Rodmer Clough: wet feet and a replaced stile.
Conditions were ideal for stile building - a sheltered location, moderate temperature, no wind, no flies and not too far a carry for timber and tools. What more could Kasher, Andrew and Frank H want? Well, preferably post-holes that didn't fill up with water almost a fast as they were bailed out!
The worksite was where the right-of-way (Blackshaw 009), leading off the track near Rodmer Clough Barn, goes SW to reach a wooded fence line. Here it becomes Blackshaw 010 as it continues upwards to 'Scotland' (a building not the country!). See map:
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| 1. Worksite: a fence crossing on wet, trappy ground. |
Today's work has been funded by Blackshaw Head Fell Race 2025. Many thanks for your support.
The Detail.
The original site looked like this:
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| 2. Before: A two-rail stile (with legs and treadboard missing!) |
The plan was to remove the considerable amount of redundant or decayed timbers, stabilise the main fence posts, construct a one-step stile and lay stones to improve the approaches.
The perspective in the above picture is very misleading. The two rails and the stock fence to the right are actually in the same plane! Many of the posts are rotten, old post stumps lie just below the surface and ancient remnants of rusted barbed wire are entangled in the overgrown, reedy ground cover.
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| 3. The long view: The approach! Clearing the swampy jungle! |
Time to measure up so the original design can be refined.
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| 4. Check measurements: What will fit and what will not? |
A disproportionate amount of time and a considerable amount of 'grunt' was expended before we could install the side-uprights for the new stile. The ground was very wet and the holes had to be bailed out before posts could be inserted and packed in place with large chunks of stone.
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| 5. Work begins: side-uprights in place |
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| 6. Progress: Kasher and Andrew excavating for the step legs. |
Time for lunch . . . so what do we have:
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| 7. i) Yummy: . . . or perhaps not! |
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| 8. ii) An interesting nearby tree project . . but not something CROWS knocked up in their lunch break! |
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| 9. Work continues: Step legs and treadboard being fitted |
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| 10. Fiddly bits i) re-fixing and re-tensioning the fragile stock fencing |
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| 11. Fiddly bits ii): more re-attachment and re-tensioning of the dilapidated older fencing. Fence post stabilised with high angled brace |
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| 12. Final outcome: A stable, single-step stile with the treadboard (on the diagonal) and a stone-surfaced path leading in from the left. The fence is higher above ground level on the open field side. |
This was a long and tiring session as the new structures (the verticals are vertical and the horizontals are horizontal!) had to linked with older (often out of line) fencing. The wet, tussocky, uneven ground meant extra care had to be taken with foot placement and the energy expenditure to hammer-in packing stones was considerable. All three of us worked very hard but Andrew just shaded Kasher into second place for being the muddiest . . . . . Mmm! It was a close run thing!
Time to go home . . . to perhaps keep an eye on the night sky to view the supermoon :
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| 13. Full moon in October?: It's called the 'Hunters' moon and this year, as it's closest to the equinox, also known as the 'Harvest' moon. |
More next week - if our boots have dried out!
