What could be better than playing around in cool water on a dry, warm (and muggy) Summer's day? A team of Andrew, Neil Mc, Mick, RJ, Catherine and Kasher ventured onto Staups moor in Blackshaw Head to sort out two bridges.
Bridge 1: This bridge over the clough on Blackshaw 044 had been constructed by CROWS a number of years ago. Unfortunately because of drainage work further up the clough this bridge became undermined so it moved off its bearers to become embedded further downstream.
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The position of the wooden bridge.
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The bridge washed away from its original position.
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| The bridge at the beginning of the day. |
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Plans A to D (and beyond!) being discussed...
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| Catherine doing porter duties across Staups moor. |
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Raising the bridge from the clough and cutting off the
original anchoring stobs . . . but can we carry it? |
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| . . . Never in doubt. The bridge now in its new position. |
We had had to wait until the water levels were low and the bridge had dried out before trying to lift and reposition it. Thankfully the team manage flexed their muscles and repositioned the bridge without having to dismantle then rebuild. We will return, however, to construct a step-up on to the bridge and to improve the nearby stile.
We are still not sure what effect the new drainage works may have on this bridge but this repositioning and anchoring should make it resistant to being washed away in future floods.
Bridge 2: When the Daisy Bank Clough packhorse bridge was partially rebuilt in the summer of 2024, the dry-stone wallers positioned a large stone in the clough just downstream of the bridge. Unfortunately, this caused a build-up of debris and silt that has blocked the water flow under the bridge. CROWS cleared the silt in February 2025 but the build-up has recurred. Our task today was to remove all debris and reconfigure the channel so water will flow freely under the bridge.
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| The location of the packhorse bridge over Daisy Bank Clough. |
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i) Debris packing up behind the large stone.
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ii) Similar view of blockage caused by washed-down debris.
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| Catherine clearing the clough downstream. |
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| Catherine and a clearer channel. |
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The blockage debris that was cleared from under the bridge.
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| End result: a clear channel under the bridge. |
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| RJ and Andrew on the packhorse bridge. |
Today's work has been funded by individual donations to CROWS. Many thanks to all.
