Team 1: Luddenden
Ray and Frank H worked on two tasks in this area.
Task 1. Revetment above Luddenden Brook
The path that runs, above and parallel to the brook, from Luddenden to Luddenden Foot has been much shored up. Today's problem was typical - a chunk of the path edge had disappeared down a steep banking into the brook. No 'before' pictures are available at the moment, but here's some of how the work progressed:
Path edge being re-stabilised by revetment which is three tiers deep for the worst section.
The revetment is being anchored by stobs of varying lengths - 0.6 m at the ends but 1.2 m for the central section where the ground slopes away.
ii) Below left:
Downslope view of the 'back' of the revetment
iii) Below right:
Finished task. Path edge stabilised, collapsed area back-filled, path widened and levelled.
Task 2. Marker post on right-of-way from Luddenden Lane to Greave House.
Task 2. Marker post on right-of-way from Luddenden Lane to Greave House.
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| Dig your hole ... |
... Clear the nettles ... ... One post easily seen.
For both tasks it was smooth progress. Amazingly the ground conditions were not what is usually described as 'resistant'! The stobs and the post went in easily. Adjusting for horizontal (the revetment) and for vertical (the marker post) was straightforward. No-one fell down the banking or into the nettles. Hooray! The sun shone and numerous passers-by were complimentary about CROWS and the work we do. Many thanks.
Today's work was funded by a Luddenden resident.
Team 2: Luddenden
Clearing steps
Frank S and Nick were also in Luddenden on the path down from Ive House Lane. The path first goes past a private garden and the new growth was getting out of hand. This shows the path before we started.
After a while we had cleared this short path and revealed the steps leading down into the field. The neighbour kindly provided a bag for the waste and offered to take it away for us. Many thanks!
We then moved down into the field for the day's major task to uncover a wonderful set of old stone steps. The right of way follows closely alongside the wall, but there's a big patch of brambles and bracken and so everyone just meanders down the field. This picture shows why you can't get down beside the wall.
And here's the view looking up from the stile at the bottom.
By lunchtime we'd cut a way through the brambles and bracken so as to make it at least passable. Here's the view from the top.
Then we cleared the debris off the steps so that they looked more like steps. This is looking down,
and this is looking up.
Unfortunately the sunshine and the heat then defeated us, and we didn't quite finish cleaning the steps. There are still some bramble roots to remove and more soil and leaf litter to shovel away ... and there's probably lots more steps under the grass all the way up to the top of the field, so we'll definitely be back again before too long. Meanwhile, the steps are usable again, probably for the first time in 20 or 30 years.
This job was funded by a local donation.
Team 3: BLACKSHAW HEAD
Badger Lane.
Meanwhile Billie and Paul were repairing a wonky, rotted stile situated on the Pennine Way leading up to Badger Fields Farm (off Badger Lane). We had the sunniest of days, a herringbone sky, and great views of the Colden Valley. In between digging the post holes we met several walkers who marvelled at our efforts.
After this we moved onto a footpath, opposite Pry Farm on Badger Lane, that snaked its way through meadows full of long grass and buttercups. The marker posts here had seen better days with many waymarks perished. With much searching we managed to locate the gnarled posts and with a bit of fixing and adding of new waymarkers the route through is now clearer,
Funded by Blackshaw Head Parish Council
