In the wake of storm Lilian the task for Jak, Jerry, Graham and Angus was to replace an old stile which was between two fields and situated within a stone wall of an old field entrance. Fortunately, the rain stayed away and once the wind had died down it was a most pleasant day.
Map showing the location of the stile; blue dot.
The view from the other side looking towards Berry Mill Lane
Once the undergrowth - balsam and a holly tree - had been cut back and cleared, the old stile was removed and we could set about the task of digging holes for the new posts - no mean feat as one side was sloping and the other badly waterlogged! To make things wor, we were digging through an old wall foundation which meant finding suitable soft ground into which we could site the posts was challenging to say the least!
Once we managd to excavate suitable holes they very quickly filled with water so Jerry had to dig a number of channels to divert this water away whilst Angus resorted to baling out the excavated holes; a somewhat grubby task for all concerned.
Clearing the old stile and opening the access.
Water ingress was a major headache.
Eventually the holes were dug, posts secured and rails could be fitted along with a dog-gate. A bit of improvisation was required as the challenge of finding suitable places to locate the posts meant adjustments had to be made for the stile access step and for the size of the dog-gate. We also had to create some stone steps from the higher field down to the Berry Mill Land side, to reduce the slope and access across the stream.
Fitting the dog gate.
The finished article from the field side looking towards Berry Mill Lane.
A big thank you to Mr Fraser Hambleton and Mr John Gaunt for allowing us access across their land to undertake this work; a difficult and dirty task but most satisfying to complete. An interesting historical footnote, the footpath is close to the site of the ill-fated Yorkshire Folk, Blues and Jazz festival held in August 1970, unfortunately washed out by bad weather, similar to Storm Lilian.
Jerry making the finishing touches.
