Mellings Clough: steps and boardwalk continued
Last week, the work at Mellings Clough was interrupted by a downpour which turned the working area into a sea of mud! Conditions this week were marginally better. Mick was suffering from a heavy cold but he valiantly transported and carried materials to the worksite before retreating home. This left Neil M , Ian V, Catherine and Frank H to continue with the work.
 |
| 1.State of the worksite at the start! |
The whole of this banking is very wet, so underfoot conditions can far too easily be churned to slurry!
The plan was to:
*cut a shallow drainage channel to the right of picture to direct water off the path.
* add steps to this area so they sweep to the left as they rise up the slope.
* protect the left-hand edge of these steps with revetment.
*bolster the revetment with stone banking.
*consolidate the tread area of the steps with stone.
*construct a boardwalk to bridge a boggy section after the top step.
Here's how it went:
 |
| 2. Trimming to get a neat fit for the revetment! |
 |
| 3. Top end of the revetment being secured. |
 |
| 4. Wooden revetment in place and banked with stone.. . .but look at that mud! |
 |
| 5. Steps in place and Ian contemplates where then boardwalk will go. . . . . . but, again, look at that mud! |
 |
| 6. Boardwalk well under way with 'hidden' stobs being installed. |
 |
| 7. Stress test about to begin! |
Towards the end of this very muddy session a downpour began! It became difficult to stand anywhere that was not on the steps or the boardwalk! Time to retreat to Todmorden, clean all the tools and look forward to the joys of a hot shower!
There is more to be done here. The step-treads need consolidation and the right-hand-side of the steps needs to be protected by stone and turf. Staples added to the cross-treads of the boardwalk would improve grip and the level of the boardwalk itself might need tweaking.
All-in-all it was a slipping-about-in-the-mud sort of a day where progress was made despite some technical problems. Many thanks to Catherine who not only managed a strenuous shift but also took all the photographs - hence she doesn't appear on any of them!
Today's work was funded by Todmorden Council. Many thanks.
