Ryburn - Rough Hey wood - Day 5

Jak, Jerry and Angus headed close to the site of last week's revetment work to replace an old boardwalk and a set of steps leading up to the edge of the wood next to the fields below Butterworth End. Many thanks to the Morrison family at Butterworth End for allowing us to park a vehicle in their yard, and a big 'thank you' to Richard Crowther of Far Bardsey farm whose land we accessed using Jerry's 4x4 to get close to the worksite. This saved a long trek with tools and materials.

Today's work was funded by a kind donation from the Russell family. Thank you from all at CROWS and also on behalf of the future users of this path.

Today's worksite is circled in blue.

The worksite was just beyond the fence line. Getting this close saved a lot of work and time.

The old boardwalk to be replaced.

Jak and Angus dismantling the old boardwalk.

Whilst the boardwalk was still functional, the bearers at each end along with several cross-treads and one of the stringers were badly rotted - being partially buried hadn't helped! Once dismantled, the ground was prepared to allow new bearers to be positioned so as to raise the height of the boardwalk. This should reduce the likelihood of it becoming buried.

Angus checking alignment before securing the new stringers.

Jak and Angus nailing down the new cross-treads.

Time for a coffee . . . and a seat with a view . . . 

.... into the woods.

The finished job . . . and Jak's first boardwalk. Jerry checking quality.

The second part of the day was to replace several old steps leading up to a stile at the top of the wood just above the boardwalk site. So far we had been lucky with the weather, but the rain made a sudden appearance. Fortunately it didn't hang about too long.

The steps to be replaced leading up to a stile.

These steps were originally built using a combination of existing outcrops, stone steps and various wooden constructions. We focussed on three steps near the stile i.e. those which posed the greatest challenge to walkers due to the tricky climb up/drop down. The ground was incredibly dry and compacted which made embedding the stobs a bit of a challenge.

Jerry excavating the old steps.

Once we had the stobs and risers in place we backfilled with stone and earth.

Top steps completed, the access is now easier, and safer.

The day's work done, we left . .  . taking care not to disturb Mr Crowther's contented cattle!

TODMORDEN - Various

 There were three teams out from Todmorden today:

Team 1: RJ and David: step building in Scaitcliffe Wood on Tod 082. We think that the tipping point has now been reached and further work to replace the steps on this route will start from Flailcroft rather than from the Scaitcliffe Hotel. The route is now much safer and the slopes are easier to navigate but this steep path still requires care.

Team 2: Catherine and Kasher: cutting back on Tod 175 between the old tip and Lumbutts and then on to Tod 216, which is the newly created right of way off Pudsey Road in Cornholme. CROWS had been informed about the state of path Tod 175 earlier in the week. When we arrived to start to cut back this path we were pleased to see that someone had been there before us and had managed to cut back and pull lots of the Himalayan Balsam. We spent time dealing with the brambles and removing branches which were making this route difficult to negotiate. Please note that there are two areas of Japanese Knotweed along this path which we have not cut.

Team 3: Ken and Mick: working on the TCW near Calderbrook on Tod 143. Today's survey along this path has resulted in a number of stile repairs, stile rebuilds and stream crossing improvements, etc which have now been added to the Todmorden "to do" list

Today's work has been funded by Todmorden Town Council and by Active Calderdale (for the work on the new PRoW off Pudsey Road in Cornholme).

Step building in Scaitcliffe Woods.

Cutting back near the old tip in Todmorden.

Surveying along Reddyshore Scout / TCW.

Team 1:

Removing the old risers and stobs from the first section
of wooden steps.

RJ and the cleared flight of steps: now all we 
need to do is replace them.

The replaced wooden steps .

David and RJ putting in more steps near the 
revetment added recently.

The next few steps installed: only 20+ more to do!

Team 2:

Catherine clearing cut-back vegetation from the path.

We have left two large patches of
Japanese Knotweed.

The start of the path.

The cleared path: the new PRoW off Pudsey Road, 
Cornholme.

Team 3:

A couple of stiles to fettle up on Reddyshore Scout.

It's going to be a long carry with timber to sort out this stile!

TODMORDEN - Various

 We welcomed Duncan as a new CROW today for our party of three - Kasher, Andrew and Duncan - to complete a number of small but important tasks in Walsden and Todmorden.

1     Cutting back on Tod 135 from the fishing lake off Ramsden Wood Road to the housing estate below. This popular but overgrown path was reported by a member of the public.

2    Inserting protectors over the barbed wire fencing adjacent to a stile, completed last week, on Todmorden 138 (part of the Todmorden Centenary Way) near to Cranberry Dam. Way-markers were also fixed to the stiles here. The team will be back to complete another stile in a couple of weeks time and then, hopefully, to install more boardwalks on the lower path nearer to the dam.

3    Step building (continued) in Scaitcliffe Wood on Todmorden 082. There is still a few weeks of work to be done here . . .

Today's work has been funded by Todmorden Town Council (tasks 1 and 3) and by Todmorden Wind Farm through CFFC (task 2). Many thanks for your continued support.

Cutting back on Tod 135 near Ramsden Wood.

Stile completion and way-marking on Tod 138.

Step building in Scaitcliffe Wood, Tod 082.

The overgrown footpath down from Ramsden Wood fishing lake.

Duncan trying to clear the upper path.

Barbed wire on a new stile completed last week.

Andrew sorting out the protective sleeve to go over
the wire.

The completed (small) task plus new way-marker!

Missing riser but old stobs remain to become trip hazards!

Installing wooden steps above the first set
of stone steps.

Attaching the risers to the stobs.

Caption competition for this week . . . 

Paper Mill Wood Cragg Vale

 

We were here

If you want a lovely walk from The Hinchcliffe Arms or the Robin Hood down to Mytholmroyd, this could be your path - through the beech trees of Paper Mill and Spa Woods and along the river to Dauber Bridge. Some of it is steep, and the steps there are showing their age.  Andy, Nick and Stella went up to replace four which were missing or very rotten.  Andy has taken on the job of checking the others on his regular walks over the next year or two, and organising a rolling programme of replacements as they become necessary. 

Today's job was funded by your generous donations to CROWS, for which we thank you.

Not a very big job, but a lot of tools and materials to carry,
so a 3-CROW outing,

                                               ,                                                                

Half-buried, half rotten...

...now cleared and 2 steps replaced 

This one was missing altogether....

...

....and has now been restored,
along with another a bit lower down

TODMORDEN - Green’s Clough part 2

Andrew & Gareth returned to Green’s Clough, high above Portsmouth and on the historic Yorkshire-Lancashire border, to complete the work started two weeks previously; repairing, installing and clearing steps and improving the stepping stones across two streams.

Fortunately the timber we’d hidden after session 1 (to save our carrying it the long, long way back to the road) was still there.  The first job involved rebuilding a step which had crumbled away into the clough.  Following that, we constructed two new steps to help walkers start the climb out of the clough into Lancashire and (having found the ground far too stony to insert supporting stobs for wooden steps) installed three stone steps on the Yorkshire side of the stream.

Given the remote location, we were delighted to encounter a happy walker who made first use of the new steps and, on the way back to Cornholme, a family enjoying the hillside views.

Today’s work was funded by Todmorden Town Council. Thanks as always.

Deteriorating structure - even dodgier than it looks!

Rebuild in progress

End result - a safer step and new stepping stones too

Another step. Possibly in Lancashire!

Access to Lancashire now considerably improved

And some new stone steps up into Calderdale