TODMORDEN Inspection work

 As they say in the Army . . .“time spent in reconnaissance is never wasted” and that’s what the peripatetic pair of Mick and Neil M. spent today doing. We went to inspect possible CROWS tasks at: Obadiah Wood above Cornholme (surface improvement); Bottomley (bridge) - near where we planned to fit a marker post; Knoll Top Farm (stiles) near Warland; and Royd House (stile) at the top of Ashenhurst.

Detail

1. Obadiah Wood (see 12 April). On footpath TOD 060 at the problematic location, on each side of a near-vertical grassy strip we see a strip of mud and stone. At the present, neither offers a good walking surface and we thought the solution would be to level the section immediately below the grass and fit a boardwalk (approx. 9 m) together with three steps to lead diagonally up the grass near the W. end.

 2. Bottomley waymarking Where footpath TOD 145 leaves the motor track south of Bottomley, we fitted the marker post to clarify the downward route, and waymarked a telegraph pole a little way below.

 3. Stone House Clough This bridge is a little further S. down this same footpath TOD 145. The upper, E. side handrail is missing and the middle E. upright is detached. Some of the other uprights are loose at the bottom joint which makes the whole superstructure wobbly to grasp. A few cross- treads could also do with replacing, and the top cross-rail at each end could well be removed now that there is no livestock in the vicinity. Tree growth also needs cutting back on the steep slope just N. of the bridge.

4. Knoll Top Farm On footpath TOD 148 leading NW. from the farmhouse we identified problems with two stiles. Firstly, on the N. side of the first field the treadboard is missing completely, and the adjacent gate is wired shut!

 

Secondly, on the N. side of the third field the top rail of the stile is broken, the treadboards have worked loose, and the remains of the small gate that used to surmount the stile was found nearby! Immediately after this stile there’s a wooden gate which is roped shut and looks difficult to untie!

5. Top of Royd Road Leading up from the buildings, footpath TOD 028 crosses a sloping garden, at the upper end of which the stile is leaning badly and will need a complete rebuild. Vegetation needs cutting back on the approach to this stile from below.