Allescholes)

Several groups out today.

Nigel and Frank H continued with work in the Shackleton area. The task was to repair and make safe an interesting wooden stile and dry-stone wall combination!

Here is the detail. This wooden stile has a rotten lower step. The rest looks OK but in fact the right-hand up-right and the leg of the other step are also rotten. The wooden stile is linked-in to the old stone steps of a ruined dry-stone wall.

Wooden stile before:-  it has multiple problems!

On the other side of the wall we have this precarious situation.

Dry-stone wall before:-  it needs stabilising.

The wooden stile was partly dismantled so holes could be dug for the new up-right and for the legs of the steps. The stile was reconstructed using the original tread-boards and tied into the wall.

Wooden stile after:-  stable and secure with the stock-fencing back in place.

There was still the problem of the wall. The whole length of the field wall is ruined but it was important to improve the section that formed part of the 'stile'. Fortunately Nigel and Frank have some dry-stone walling experience and could carry out remedial work.

'We are two dry-stone wallers.
All day we dry-stone wall.
Of all appealing callings,
Dry-stone walling's best of all.'
(With apologies to Pam Ayres)

Dry-stone wall after:-  stabilised and safely negotiable.

Loaded with timber and tools, we made numerous treks up and down the hill to the work site . . . but admiring the magnificent blue-skied South Pennine views gave us an excuse to get our breath back!

This work was supported and funded by National Trust (Hardcastle Crags).


Meanwhile Mick, Ginny and Gerald raked road planings up at Bridestones.


The parking area was muddy and uneven, so material scraped from one Calderdale road was used to repair another Calderdale road.


It just needed evening out a bit.


Gerald and Ginny then went on to play in a stream at Allescholes and managed to divert a side flow into the main stream (but no photos)

Tristan and Ken did more work on Todmorden 141 path which leads up to Allescholes; cutting back on the path leading up the steps and replacing revetments.

Old timbers removed

New revetments




Replaced riser and stobs on top steps

Before                                                                                             After







                                                                                       











                                                                                       

Before                                                                                          After






















Frank S and Ian cleared up the steps and path from Colden down to Hebble Hole by removing the plastic bags full of hardcore and using it to finish off filling in the steps previously created.

Before






After

And used some hardcore to improve the drainage around a leaking manhole