Haven Farm: Two stiles
On a day when the threatened rain held off until late afternoon, Jerry, Neil D, Kasher and Frank H formed two teams to work on stiles near Haven Farm.
The first stile (Team 1: Jerry and Neil) is at the start of the right-of-way (Sowerby 098) that goes from The Long Causeway down towards Haven Farm. The second stile (Team 2: Kasher and Frank) allows access through a stock fence, near Haven Farm, to meet the continuation of Sowerby 098 that leads down towards Sands Farm.
This work is being funded by donations to CROWS
The Detail
Team 1.
There are two tasks here; one to improve the step-down towards the stile and the other to convert a two-rail climb-over stile into a two-rail one-step stile
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| 1. Jerry, standing where a wooden step will be inserted, viewing the part progress of a new step-leg being positioned on the down-side of the existing stile structure. |
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| 2. Additional step to improve access down to and up from the stile. |
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| 3. Downward view of the new step and the improved stile which now has a replacement top rail and a handy yellow-topped grab pole. |
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| 4. Up-slope view of the new arrangement. |
Following this, Jerry and Neil briefly joined Kasher and Frank before walking further down the field below Haven Farm to survey next week's job - a two-step stile over a stock fence. It will give walkers a less swampy route in the general direction of Sands Farm.
Team 2.
Kasher (determined worker and photographer) and Frank H (photographer's model . . . unpaid!) worked just below Haven Farm where a temporary, narrow, two-rail, climb-over stile already provided a route through a stock fence near a semi- ruined drystone wall. The plan for the day was to construct a more substantial one-step stile that would facilitate access to the onward path.
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| 1. Frank contemplating the task. Mmm! Digging stile post-holes near old drystone walls might be a problem! |
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| 2. Old stock fence peeled back, old stile out and a start being made with holes for the side-posts. |
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| 3. Side-posts, temporarily cross-braced, in position and being checked for alignment. |
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| 4. There's a trick of perspective here. The side-posts are vertical and parallel! Holes for the step-legs are being prepared in the very rocky ground. |
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| 5. Stock fencing (very fragile!) being re-tensioned. |
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| 6. More fence work and a protector fitted over the top strand of barbed wire near the side-post. |
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| 7. Basics of a stile: posts, step-legs and treadboard. |
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| 8. Just when Kasher thought she'd never get in a photograph, along comes a guest photographer.! |
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| 9. Grab-pole being hammered into position prior to screwing to side-post and cross-rails |
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| 10. Suitable waymark disks being attached. |
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| 11. Completed job . . . and here comes that threatening storm! |
We were pleased with the end result. Creating deep enough post and leg holes was an energy sapping task relying on battering the very rocky ground with heaviest bar (and equally heavy lump hammer) from the depot. There might be some aching shoulders tomorrow!
The continuation job (probably next week) will involved the construction of a two-step stile and the improvement of the waymarking of this footpath network.
