TODMORDEN - Tod Edge and Greystone Lane

 There were two teams out from Todmorden today:

Team 1: Andrew and Catherine were replacing a stile on Todmorden 080, between Todmorden Edge North and Dyke Green Barn.

Team 2: Gareth, Kasher, Kris, Richard A and RJ worked on the upper reaches of Greystone Lane cutting back and improving the drainage.

Today's work has been funded by Todmorden Town Council and by individual donations to CROWS. Many thanks for your support to enable us to keep the footpaths and bridleways of this area clear and useable.

Team 1: the problems with the stile on Tod 080 were reported to CROWS a few weeks ago. Timbers to complete the task were taken to the site a while ago but this job on the Tod "to do" list just seemed to be slipping down the list.... until today! We have fettled up this one step stile and have added in a yellow topped marker post both to act as a grab rail and to indicate the route across this set of fields which seem to cause some confusion.

The blue "pin" marks the location of the repaired stile on Tod 080.

Greystone Lane, below Great Rock/Devils Rock is indicated by the blue "pin".

Team 1:

The stile before... with rotten step legs and a
loose tread board.... and lots of bailer twine and redundant
sheep netting.

First create a space for a stile... and remove the legs.

Then put in two legs...

Then find enough stone to fill the holes and 
pack them down...

Add in the new cross rails...

Put on the tread board and add staples...

A new stile in place.

Team 2: 

Greystone lane is a useful route down from Great Rock. However in the summer it tends to be overgrown with brambles and Himalayan Balsam and in the winter the trackway is extremely wet to use. We try to cut back along this path at least once per year and tend to work on the drainage issues every other year. Please watch your footing as you use this route. There are a number of turn-bys which need to be navigated. The main ditch switches sides down the route. There are lots of loose stones from the nearby stone walls which we have tried to incorporate into a hard stone path. Hopefully the path will dry out but it is extremely wet in places.

There is a drainage ditch under this somewhere...

and under this too....

Gareth and Kris clearing the ditches and sorting
out the turn-bys.

Wellies? Maybe waders would have been better!
Clearing out the drainage ditches.

Richard A attacking and deepening the ditch.
Note one of the stone edged turn-bys to Richard's left.

RJ sorting out the ditches and creating
a solid pathway.

Gareth, Richard and RJ at work.....

The water in the drains is now flowing well. Hopefully
the wetter parts of the track will dry out a little.

OLD TOWN AND MAYROYD

Waymarking, Cutting Back and Drainage - Delph Lane and Mayroyd.

Ginny and Paul were out today tackling a variety of jobs in the Wadsworth and Hebden Royd areas. It was a mixed day weather wise with early drizzle turning into a cloudy overcast day.

To begin with, we did some waymarking on Delph Lane above Pecket Well and then moved on to Dike Lane (Wadsworth 061) to install a small waymark post and deal with a drainage issue on the path. 

After lunch we moved onto Mayroyd (Hebden Royd 017) where a ROW ascends the hill at the rear of the house toward Higher May Royd Wood. Here, we cut back a fallen Fir tree blown down over the path in the recent stormy weather and continued to cut back overhanging branches and intrusive brambles higher up the path.

Dike Lane map

The Old Town area work was funded by Wadsworth Parish Council and the Mayroyd work was funded by Hebden Royd Parish Council. Thankyou to both.

Marker Post on Dike Lane

The drainage problem was located further down this path toward Middle Nook:

Ginny at work

It is a wonder where all the water comes from!! We must have had lots of rain! This sodden waterlogged area is a result of water ingress (from the reed and rush beds in the fields) seeping through the dry stone wall. 

Drainage channel dug out on one side 

We dug out a drainage channel on each side of the pathway. The two channels flow into a small rivulet that crosses the path underneath the small bridge (seen in the background of the above photo).

Second drainage channel on the 'other side.'

Mayroyd, Hebden Bridge - working in the woods.

Work done on FP in red on the map

We went to cut back this pathway and discovered a fallen Fir tree blockage:

Pathway blocked!

We cut away the smaller branches with the tools we had which was enough for walkers to get through safely. The main trunk will be tackled at a later date.

Branches cut away and access now possible.

Further up the pathway part of a Beech tree had come down near the path with one of its smaller branches over the track.

Smaller branch covering the path.

This was cut away successfully. 

Overgrown 

We then trimmed overgrown branches, brambles and nettles from this long stretch of pathway.

Looking better!

A good day's work with the successful completion of several small tasks. 

