On a misty Friday morning in September Mick and Catherine headed out to Portsmouth. First job of the day was above Monkroyd where some clearer waymarking was required. This had been flagged up during the 2023 Tod Boundary walk. A marker post and a yellow-top post were needed.
Then it was over to the other side of the valley to check out a stile which had been reported as being wobbly. Two spades and a small bar should do it!
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| It was a steep pull up to the site so the duo took frequent rests and admired the grassy hillside bejeweled with dew. |
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| Finally at the top. The leaves are starting to look autumnal now. |
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| Mick gets started digging the hole for the marker post. |
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| Meanwhile Catherine did some drainage work. We dug some channels earlier in the year to take water off the path. This had worked well and just required clearing and tweaking. |
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| Mick got both posts in. |
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| Now it's clear to see which way to go. |
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| On the other side of the valley the wobbly stile turned out to be rotten. |
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| The posts needed to be dug out and replaced. |
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| Easier said than done! They took a post each and there was a sense of competition! |
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| An hour and a half later spirits were flagging. Then finally they were out! |
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| We'll be back to the site soon to install the new posts. We hope to reuse the original tread-board. |
Today's work was funded by a donation from the 'Todmorden Wind Farm Fund' accessed through the 'Community Foundation for Calderdale'. It's much appreciated.
Thanks to the residents of Monkroyd House for permission to park there.
