The footpath from the A646 up to Lower Ewood needed some TLC and today, in dry weather with a sharp wind, Jerry & Stella went to replace a rotting stile. It had been reported to us by the Highways Department and also by a local walker.
The stile is in a stock fence so it is important to maintain tension in the fence and make sure to leave no gaps a lamb might wriggle through.
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The stile is under the red arrow
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First job is always carrying tools and materials to the site, and we had a lot of both.
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| This lot had to go up the steps and across a field |
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Then we dismantled the existing stile............
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| Stile to be replaced |
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| Removed |
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| Old timber |
........before digging six post holes into rocky ground and heavy clay. An old rotting post we had to remove had been so well installed back in the day that it took Jerry the best part of an hour to dig it out.
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| A regular CROWS working position |
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| Digging six of these takes a while |
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| And this is the recalcitrant stump |
looking so innocuous!
But we managed to make the stile safe and stock proof before stopping for the day. We'll be back in a couple of weeks to tension the fence a little better, add some waymarks, and build up the ground a bit to make the first step up easier. We also need to add two more steps up from the road above the seven Frank H & Ian S put in last week.
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| Stella modelling the new stile and dog gate |
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And the downhill view.
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Todays work, and the work on the steps below is being funded by Calderdale Council Highways Department. We are grateful.
