CROWS, Unit 3, Mount Shed. Banksfield Road, Mytholmroyd (2026)

01/09/2026

Ryburn - Replacing fingerposts around the area.
Today, ideal work for a bank holiday - finishing-off several jobs which needed fingerposts.
Last Friday, Jak, Richard and Angus spent the day refurbishing a couple of old fingerposts and installing a couple of new ones. Richard's artwork on the lettering means these new posts can be seen for miles! Again, this has been funded through donations to CROWS. Many thanks to all who have contributed.
Today five of us - Jak, Lynda, Jerry, Richard and Angus - were out in one vehicle and visiting four sites. We loaded up and headed to a couple of paths (below Krumlin) where Jak and Jerry tackled a post replacement off Bottomley Lane, whilst Lynda, Richard and Angus, headed to Hey Lane above Black Brook to install a new post.
Both locations required some cutting-back, with the steps at Hey Lane being particularly slippery with leaf mulch. Despite the rain of the last couple of days, the ground was still very dry and this, coupled with stony conditions, made the digging particularly tough. . . , but we got there.
We always try to make best use of existing materials, especially if the post is in good order and it is only the flag itself which needs replacing.
A refurbished post was fitted at Bottomley Lane and a completely new one at Hey Lane.

After a coffee, we headed up to the Bridleway running along Kennel Lane, above Noah Dale Clough, where the original post had rotted at ground level and subsequently 'disappeared'!
We were grateful to the owners of School Farm for allowing us to park on their drive which reduced the distance we had to carry tools and materials.
Jak and Lynda headed along the bridleway to cut-back some of the worst of the overgrowth, whilst Jerry, Richard and Angus tackled the post replacement. This time the digging was a bit easier as the post had originally been secured with stones, although a couple of "dead men" nails made its final extraction a bit tricky.
The last job was to replace a plastic waymark flag on a post on Bowood Lane. This is not our favourite type of flag but that's what was in place originally . . . and we have a stock of them. Whilst there, we also rebuilt part of the access where the path goes through a drystone wall, making it wider and safer.

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31/08/2026

TODMORDEN - Eastwood
Friday's "Team 2" (Catherine, Gareth and Kasher) spent the morning cutting back just off Halifax Road on adjoining footpaths Tod 009 and Tod 033 which go up the hillside on either side of a stream from the bottom of Eastwood Lane.
Tod 009 (the right-hand side path) had been 'flagged" on the OS app as being "blocked". Sadly, the OS app doesn't seem to have any facility to post the good news that it isn't blocked anymore! The bottom was certainly unwelcoming before we started work. Further up, a set of stone steps are encountered which are also now clear of vegetation although still slippery in wet weather. The top end of Tod 033 (the left-hand path) is also now much more passable although the brambles and Himalayan balsam will undoubtedly return next year.
Today's work was funded by Todmorden Town Council. Thanks as always to them and to all other donors who support our work with donations or just allowing us to park nearby!

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27/08/2026

LUDDENDEN: Operation bridleway!
Bridleway, St Mary's Church, Luddenden Village
Stella, Ian S and Paul were out today cutting back an overgrown bridleway that runs parallel and above St Mary's Church cemetery. This overgrown stretch of pathway had prompted an urgent referral to CROWS as bikers and walkers had started to use a lower footpath that went through the graveyard!
The work was funded by Luddenden Civic Society - thank you

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23/08/2026

TODMORDEN - the cutting back continues
Duncan and Kasher returned to Stile Lane (Tod 028) and Tod 029 (off Ashenhurst Road) to cut back the rampant vegetation and, on Stile Lane, to secure the fence at the top of the ginnel/snicket as it enters the field. The entrance to the field is through the gap stile at the side of the fence. We hope to work with the landowner to improve the access from the ginnel to the field whilst preventing the landowner's cattle from coming down from the field.
We also took the opportunity to look at some of the willows which we planted earlier in the year, many of which seem to have taken well. We also returned to the drainage issues in this area and will need to work with the Council to try to sort out some of these problems before the winter storms.
Many thanks to the person/people who have cut back some of the vegetation on Tod 029. Your work was really appreciated and made our job slightly easier.
Today's work has been funded by Todmorden Town Council. Many thanks for your continuing support.

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23/08/2026

Ryburn - Tidying up above Cotton Stones.
Today was the day for finishing some outstanding jobs. Jak and Jerry headed up to Ogden Farm to complete the cutting-back and to fit a couple of support bars on the stile CROWS had built previously. They also surveyed a couple of other paths in the area - some more work for for the future.

Today's work has been funded through donations to CROWS via the website. Many thanks to all who contributed.

