Castle Gate Dam steps
On a calm, still day that never got warm enough to disperse the surface frost, Jan, Ian S and Frank H worked on the steps that lead down from Castle Gate to the short footbridge over the dam leat.
The task was to renovate a series of unevenly spaced steps that were not only showing signs of decay but were also starting to tilt.
Today's work was funded by Hebden Royd Town Council. Many thanks.
The Detail
1. The original steps:
This was taken during some preparatory work that CROWS did last month. The perspective is tricky. At a glance the flight appears to be adequate but . . . some of the risers are leaning forwards, some stobs and risers are rotten or loose, and several sections of the tread areas have a gradient that is too steep.
2 Work in progress
The sequence for the day was:- hammer-in more stobs to firmly anchor the revetment, replace the old risers with new, ensure each riser has a vertical face and a horizontal top, add extra steps to allow the tread area to be graded less steeply and landscape the down-slope side of the whole flight.
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| Ian providing a colourful contrast to the surrounding frost! Dig or freeze was the order of the day! |
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| For once, the ground was amenable so construction could proceed reasonably swiftly . . . although there was a lot of digging and shovelling! |
3. End of Session
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| End of the day and it's still frosty but . . . . . . eight steps in place and . . . probably eight more to go! |
We also installed a grab post (no photo) at the New Bridge end of the path. This will provide an extra aid for walkers descending the stone steps that lead from the the lane to reach the new flight constructed by CROWS last month.
More in a week or two . . . depending on weather!
