It was a change of location for the Ryburn team: Linda, Jerry and Angus travelled to Jack Hey Farm on the border between Sowerby and Luddenden Foot to replace a couple of broken stiles. We got to the worksite through the landowner's property, and received a welcome cup of coffee from Sheila who also funded today's work. A big 'thank you' for this from CROWS and all future users of this path.
Location of today's work: the stiles being replaced are circled in blue.
The first stile to be replaced.
The first stile, whilst reasonably complete, was rotten at ground level and the lack of a complete barrier at one side made its purpose somewhat redundant! The landowner requested we replace the stile and the missing fence and, rather than fit a dog-gate, leave one side more open, to allow dogs to pass through.
Whilst removing the old stile we discovered a small water pipe (supplying water to the adjacent horse menage) buried across the path. The pipe was carefully excavated and relocated away from the new stile.
Careful excavation to avoid damaging the exposed water pipe.
The finished stile with a larger gap to allow dogs to pass through.
Linda proving that its not only dogs who can use this access!
The second stile, next to a field gate, allowed access through a horse-proof fence. The stile was located next to a drainage ditch which meant negotiating it was a precarious venture - a careless moment could result in an unwanted trip into the ditch.!With this in mind, we decided to relocate the position of the treadboard and to install a grab-post to help users.
The original stile: you can just see the treadboard pointing into the (barely visible) ditch.
Removing the old stile was straightforward, but the old electric fence was a bit of a challenge as it was secured through the end post. In addition, the main gatepost although leaning was concreted in place. However, we got round these issues and built the new stile as well as clearing the edge of the bank to better expose the ditch.
Nearly there: ditch exposed and grab-post fitted.
