In reply to Rob Dyer, BMC:
Can I just extend thanks to both Calderdale Council (Dave in particular!) and those that did turn up (I
guess everyone else was at Tremadoc, right?) and, of course Rob and the BMC for working with the council so well; providing the new stakes... and the new cakes!
The council's volunteers had already moved a lot of litter, and will be back to remove more - we removed and replaced the old stakes (there's a couple of scaffold pole ones that proved reluctant to move, so they'll be angle-ground back to ground-level, but the rest were fairly easy to take out!) Down in the quarry, the main focus was the under-utilised right-hand bay, so we cut back brambles, saplings and felled a couple of small birch trees plus one that had fallen across the path between the bays.
Can I ask if any of the local activists, especially those involved with the clearing and re-development of the right-hand bay of they want to strip ALL the mid-height ledge system of brambles and soil? It's a big job that'll need spades and quite a few people. Either contact myself via the forum or Rob Dyer (plus I believe you can post on the Yorkshire Area part of the BMC community site). The right-hand bay will only get better with more use and cleaning, so, please use and clean it! Does anyone local have any opinion on removing vegetation from the left-hand natural outcrop?
In general, can I ask that people who use this venue make an effort to keep the brambles down (at the base of the routes) and remove the litter that this place unfortunately accumulates (usually beer-cans and disposable BBQs).
Finally, this is a great example of the BMC, local climbers and the local council working together for everyone's benefit: long may this continue!
Cheers,
James