Wednesday 13 February 2019

CALLIS WOOD & OLD CHAMBER

After unloading and sorting a consignment of timber delivered to the depot by CALVAG, the volunteers split into three teams.

Team 1.

Fred and Graham worked in Callis Wood on sections of the Pennine Way and Pennine Bridleway.
Rescuing  and retrofitting PW signposts:-  one was hung up in a tree!

Wonky Pennine Bridleway sign.
Fred use his 'Green Woodworking' skills to re-peg the sign.

We carried out a similar refurbishment lower down the hill at Callis Bridge.
Work funded by CROWS

Team 2.

Ray and Frank H went up, above Hebden Bridge, to the almost sunny pastures of Old Chamber.

'A stile is an arrangement of steps that allows people but not animals to climb over a fence or wall'.

The OED definition sounds so simple! Here was the problem:-

A dry-stone wall incorporated stone steps with a spacing that allowed even the dimmest of sheep an opportunity to escape into pastures new! In consequence, a wooden stile with some guard rails had been built, partly into the wall, to make the wall-crossing stockproof. This stile was in a state of disrepair and needed replacing.

The following picture shows the stile just after reconstruction work had begun.


Ruined single-step stile with rotten stile uprights and rotten step legs.


The stile really needed to be a two-step stile, although ground conditions imposed a constraint on where uprights and legs could go. However . . . 


Holes already dug for the shorter upright and one set of step legs.
Frank H now working on a 900 mm hole for the longer upright . . .
. . .  or is he just having a rest?

Both uprights and one set of step legs firmly (very!) in place.


Second set of step legs in place. It's a pity the bubble
 in the spirit level is not visible:- you'd be impressed!



Cross-rails and side rails had to be added; the latter needing to be 'tied' into the wall. For these we recycled serviceable sections of timber from the old stile.


Finished stile. Don't be fooled by the background:- all vertical timbers are exactly vertical
 and all horizontal timbers are exactly horizontal . . . and the spirit level was checked before use!

This was an excellent day in mild, nearly-sunny conditions on the 250 m contour. Thanks to Ray and his Landrover, we were able to drive to within 5 m of the job! . . . which makes a massive change from our usual 'long carry'. 

This work was funded, in part, by a donation from the Hebden Bridge 2018 Beer Festival.