The Rossendale Rambler

Relatively speaking it has been a quiet year in terms of reported footpath faults with only five problems brought to my notice apart from Windy Harbour. Most of the five were simple blockages which were passed on to John Dwyer at Stubbylee Hall. One gentleman from Wakefield seems to spend a lot of time exploring these parts and like all true Yorkshire men he is a belt and braces man; not only does he report the faults to me, he also goes directly to John Dwyer. This gentleman features every year on my books and is obviously keen to help me keep all the paths open in the area.

The perennial problem of Windy Harbour continues to rumble on and I have had no fewer than five separate complaints about the boorish behaviour of the Mason family who seem to take every opportunity to browbeat passing walkers with foul language and threats. One man complained that he was threatened with shooting when he attempted to defend himself against one of the dogs who was 'having a go' at him whilst he was skirting the farm. One complainant felt I did not have the bottle to do the job of footpath secretary because I was not ready to mobilise local support towards mass trespasses: Though how the hell one can trespass on a public footpath is beyond me. However, no more of this, I got it all off my chest in the Spring Edition of ‘The Rambler'

One thing that does bother me is the lack of co-operation I am getting from the council in chasing up what is happening in regard to Windy Harbour. Since April of this year I have written four letters to the legal department only one of which was answered and that was only to tell me the person responsible was 'away from the office'. At the time of writing I have enlisted the support of Councillor Lawrence Foreshaw and may have an up-date on the situation by the time this is read. John Dwyer, the footpath officer for Rossendale continues to be helpful and usually replies promptly to all of my letters. He also continues to put up a lot of new stiles all over the place and I feel his efforts should be recognised.

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