A half-day session comprising some in-depot maintenance tasks (too tedious to describe!) followed by a warming uphill climb to waymark a stile near the top of Haven Wood.
The stile is old but of good quality. However, the original waymarks have been prised off one of the uprights. The downhill route through Haven Wood to Wood Hey Lane is delightful but much scoured from use by mountain bikers. The route is a public footpath and as such, in law, cyclists are not permitted to ride on it.
The path winds its way down through varied woodland over 0.5 km of steepish gradients. The surface is fragile and the deep ruts created by bike wheels are now acting as water channels - an effect that will only serve to increase the damage.
To clarify matters for all users of this path, the waymarks were replaced - CROWS are always happy to educate and inform!
Hopefully mountain bikers will refrain from future use of this delicate path but concentrate instead on the many legally accessible lanes, tracks and bridleways available in the South Pennines.
