Between Pry and Lower Rawtenstall: stile rebuild
The fine start to the day swiftly disappeared to be replaced by increasingly frequent bursts of cold driving rain. Mmm! Testing conditions for Jan, Ian S, Jerry and Frank H to sort out the double barrier of a sloping fence and a dilapidated stile that cross a ruined wall on the path (Blackshaw 034) that goes down from Pry towards Lower Rawtenstall.
Here's a picture shortly after work had started:
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| 1. Before: dilapidated stile |
*One treadboard is missing and the other is rotten.
*The step legs are askew, too close and too near to the taller side-post.
*The taller side-post is rotten at ground level but, by way of compensation, the shorter one is rotten at the top!
*Once over the stile a walker would be confronted with a sloping, slippery, 3-rail post-and-rail fence. (not visible as it has just been dismantled - quick work by Jan and Ian! - but see picture 3)
*The wire fence on both sides of the stile is a tangle of old remnants patched with slightly newer fencing of a different gauge.
Here's the plan:
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| 2. Work in progress: New stile with ruined wall 'boxed-off' and rain blowing onto the camera lens! |
*Construct a standard 2-step stile.
*Box-off the ruined wall with side-rails running from the stile side-posts to braced fence posts.
*Add cross-rails of the type that Ian is fixing to screen off the gap between the box-off section and the wall/stockfence on the left of picture.
*Refix and re-tension (as needed) the stockfence on both sides of the stile.
*Tidy and landscape the approaches to the stile.
Late in the afternoon the rain, driven on by gusty winds, became heavier. We were soaked, fingers were frozen and pliers slipped as stock fencing was put under tension. The area was made temporarily safe so that Jerry and Frank could return to complete the job . . .
. . . and here's the final outcome:
Before and after pictures looking up-slope (towards Pry):
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| 3. Path only accessible by climbing a sloping post-and-rail fence. |
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| 3a. Sloping fence removed and replaced by side sections to box-off ruined wall. |
Before and after pictures looking down-slope (towards Lower Rawtenstall):
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| 4. Dilapidated stile entangled with old wire fencing |
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| 4a. New stile with stock fencing re-aligned and re-tensioned |
The area near the stile was landscaped. All scrap pieces of netting and any 'trimmings' from the newly strung wire fence were bagged up for disposal. The semi-rotten timbers of the old stile were de-nailed, cut-up as needed and taken for 're-cycling'. Marker discs - 'Public Footpath', 'Dogs on Leads' and a 'CROWS plaque' - were fixed to the stile uprights.
Time to stand back and ask the question . . . Is it safe, secure, durable, functional and aesthetically pleasing? . . . Answer? Never in doubt!
This interesting but intricate construction task was funded by a donation from Calder Valley Fell Runners. Many thanks.
