Today's task was a continuations of work done previously around the reservoir. The stile was located at the corner of a field and allows access to the path along the wall-side and up to the A58 (see the map below for more details). This work was funded from the monies raised at the 'Ryburn Bash'. A big thankyou to them for this.
The stile is located within the blue circle on the map.
The stile to be replaced. Note the blue sky - this didn't last !!!
The first task for Jak, Jerry and Angus was to dismantle the existing stile, a somewhat delicate job as it was covered by sheep netting and the adjoining fence was in very poor condition. Unsurprisingly, once removed, we discovered the the majority of the fence posts were rotten The stile was holding everything together! While Jak made excellent progress uncovering the steps leading up to the stile, Angus and Jerry investigated the main posts in line with these steps.
Jerry excavating post-holes whilst Jak clears the access steps.
All was going to plan and the stile was coming together nicely although we had to make several compromises to accommodate the condition of the fence and to ensure that it was stockproof for the 'residents' in the field. However, we had just completed the main stile when the rain started . . . along with wind-driven sleet and hail! This created horrible working conditions but we had to press-on as livestock were in the field.
Jerry and Angus battling the weather to get the job finished.
We secured the fence as best we could, though the rotten rails made this difficult, as did the twisted sheep netting. Numb fingers and slippery ground meant knocking in staples to secure the netting wasn't the best experience, but we got the job finished, collected our tools and headed back to the car . . . complete with hailstones piled atop our woolly hats!
The finished stile and steps. A neat job in difficult conditions.
