WADSWORTH

Dike Lane near Little Nook

Steve and Paul were out today building a boardwalk over a small stream on Dike Lane (Wadsworth 061). We parked at Little Nook and from there it was a long carry in with two lengthy stringers and three bags of timber plus the tools for the job. 

site marked in red pen

Work funded by Wadsworth Parish Council - thank you for your ongoing support.

Also a big thank you to Steve and Jane at Little Nook for Parking permission and cups of tea!

The problem

A small rivulet running across the path has eroded and widened over the years and the gap has become difficult for walkers to cross. We assembled the boardwalk by fixing the two seven foot stringers in place over the gap and then nailed in twelve cross treads.

Job completed

We will return at some point to fix two kickboards either end and hammer in a few staples for safer tread during the winter months.

 

WADSWORTH

 Moorfield and Seed Hill

Nick and Paul were out today cutting back on footpaths in the Old Town vicinity. The weather proved to be very changeable with gusty blows, patches of rain and slivers of sun. We undertook to concentrate on two sites; the first the footpath running uphill along the side of Moorfield and up to Rock Edge and the second a path running at the rear of Seed Hill House downhill toward Dodd Naze Estate.

Work funded by Wadsworth Parish Council - a Big Thankyou.

Moorfield path highlighted in red

Site 1:

We began cutting back at the bottom end of the path where it meets Paddock Lane.

Overgrown

Once we finished here we moved onto the top end of the path

Cleared

At the top end the marker post was hidden among a gang of high nettles and the steps overgrown with tufts of grass, etc

Where is the Marker Post?

Clearer now!

We cleared the nettles, rediscovered the steps and cut back the path. and then after lunch moved onto our second destination near Seed Hill at the bottom end of Rowlands Lane

Site 2:

What path?

Here we were faced with some serious tall summer overgrowth including nettles, Rosebay Willow Herb, ferns and high grasses.

Brush cutter intervention!

Meanwhile, Nick cut back encroaching brambles, nettles and other greenery from the pathway leading to the stone steps and stile at the back of Seed Hill.

Overgrown by the stile.

Cutting back with shears

Clear now for walkers.

A satisfactory day's work clearing local paths.

Map of Seed Hill footpaths.

WADSWORTH OLD TOWN

 Chiserley Village paths

Ginny, Sean and Paul were out today in Lower Chiserley cutting back two of the main footpaths in this area of Old Town. The longer and more often used path (Wadsworth 075) travels directly down the hillside from Chiserley Stile to South Mead running parallel most of the way to the back of the houses on Old Mill Ridge. The second path runs along the bottom end toward Foot Kiln (Wadsworth 076). The weather was fair with no sign of the predicted rain so counting our blessings we soldiered on.

Pathways in red

Work funded by Wadsworth Parish Council. Thankyou for your ongoing support.

Attending to these overgrown footpaths has become an annual event and the before photos tell us why.

toward South Mead

Up toward Chiserley Stile

Across the field toward Foot Kiln.

Ginny and Sean teamed up to work on the pathway up to Chiserley Stile while Paul strimmed the main feeder paths:

Overgrown hedge narrowing the path.

There was time to spot some wild life; an inquisitive female Robin!

Any food about?

After lots of work we made headway:

Tidy!

Clearer at the top end!

That's better!

More accessible now.

Overall it was a satisfying day. There is still more to do off so we will return!

WADSWORTH

 Calderdale Way: Shawcroft Hill to Slackhouse Lane.

Kris, Nick and Paul were out on a much cooler day cutting back an overgrown path on a section of the Calderdale Way (Wadsworth 053 path).

Cutting back shrubbery and grasses on this stretch of path has become an annual event particularly at the bottom and top ends where foliage encroaches to such a degree that the pathway is difficult to negotiate.

Red line indicating pathway.

Work funded by Wadsworth Parish Council - thankyou for your ongoing support.

Top end

Overgrown Shrubbery blocking the pathway.

No way through!

We started at the top end and soon made headway with hedge trimmers and strimmer:

Shrubbery cleared:

A way through!

Following this we started at the bottom end by Shawcroft Cottages which was a tad overgrown!:

Lots of summer growth!

We cleared the pathway, and turn byes:

That's better!

Turn byes that run into the drainage channel on the wall side of the path were cleared out:

One of the cleared turn byes.

And steps cleared further up the path:

Nick and Kris at work.

Overall a satisfying day's work making this section of the Calderdale Way easierr for walkers to use.

WADSWORTH

Old Town

Kris and Paul were out today working on two sites in the Old Town area. The first job involved some key waymarking on the path from Cow Lane downhill to Fearney Fields while the second job was cutting back to clear paths behind Wadsworth Community Centre leading to Westfield. A weather forecast of drizzle and cloudy skies never materialised and we were treated to some June sunshine much to our relief. Late morning Ginny joined us in place of Kris to help finish cutting back some serious overgrown paths.

The work was funded by Wadsworth Parish Council. Thank you!

Job 1 - Waymarking

The landowner had installed a stock fence on this stretch of footpath leaving plenty of margin to walk safely. Our job today entailed putting in some strategically placed waymarkers to clearly signpost the ROW.

Kris hammering in the new waymark

Job 2

Paths to clear behind the Community Centre

After we finished the waymarking we moved on to job 2. We visit this patch annually to cut back the triangle of footpaths that merge from paths coming from Westfields.

Very overgrown!

Paul and Kris teamed up to tackle the overgrown paths on the triangle of land and to cut back the path leading down from the rear of the Community Centre and a second path running alongside the back of the community allotment.

Path from the Community Centre

Kris 

Kris at work

The triangle of land was transformed to its usual shape following some deep trimming from the battery operated strimmer:

A pathway emerges!

Meanwhile Ginny replaced Kris and got down to business!

Ginny with shears!

At the end of the session the pathways looked so much better and easier to use for local people.

Tidy!

Much Improvement all round:

Path to the rear of the Community Centre.

LUMB FALLS

A month or so ago we put in a drain to prevent the scouring of the path down to Lumb Falls. Today's work for Nick, Andrew, Jan and Rich was to reinforce the drainage channel and deal with several years of scouring of the path. Today's work was funded by a donation from the 'Haworth Hobble' event.

THE DRAIN

The side drain was working well but we deepened it and extended it upwards to capture more of the surface water. 

PATH WIDENING

We started out with the path still wet which should be solved by extending the drain. The path was also narrow and this combination meant people were walking on the bank next to a very steep drop.  

Early planning meeting on the muddy path

Path widened

View from the top

PUTTING IN THE STEPS

Towards the bottom of the path the stone surface disappeared so we decided to put in three steps. It is unusual to put in steps on a bridleway, but a local horse rider agreed they could easily bypass the steps. 

Getting the steps level

Finished job

 A good session, the path is now much safer for people to use.