Millie's Meadow - August 2021

Once again Shibden Valley Society committee members and residents tackled the footpath known locally as Millie’s Meadow. This time we had some serious help in the form of a mini digger. We hope all our hard work done of over the past few months ensures the footpath remains in good condition for all to walk.

The work extended over a fair stretch of the footpath and the drainage channels have left some ‘scars’ alongside

The ‘scars’ should soon be covered in new grass to blend in with the rest of the pasture

So over a number of working days, the team, committee and residents have cut back vegetation, cleared grass sods from the footpath, cleared vegetation from a bench, moved a large stone to stop a puddle forming in front. Lifted and moved large stones to make the path easier to walk and finally brought in a mini digger to dig channels to drain the footpath

Shibden Valley Society members and committee would like to thank, our member, Tom Rawnsley for his help with the finishing stages of restoring and improving the footpath. Having a mini digger made light work for all of us.

Millie's Meadow - June 2021

Below Brian and Richard starting work on the drain off gully in one of the more muddy sections.

Denise hard at work helping with the mud!

Brian, Richard and Denise all hard at work. Pretty Muddy work!

Millie's Meadow - April 2021

Our next visit on 19 April was a much more organised working party and we were lucky to have some Shibden Valley Society members along to assist with the work.

Here you can see some of the volunteers hard at work cutting back the vegetation and also grass sods from the stone path to gratually widen it

Millie's Meadow - Early April 2021

We have been working on this footpath which needed some drainage work. David Witcher had asked the committee to look at the path before lockdown but weren't able to do any work due to the pandemic.

Below are some of the images of the footpath and you can clearly see the problem. We hoped to be able to resolve some of these muddy areas. Committee walked the footpath to decide on a plan of action and managed to do a little work whilst on site.

Below you can see Brian and Fred cutting a drain off gully to try and remove excess water

Some of the committee moving two large blocks of stone to the front of the bench where a large puddle forms

Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic there was very little work done by working parties during 2020, but we made up for it in 2021!

On Wednesday 16 October, four members of the committee met on a beautiful sunny afternoon to carry out some more maintenance work in the valley.

Horley Green Lane towards Shibden Fold

Once again, we tackled the level footpath running from Horley Green Lane towards Shibden Fold. This is a popular route that was again suffering from overhanging bushes and water flowing over the path. A good hour’s work saw the bushes cut back and the drainage channel widened and deepened to prevent it from over-topping. Hopefully it will be several months before we have to do this again

Shibden Fold down to Shibden Brook

We then moved onto the footpath from Shibden Fold down to Shibden Brook, across the stone bridge and up to Staups Lane. The path has a stream alongside which is higher than the path in places causing it to overflow onto the path when it blocks with leaves etc. Two hours of hard work saw masses of vegetation cut back and lots of debris and ‘dams’ removed from the stream to ease the flow into the brook. We also unearthed several large, flat boulders which we moved onto a muddy section to act as stepping-stones before the bridge.

Although not all the problems with water were cured, we hope to revisit in future to place some hardcore on the worst sections.

As a final job we tackled the huge amount of debris that had built up against the support of the stone footbridge. There were large branches, large plastic sheets, a tarpaulin, a large stuffed sofa cushion and a huge burnt log, all jammed into one side causing the stream to back up.

As a final job we tackled the huge amount of debris that had built up against the support of the stone footbridge. There were large branches, large plastic sheets, a tarpaulin, a large stuffed sofa cushion and a huge burnt log, all jammed into one side causing the stream to back up.

After about an hour of wading, winching and cutting (and a few wet wellies!) the brook was back to normal levels. We were so focussed on the job that we forgot to take before and after shots but I’m sure residents who use the bridge regularly will see the difference.

This was four hours of heavy work for just four people, so if there are any members who can help next time, please look out for Working Party notifications on Facebook or email. We look forward to seeing you on the next Working Party.

In December our working party tackled once again the path between Horley Green Lane and Shibden Fold. The path suffers from much overwash of water from the land and this causes the path to become very slippery. We cleaned up the path and tried to remove as much debris as possible.

As usual many thanks to those who turned up to the working party.

Fred, our Chairman, noticed that the benches in Millie's Meadow were in serious need of some refurbishment. One bench could not be seen it was so overgrown with brambles and weeds. Brian, our Working party officer, purchased and prepared the oak laths for the benches and Fred cut back the foliage around the hidden bench.

Wednesday 24 October saw Fred and Brian take the laths and tools and finish the work on the benches. These benches look much better for a little care. Many thanks to Fred and Brian for a great job done!

September 2018 Working Party

Horley Green Lane to Shibden Fold - May 2018

Sunday 20 May 2018 the group once again tackled the path from Horley Green Lane towards Shibden Fold. There had been some considerable run off over the path which had made it very slippery. We worked on this path back in August 2017 where a great deal of work was done to improve it.

Path to Scout Hall - October 2017

On Sunday 15 October, another beautiful sunny day in the valley, eight Shibden Valley Society members tackled another footpath that was in desperate need of some TLC. This footpath runs from Shibden Brook, up the hill, to the back of Scout Hall. Whilst being longer, it is also steeper and more overgrown than the one cleared by the members back in August 2017, so it was always going to be a challenge to make a significant impression with the time and numbers available.

Starting at the stone stile behind Scout Hall, the group worked their way downhill, cutting back and levelling the path, clearing overgrowth from stone flags and even managing to re-set many of the loose fence posts. After about two and a half hours the group ran out of time, with plenty of work still to be done on the lower sections.

As you can see from the photographs the result was a much wider and more defined path in these upper sections.

Horley Green Lane to Shibden Fold - August 2017

Sunday 20th August nine members of the Shibden Valley Society met to clear a couple of paths, off Horley Green Lane, that had become badly overgrown and in one case very difficult to walk along.

Fred and Richard started on the significant overgrowth of Hawthorn bushes on the footpath between Horley Green Lane and Shibden Brook. The hedge trimmer came in handy with the amount of work to do. There was also a couple of flagstones needing to be re-laid as they sloped dangerously and could have led to a nasty fall.

Meanwhile the remaining members began clearing brambles, weeds, gravel and other debris from about 300 yards of the footpath leading to the back of Shibden Fold. This is a very popular walk in the valley but was suffering from substantial amounts of gravel being washed down from the banking above (in places 6 to 8 inches deep).

There was also significant encroachment of weeds and brambles causing the path to become very narrow. After two and a half hours of hot, strenuous work the path was looking much better. Nice and easy to walk along and clear of debris.

Many thanks to all who gave their time and effort to do this valuable work