Colden: Mixed weather stile building!
In Colden, between Jack Bridge and Scotland, a path (Blackshaw 005) runs approximately North-West off New Road. (See map).
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| 1. Blue 'pin' marks the worksite. |
Access is via a stile which has some structural issues:
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| 2. View from field side: Rotten treadboard, broken side-post and a gigantic step down into the field. |
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| 3. View from road side: Rampant foliage. broken side-post and rotten step leg. |
To complicate matters, an adjacent, partly collapsed squeeze gap that had been incorporated into a drystone wall construction had suffered from users damaging the walled section to (presumably) allow a safer passage. The stile's wobbly step-leg and the precipitous step down into the field were challenges for even the most agile of walker or canine companion!
The stile needed reconfiguring and a rapidly changing plan ended up as follows:
i) cut back all overgrowth
ii) dismantle the whole stile and dig out the side-posts and step-legs.
iii) construct a new stile with two steps on the road side and three on the field side.
iv) cross-brace the legs and add five cross-rails.
v) install a dog-gate between one side-post and a stone pillar of the old squeeze gap.
It was a day of lots of digging, hauling out of posts, cutting timbers, checking levels and hoping everything could be squeezed into the narrowest of gaps. An additional factor was the weather. After a fine start, a succession of rain clouds soaked us in sharp showers before we dried out in the afternoon sunshine.
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| 4. The discussion: "It's all much more rotten than we thought!" |
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| 5. Leg removal: Textbook stuff - prise it out with two spades! |
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| 6. More open than usual! The old strainer posts - one is rotten - are buried too deeply to dig out. |
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| 7. One side-post in place. Rain clouds are rolling in. |
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| 8. Cutting to length. "Good technique, Frank despite the pouring rain!" |
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| 9. Progress: Uprights firmly in place. Leg-holes being created. . |
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| 10. More progress: legs in place for a two-steps then three-steps stile. |
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| 11. Leg bracing completed. |
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| 12. Dog-gate: "Will it fit here Mmm! Just!" |
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| 13. Dog-gate: brackets being positioned. |
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| 14. End result: Neat and complete! |
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| 15. Testing! Testing! Never in doubt and all under blue skies! |
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| 16. "Oh! A stile. Mmm! It'll be here longer than we will!" |
This was a long working session for Nic, Kasher and Frank. Nic had the bonus of living nearby so set off walking home. Kasher and Frank finished loading the vehicles and would have set off . . . if only Kasher's battery hadn't been 'flat'. Mmm! Not the best scenario at 4.30 in the afternoon on a narrow remote track.
Fortunately, Frank had a set of jump leads (last used about 20 years ago!) in his car toolkit so after dredging up the memory (and checking on google) as how to best use them calamity was averted.
We were pleased with the result of the day's work. Although a few compromises had to be made and we ended up on Plan D rather than Plan A, the stile is safe, secure, aesthetically pleasing and user friendly. Some further signage may be added at a later date.