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21/08/2026

TODMORDEN - Shore, Lumbutts and Warland
There were three teams out from Todmorden today:
Team 1: David and Mick, were waymarking the official diversion to Tod 148 below Warland Reservoir. This is also the route of the Todmorden Centenary Way (TCW). For further details of the official diversion order please seehttps://todmorden-tc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Item-12-Public-Footpath-Confirmation-DC-5th-Aug-2026.pdf
Team 2: Kasher and Neil Mc worked in Shore above Cornholme to: "just" fit a dog gate; cut back one path, and sort out two stiles on Stoney Lane. We were joined by David after he and Mick had completed the waymarking of the new route for Tod 148. We will need to return here soon to put in a new closure post for a small gate and to make improvements to the dog gate which we fitted.
Team 3: Andrew and Catherine had a list of jobs in the Lumbutts/ Mankinholes area including building steps and revetments, reinserting a flag, fettling up a notice board, cutting back . . . Phew! Please see the separate blog about their work.
Team 2 would like to extend thanks to the owner of Hartley Royd who came to our rescue and who also provided much needed cold drinks.
Today's work has been funded by Todmorden Town Council and by the Cornholme Wreath Making workshop held in December 2025.

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20/08/2026

Colden: Mixed weather stile building! 🌧🌞

Here's what we accomplished:

i) Cut back all overgrowth
ii) Dismantled the whole stile and dug out the side-posts and step-legs.
iii) Constructed a new stile with two steps on the road side and three on the field side.
iv) Cross-braced the legs and added five cross-rails.
v) Installed a dog-gate between one side-post and a stone pillar of the old squeeze gap.

It was a day of lots of digging, hauling out of posts, cutting timbers, checking levels and hoping everything could be squeezed into the narrowest of gaps. An additional factor was the weather. After a fine start, a succession of rain clouds soaked us in sharp showers before we dried out in the afternoon sunshine.

This was a long working session for Nic, Kasher and Frank. Nic had the bonus of living nearby so set off walking home. Kasher and Frank finished loading the vehicles and would have set off . . . if only Kasher's battery hadn't been 'flat'. Mmm! Not the best scenario at 4.30 in the afternoon on a narrow remote track.
Fortunately, Frank had a set of jump leads (last used about 20 years ago!) in his car toolkit so after dredging up the memory (and checking on google) as how to best use them calamity was averted.

We were pleased with the result of the day's work. Although a few compromises had to be made and we ended up on Plan D rather than Plan A, the stile is safe, secure, aesthetically pleasing and user friendly. Some further signage may be added at a later date.

18/08/2026

RYBURN - Helm Lane
Today saw Jerry, Rich D and Jak working on a stile near Helm Farm off Helm Lane.
There was a jumble of boundaries consisting of several lines of old fencing, a broken-down wall and a thick hedgerow. The first job was to clear the site and we opted to remove anything that wasn't useful so as to eventually leave a tidy site.
During the clearing, we found a number of interesting things. Firstly a "dead man", used by some stile builders in the past to secure the posts in the ground. Usually, such posts are very hard to extract from the ground!
We had a small amount of very welcome rain too but it did little to soften the dusty and extremely stony ground we were digging into.
Working for CROWS means we get to see beautiful countryside and extensive views . . . and sometimes animal life. Today we had two frogs who hopped in to say hello.

We're very grateful to Ian for giving us access to the site and also for his hospitality. Top notch!

This work was funded by donations to CROWS for which we are also very grateful. Many thanks.

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18/08/2026

Causey Stones, Steps and Cutting back in Wadsworth

Ginny, Kris, Nic and Paul, a team of four volunteers, were out today in various locations in the Wadsworth area.

Ginny and Kris were focused on widening a path of causey stones at Pecket Bar.

Meanwhile, Nic and Paul worked on three sites in the Old Town area; D**e Lane, Foot Kiln and Shawcroft.

17/08/2026

TODMORDEN - Lumbutts/Mankinholes
Andrew and Catherine were one of the teams out on Friday 16th August with a list of jobs in the Lumbutts/ Mankinholes area.
Job 1 - repairing steps and revetment on the path behind the fishing pond before Oldroyd Wood. The revetment and one riser some risers were rotten and needed to be replaced. The boardwalk was also cleaned and secured.

Job 2 - reinserting a flag in a fingerpost at Heeley Clough at the junction of paths beyond the 'Incredible Edible' Farm.
Job 3 - cutting back a small stretch of path at the end of Cross Lane.
Job 4 - cleaning, sanding and staining the notice board at the parking area, opposite the Shepherd's Rest, at the bottom of the path to Gaddings Dam
From the pictures it might look like Andrew did all the work . . . but that is due to Catherine being the photographer!

Today's work has been funded by Todmorden Town Council

Follow the CROWS
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[email protected]

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