Old Chamber - tricky stile!
The worksite was on the footpath (Erringden 003) that runs diagonally down from the dwellings at Old Chamber to enter Crow Nest Wood. The day of early mist clearing to hazy sunshine was ideal for Billie and Frank H to sort out an awkward task.
.JPG)
This stile presents multiple problems.
*The barbed wire fence strand to the left of picture has been cut (perpetrators unknown).
* The left-hand side post is 'rock solid' and immovable but is not vertical - it leans slightly both inwards and back towards the wall!
*The stile gap is narrow.
*There are no steps.
*There is no dog-gap or dog-gate.
*The right-hand side post cum straining post is totally rotten at the base and sways alarmingly when attempts are made to negotiate the stile
*The stock fence to the right of picture is collapsing back towards the wood.
There has been a lot of hard work here. From left to right:
Work in progress End of session
.JPG) |
| Old stile demolished. New strainer temporarily in place. |
.JPG) |
| New arrangement |
There has been a lot of hard work here. From left to right:
The top wire for the fence has been re-fixed with a short section nearest the side post being plain wire rather than barbed. The wire has been re-tensioned.
A new stile side post has been installed (a time consuming and arm-achingly difficult exercise due to the rocky ground!).
A new straining post with diagonal brace has been installed (less problematic although only 0.4 m away from the new side post!).
Longer cross-rails are in place and a dog-gate has been fitted between new side post and new strainer.
One more session should let us install a stile step, sort out the stock fence to the right of picture and carry out some minor tweaks - more next week provided our shoulders have stopped aching!
