Gerald, Ken and Nigel had a day out in an area, not often frequented by CROWS, near Blackwood Hall, Luddendenfoot. We worked on a particularly boggy section of footpath 49 (Sowerby Bridge) which is a popular route used by locals between Blackwood Hall and Spring View.
Much of the problem stemmed from a natural water supply tank located further up the field:- water flowing down the field soaked the surface which was then churned by cattle. As well as working on the drainage we carried out some waymarking. Be warned -there are some very mucky pictures to follow!
Ken and Gerald working in the paddy fields of Luddendenfoot.
Once we had established some sort of drainage pattern we were able to dig about 1 foot down to obtain a reasonably firm base of a footpath, but only time will tell if this helps the situation or the path again becomes a swamp of thick mud.
The above photos give an indication of what we were up against. Our work today did seem to improve the drainage, but the site will need monitoring to see if any improvements are sustained in the longer term.
