Midgley: Dog-gates and a stile step
On a slightly cooler day, Nigel and Frank H worked in the New Heath Head area.
Job 1: Retro fit a dog-gate.
Problem:
This is a brand new stock fence, fitted with a brand new stile.
Look very carefully at the bottom left-hand corner below the bracing strut. The lower third of the fence wire has been cut. This means the 30 m of fence to the right has been de-tensioned!
Unfortunately, such acts of vandalism are not as rare as they used to be!
Solution:
Fit a dog-gate.
A typical size for a dog-gate is 300 mm x 400 mm but this will vary depending on the situation. In general, the older the stile the trickier it is to retro-fit.
Stone-step stiles, for example, almost always have to remain in their original state as wall dismantling/re-building is a costly business.
This section of path is very muddy and has to be negotiated with caution. Nigel only put a foot wrong once! Whoops - where's the Wellington boot rescue service?
Problem:
An ingenious type of dog-gate where the 'lift' section slides up the grooved side pieces. The wooden 'lift' section, however, has been kicked to bits - you can just see the remnants in the hedge-bottom to the right of the picture.
Again, such acts of vandalism were once rare.
As a temporary measure, to stop sheep escaping, the hole has been covered on the field side by a metal gate.
Solution:
New 'lift' section (with rope loop) constructed and fitted.
Instructions for use:
Grasp the loop.
Lift the dog-gate.
Let the dog (under control) go through.
Lower the dog-gate.
Proceed sensibly.
No kicking required!
Job 3: Repair of a stile step leg.
Problem:
The higher step of a two-step stile has a broken leg. Happily, this was not a case of vandalism but the effects of 'old-age'!
The picture shows work in progress. The old leg has been removed . . . but what's that also in the hole? It's another old leg - remnants of a previous repair. More digging was needed!
Some time later!
New leg fitted and the original treadboard replaced.
If CROWS were building a complete stile from scratch we would generally use wider treadboards. In this case, however, the rest of the original structure was perfectly serviceable.
New stiles are expensive. CROWS volunteers make stiles in a variety of styles to fit the quirks of the massive network of footpaths in the Upper Calder Valley.
As any internet search will show, buying a manufactured stile kit (with or without a dog-gate!) and having it fitted is a costly business!
Today's tasks were funded by a local donation.
