Four teams working on the 'Barkisland Village Walk' - to be published later this year.
Rich with our friend Ian Clarkson (with a chainsaw) dealt with some fallen trees that were making the path very difficult (access was best suited to limbo dancers).
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| The problem |
After removing small branches, Ian was able to chop up the main trunks into moveable sections.
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| Work in progress |
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| Path all clear now |
The section of path was also waymarked.
Ian S and Graham L did some heavy lifting around the 'ghost mill' - Scammonden Cotton Spinning Mill, which never operated as a mill for a single day! It is a magnificent ruin and has an interesting but tragic history.
A complete jumble of stones that have fallen from the ruin blocked the path
After some serious lifting, Ian and Graham with welcome help from Ian Clarkson and Rich re-arranged some of the stones to make the path more accessible!
Further along at the boundary of the site where the path crosses the stream , more stone shifting was needed
and after ....
.... by lifting the large stones and packing them undermeath with smaller stones, the path was levelled out and is now much more walker friendly.
Meanwhile Stella and Bernard worked on the conundrum of where to position the steps below the stile near Nest Farm! The ground falls away steeply and it makes it awkward to access the stile
Work in progress as the decision is made to go right and away from a thorny rose bush.
An aerial view of the completed job!
And finally, Lynda and Eleanor widened more of the the narrow path which runs along the hillside towards the mill.
..... just about one foot in front of the other ....
..... still not a 'motorway' but widened sufficiently to prevent walkers impaling themselves on the rusty barbed wire at the top of the fence.
Today's work represents real progress in making the necessary improvements on Walk 3 of the Barkisland Village Walks and means we have 'broken the back ' now of the scheduled jobs.
Work funded by Ripponden Parish Council