MIDGEHOLE - below the Blue Pig and Midgehole Lane

 This was a follow-up visit by Jan and Gareth to sort out some drainage prior to re-laying new aggregate. The fingerpost issue had already been sorted by someone (thank you) so we had time to start the cutting back work on Midgehole Lane. This work was funded by donations to CROWS. 

 

TODMORDEN: Langfield Common and Obadiah Wood

David, Duncan and RJ worked at two locations.

1. Langfield Common: new fingerpost erected, drainage carried out and old waymark posts straightened.

2. Obadiah Wood: platform constructed around the previously installed bench.

1. The previous fingerpost on Langfield Common (just up from The Shepherds Rest) had been damaged by cattle on the moor so we decided to put in a replacement to encourage people to walk to Gaddings Dam via the Basin Stone (or via Jail Hole) rather than up the very eroded and steep edge path. 

At least with the cattle off the moor for a few months the post should remain in place . . .  these posts, unfortunately, are such a convenient scratching post for the moorland cattle. The posts need to be in the ground by at least 1m - that's a fair amount of digging! 

Many thank to Langfield Common for letting us install a fingerpost at this site.

2. CROWS have previously erected two small seats: one on a new footpath from Pudsey Road and the second one at the entrance to Obadiah Wood. We were asked to make it easier to get onto one of the seats which we may be slightly too high. Consequently, we have built a step platform around the bench.  Many thanks to the landowner for allowing us to erect this small bench in his woodland.

The funding for today's work has come from Todmorden Town Council. Many thanks

Task 1: Langfield Common:

David starting to excavate the posthole.

The post in place (correctly orientated!) and the hole being filled.

The new markerpost in position and vertical . . . 
Mmm! Until the cattle return to the moor.


Task 2: Obadiah Wood:

David and RJ sorting out the timbers for the step platform.

Duncan making final adjustments to the platform.

The completed platform around the bench.

PENNINE WAY - Heptonstall Moor

A team of four took a long trek in wellies up from Clough Hole car park. Two major sections of drainage (identified on the 2025 survey) needed sorting. This work was funded by a partnership between Natural England and Calderdale Council Highways. 

Before - two clean volunteers standing in the pool across the path,  After - no pool but two somewhat grimy volunteers!

 

The first job was to deal with the Clough Head Bullion stream that was running across the path and creating a pool. A channel was dug out to allow the water to drain, the top side deepened and some of the flags were re-laid. 

Then on to Clough Head Hill where the flagged path was frequently under water. Both sides were dug out and an exit channel created. 
 

Making a plan

Getting stuck in 1

Getting stuck in 2

Before and after

TODMORDEN - Path Clearance Back Lane (Eastwood)

 On Wednesday 7th October a large team consisting of David, Duncan, Guy, Ian S and RJ cut back the overgrowing vegetation and sorted out the ditching along Back Lane (Tod 031) and then along the short section of footpath towards Pex Tenements (on Tod 032).

CROWS work on this really useful path regularly to make sure it remains open and walkable. It's such a valuable (and old) path that it deserves more attention from walkers.

Unfortunately, there are few pictures of this day's work. Hopefully the attached will give a flavour of the work undertaken.

Today's work was funded by Todmorden Town Council. Many thanks for your continuing support to CROWS and to the footpaths and bridleways of the Upper Calder Valley.

Back Lane, near Pex Tenements, is marked by the blue pin.

Tod 031 was again becoming overgrown
and difficult to walk.

Tod 032 before... and

Tod 032 after...

Cutting back on Tod 031.

Tod 031 cut back ... a great place to be in the 
Autumn sunshine.

TODMORDEN - Daisy Bank Clough

Gareth, Catherine and newly recruited CROW Richard A headed up to Daisy Bank Clough, which runs from the Bride Stones towards Hebden, to carry out some general path improvements.

Some marker poles along the moor had fallen over or become loose due to the attentions of local sheep and cattle, while some paths and steps were in need of cutting back to improve passage.  We also took the opportunity to check stiles for future structural repairs and carry out some on-the-spot work.

We travelled quite a long way across the moor - the arrows on the map indicate the locations of the photos.  Quite how far we’d gone became obvious to Catherine when she had to head back to the car for the second set of shears we’d forgotten to put in the bag!

Today’s work was funded partly by donations from Cragg Runners and partly from general donations to CROWS.  Thanks to them and all of you, and also to the lovely folks at Daisy Bank Barn for allowing us to park.

Richard on the steps - sadly we forgot the Before photo

Re-erected pole number three

Gareth & Richard at the packhorse bridge

Catherine fights her way through the nettle patch