Dodd Naze, Hebden Bridge
Another pleasant summer's day to be out and about doing CROWS work. Ian S and Paul were repairing a flight of wooden steps above the Dodd Naze Estate; a permissive path linking a residents' seating area with a bridleway that runs from Wadsworth Lane onto Rowland Lane. This wide flight of steps had suffered a hammering from floodwater last year resulting in the disappearance of two steps and the flattening of two others. In addition, the flood waters had gouged out large chunks of the infill causing deep rutting and the subsequent difficulty of use. Calderdale Council Highways have since completed some major drainage work above the path to hopefully prevent further flood damage.
 |
| The blue arrow indicates the work place. |
This work was funded by 'Picture This' and an individual donation to CROWS - Thank you!
 |
| Damage to one section. |
We set about removing the damaged steps and replacing them with new 1.8 metre length timbers in keeping with the original design.
 |
| Ian getting the stobs in. |
The steps had become overgrown since the initial survey particularly on one side so this was cut back and landscaped as part of the new step installation. The surge of floodwater from last year's deluge had caused the infill to bank up on this side of the path. This was loosened and reused to fill the sunken areas.
 |
| Two new steps in place and levelled. |
The bottom step had been flattened:
 |
| Flattened bottom step. |
On investigation we discovered that this had become rotten underneath so it was replaced with a new length of timber.
 |
| New step installed. |
Following the replacement of four steps we set about cutting back the encroaching foliage and levelling the tread areas.
 |
| Completed job - view from the top! |
And
 |
| Completed job - view from halfway point. |
We will return to finish the bottom section which requires two smaller steps to enable easier transition to the wider flight.
