How Stean Beck footpath: 16-05-2017

This week it was back to some hard manual grafting rather than all the nice and easy surveying work that we have been doing of late. Once again NCVs joined footpaths Tzar Peter Lambert to help out with some practical footpath maintenance near Middlesmoor as part of the Upper Nidderdale Landscape Partnership Project. The group was only a small one today - I wonder if that was due to holidays, family commitments, the wet weather or the thought of having to, once again, lift a shovel?

Tools were transported near to the work site by quad bike
 and trailer, which saved us having to carry them far.

 Graham and Tony immediately set to clearing a fallen tree...

... and got it sorted by coffee time.
Well done chaps!

Coffee was taken under the shelter of the trees.

Meanwhile two separate teams worked on cutting channels 
and inserting drainage pipes to improve the quality of the path.

Both spades and spikes had to be used to shift 
the muddy soil and large pieces of rock.

Once inserted the pipe then had to be covered 

with stone and earth to hide it from view.

.Digging the slurry like mud out of the drainage ditch 
with a spade was virtually impossible. Andy suggested 
using ladles next time!

If that thing comes out of the pipe again I'll hit it with this rock!

Higher up the path conditions were just as muddy.

Who got the muddiest?

Post luncheon duties consisted of shifting large 
pieces of rock from A to B.

This was done to create a relatively flat path across 
some treacherous, sloping, limestone slabs.

Smaller stones were harvested from the 
bed of the beck to pack out the larger pieces.

 Strongman James was determined that 
this stone should be used.

Its journey from point A to point B was not an easy one.

Wishy Washy's laundry - the tools, gloves 
and Ros E's waterproofs cleaned up a treat.

Well done NCVs!.

Footpath walkers will now be able to walk more safely.

AND FINALLY.....

As well as all the work that is carried out each Tuesday there is a variety of other things being done by volunteers on other days of the week. Annual wading bird surveys, bird box monitoring and some after school ornithology club sessions are happening regularly at the moment, but a more unusual job that one NCV undertook was to construct a cow to take to the recent 'Nidderdale in the City' event in Leeds. Children had a great time 'milking' Nidderbell!  

Excellent work Andy. 

Nidderbell looks very life-like.

The bird box monitors look happy in their work - especially

 since their ladder carrying route was made easier by the NCVs. 

Ros E.