Jerry and Rich went up to Bell House Moor early in the morning to sort out a stile which had a broken leg, add some waymarking, check the boardwalks that were put in last year and finally to work on a drainage issue near Bell House.
This work was funded through a legacy from Bruce John McGreevy who was a life- long member of the Ramblers.
The details (and a time line)
7.00 am left the depot and proceeded very slowly along Heseltine Lane above Withins Clough.
7.15 stopped to add a waymark on the path down to Swan Bank.
7.25 parked at High Green and walked down to a stile which had a broken leg.
8.00 drove on to Bell House, unloaded tools and walked up to the path across the moor.
8.10 shortened and reset two posts that the cattle had worked loose.
8.25 walked across the moor to check the boardwalks. They are all looking in good condition..
8.40 back to Bell House to work on the path running South East.
9.00 succeeded putting in a post to guide people on this indistinct path
9.30 went along the path to cut-back bracken and brambles etc.
9.40 ice cold water delivered from Bell House - much appreciated
9.45 at the end of the path was a severe drainage issue. We discovered some ancient drainage pipes that indicate the very route people had been walking along was in fact a drain! We unblocked the pipes.
10.45 cut back a drier route for the path (we will need to revisit to see what effect this work has had)
11.30 Back to Bell House
11.50 after a slow drive back along Heseltine Lane we looked at a difficult stile that needs some walling expertise.
12.00 had to call in at the Hinchliffe to support the local economy.
12.30 back to depot to unload and clean the tools.
