Cragg Vale: Stiles between Higher Cragg Farm and Frost Hole.
Ray and Frank H were out on a mission to investigate a task that seemed to feature on three job sheets that were completed during the Covid lockdown in 2020! They all seemed similar but we eventually realised they were referring to two different tasks. We settled on being able to do one of them.
This was the picture taken on a survey in Nov 2020 on the footpath Hebden Royd 071. The stile looks neat . . however . .
The effect of these is remarkable. Any sway or looseness has been corrected. It may not be the prettiest of stiles but it is safe and secure.
Both fence posts are rotten but have been braced by poles - a tall grab pole on the left and a shorter pole on the right.
Unfortunately, both poles are loose.
The Solution
Hammer the poles in more deeply and then ram packing material down the sides. Add diagonal bracing struts to both poles and reduce the height of the long pole so it assists the walker rather than being a destabilising lever!
Eventually . . .
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| One diagonal bracer in place . . . |
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| . . . and the other |
Later we went to survey a stile in poor condition just above Higher Cragg House at the junction of two rights-of-way (Hebden Royd 074 and Hebden Royd 072). Considerable repair work will be needed . . . more detail in a week or two. The last hour of the session was spent in the depot painting post tops, and completing the paperwork/costings for the job we surveyed.
Today's tasks were funded by donations to CROWS. Many thanks
CRAGG VALE - Will Clough
CRAGG VALE - Will Clough
Meanwhile, Frank S and Graham returned to the path up Will Clough, near the top of Cragg Vale. There's a flight of very steep, narrow concrete steps, that were badly undermined by flood water some time ago. We've previously tried to put the stones back into place, and today we returned for another session. Here's a view of the middle section showing some of the problems.
The treads are concrete slabs and the risers are breeze blocks, but there's nothing behind some of them, and so they have come loose or fallen over. The best solution would be a complete rebuild, which is unfortunately beyond our scope, so we've settled for re-laying them. After our work the steps looked like this.
The first three steps are now level and firm, and where possible we've held them in place with metal pins. These are visible in front of the stone risers, but hidden behind the wooden riser. We also fixed one of the wobbly steps near the bottom and another at the very top. This top step was previously loose and precarious, but now it's level, solid and firm.
This work was funded by Calderdale Council Luddendenfoot Ward Forum and donations to CROWS.
