Todmorden - Walsden - Blackshaw Head - Cornholme - Marker Posts

Mick, Catherine & Richard A tackled jobs around Todmorden on a very wet Friday morning. The weather did gradually improve as the day went on. The trio resurrected three marker posts. Firstly on the path just after the hairpin bend on Allescholes Road. Then on to Blackshaw Head near Great Rock on a path below the Full of Joy animal sanctuary. And finally at Cornholme on the steep path above Monkroyd.

Today’s work was funded by Todmorden Town Council.  Thanks as always to all those who support our work.

Site of Job 1

Site of Job 2

Site of Job 3

This footpath post on Allescholes Road
needed to be reinstated.

Richard A admiring the finished job.

Then it was on to Blackshaw Head and
 a very muddy walk to the site!

Richard A with another reinstated marker post.

Then on to sunny Cornholme and a
steep hill to climb for the last job. 

The team got to admire a stunning view
with a tiny Stoodley Pike.

Mick and Richard A with the final post in place.

We'd noticed the stile above Monkroyd was a bit
slippery so Catherine knocked in some staples.

TODMORDEN - Mankinholes Fingerposts

A day for fingerpost aficionados, as Duncan, Gareth & Neil B spent the day erecting or repairing a series of fingerposts around Mankinholes.

We started with a new fingerpost off Woodhouse Road providing directions up the hill towards Mankinholes.  Our second post was a replacement for a rotten fingerpost at the top of the same path on Mankinholes Tops on the way to Cross Lane.  Number 3 was a new “flag” (the correct term for the “finger” of the fingerpost bearing the words Public Footpath or destination of the footpath) for an existing post on the same path just off Cross Lane.  Number 4 was a replacement fingerpost on Upper Shaw Wood Road, replacing a post lost when the adjacent wall was demolished by a careless driver some months before!  This last post sits at the top of an attractive flight of stone steps leading down into Deep Clough which we cleared of vegetation a few weeks ago

Today’s work was funded by Todmorden Town Council.  Thanks as always to all those who support our work.

Neal with his arm down the post hole to the required depth

Post number one

Post number two

Post number three, pointing to the rainbow's end

Duncan & Neil sensibly not stepping back to admire their work

Post number four

The steps & path down into Deep Clough

TODMORDEN - Various

 There were three teams out from Todmorden today:

Team 1: Duncan, Gareth and Neil B were installing three new fingerposts in the area and fettled up a couple of flags (on marker posts below Mankinholes) which were rather hard to read. See separate Blog.

Team 2: Neil Mc and Richard A were working up near Hartley Royd (beyond Shore Green) to improve ease of access to two stile on Tod 049 - one near Ridgegate Farm and the second one further down the path towards Back Wood. They also re-erected some of the short yellow topped posts which mark the route of the Fielden Trail. These posts seem to have a habit of uprooting themselves and throwing themselves into nearby patches of soft rush! Mmm! . . . 

Team 3: Catherine and Kasher replaced the small boardwalk near Flailcroft on Tod 082 (which we checked a couple of weeks ago) and then went to survey a nearby stile on Tod 102 (which is the footpath which runs parallel to Stones Lane and Bacup Road). It is a stile we hope to replace in the next couple of weeks.

Many thanks to Todmorden Town Council for funding today's tasks and for the various landowners who have supported the work of CROWS.

The blue "pin" marks the location of one of today's stiles.

The blue "pin" marks the location of the replaced boardwalk.

Team 2:

The very high stile leg which certainly does not conform
to British Standards.

New legs being added. Please note that the footpath 
beyond the stile is rather narrow due to the conifers
on the RHS.

The new legs and treadboard now in place. Getting 
over the stile may be a little easier!

The two step stile with the two legs braced.

Team 3:

Removing the existing short boardwalk. The stringers
were not in bad condition but the majority of the 
cross-treads were rotten.

The basic framework of the boardwalk now in position and
being checked.

Catherine with the first of the cross-treads
being added.

The boardwalk nearing completion. We will return to 
add in the trim at the edge of the boardwalk. 

We had a visitor: a fast moving woolly caterpillar.

 A convenient place for lunch and cake!

CRAGG VALE - Small Jobs

Andy, Chloe and Sean decided to have a day working on 3 smaller jobs in Cragg Vale. 

The first job of the day was to replace markerposts in Deacon Hill Wood (One of them doubled up as a support when climbing some steep steps). We also cut back some Rhododendrons.

The second job was cutting-back near Robin Hood rock

Job 3 was a replacing stile legs and a treadboard in the Topland Estate 

RYBURN - Crow Hill Bridleway

A crisp early autumn day saw two teams out from Ryburn working on two sections of a bridleway which crosses Crow Hill.

Location of work

Linda and Jak went to the southern section of the bridleway to cut back overhanging and underfoot foliage and to waymark the route.

Before

After

Linda with a new waymark

Linda and Jak rejoined the team of Carla, a new volunteer, Jerry and Rich at the other end of the bridleway where they were working on a stile rebuild.

Stile needing some TLC

At first, only one of the team was visible and there was some idle chat about the other two being in a hole! Indeed, this turned out to be true! The rebuild involved taking out some very large posts which had been deeply pile-driven into the ground making it very hard work to remove them. Fortunately, the steps across the stile were sound and did not have to be removed.

Bye-bye spade!

Carla getting stuck in!

After a considerable time, the post (a long way down) was removed.

Rich with part of the post

Eventually the stile was constructed without too much trouble.

Jerry next to the steps

Stile now taking shape

Carla testing the new stile

A group of CROWS in action

We returned to Crow Hill and completed waymarking the bridleway.

This work was funded by Calderdale Highways. Many thanks to them.