A small team of CROWS - Ken, Catherine, Gareth and Kasher - were out today from Todmorden working on reducing the long "to do" list by:
1. Checking out and getting agreement for future work needed near Bearnshaw Tower and on the Todmorden Centenary Way (Tod 071). The work to be done comprises improvements to a high stile and the replacement of a gate.
and
2. Installing a stile adjacent to a very wet bridleway (Tod BW 048) between Hartley Royd and Stoney Lane.
Today's work has been funded by Orchan Rocks Fell Race. Many thanks.
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| 1. The TCW stile position near Bearnshaw Tower |
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| 2. The location of the stile adjacent to Bridleway Tod 048 |
Details:
Job 1: After discussions with the landowner it has been agreed to replace a wooden gate which has seen better days. The new gate will be slightly smaller and will be hung so that it opens without jamming against 'downwash' debris.
The stile on the TCW will be altered to have slightly taller "legs" and a stone landing areas. It is not possible to reduce the overall height of the stile because the sheep in this field are great 'climbers'! - especially if a stile has long treadboards and a relatively low top rail.
Job 2: Todmorden Bridleway 048 is an extremely popular route but is also an exceptionally wet one! Consequently, many walkers do not use the walled lane but instead wander into the adjoining field.
Whilst there is a gate for horse riders and walkers, this is not easy to operate so many walker resort to scaling the fence rails adjacent to the gate. To improve matters we installed a stile and added a dog-gate.
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| The fence at the start of the session. |
Trying to dig four holes for the stile legs proved to be challenging! We could have done with a pump or bailing bucket to get rid of the water! However, we persisted and installed four stile legs which are correctly orientated and firmly packed.
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| Gareth and Ken packing in the stile legs. |
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| This may not have been the best idea.... |
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| Catherine digging one of the holes for the "legs". |
After a significant amount of effort and the revision of 'best solution', the team managed to embed the step-legs, add a treadboard, install a grab post, construct the dog-gate (successfully tested by visiting canines!), and landscape the area.
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| The (nearly) completed stile, plus grab post and dog-gate. |
We will need to come back in the next couple of days to complete the lower step.
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| Stile now completed. |
