Rare chance to work as a Yorkshire Dales ranger

From rolling hills to rolling sheep, one of Britain's favourite national parks is looking for a ranger to manage hundreds of miles of protected countryside.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park's Swaledale ranger will maintain rights of way while helping landowners and creating opportunities for the public to enjoy the outdoors.

Matt Neale, area manager of the Northern Dales, said the role was not for the fainthearted.

“It’s not for everybody. It sounds romantic but last winter was very wet,” he said.

“It can be pretty difficult. One of the essential criteria is someone who can cope with the physical elements and have the resilience to work outside in bad weather.

“You can set off on a nice day and then be facing wet or snow by the end.”

The Yorkshire Dales National Park was established in 1954. Today the park Authority has 150 staff and 250 volunteers.

There are three access rangers working across the northern area of the park from their base at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes - covering Lower Wensleydale, Upper Wensleydale and Swaledale.

Among many beauty spots, Swaledale is home to the Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in the UK; Great Shunner Fell, one of the highest points on the Pennine way; and 10-metre waterfall Kisdon Force.

The ranger is responsible for maintaining the rights of way network, replacing signage, repairing bridges, clearing vegetation and helping landowners with stiles and gates.

Across the national park there are 20,000 pieces of countryside "furniture", said Mr Neale.

Despite the challenges of the role, Mr Neale said he had already had a flurry of interest in the rarely-advertised vacancy.

“We had 12 people call to talk through the job yesterday.

“They want to move from London because they like walking, but we’re not training someone up from square one. We want someone who has knowledge of the role.

“If they have knowledge of upland farming and the farming calendar that would be great.”

Alongside being occasionally wet, cold and muddy, applicants will also have some unusual colleagues.

“We often see sheep that are stuck and sheep that are rigged,” says Mr Neale.

“This is where they get themselves into a position on their back with four legs in the air and they can eventually die.

“You go and roll the sheep back over, so you’ll often see that.

“If you tell the farmer that you’ve rolled their sheep over they’ll thank you.”

The Swaledale team is currently working on a project to upgrade sections of the 182-mile Coast to Coast route that was devised by walker and author Alfred Wainwright in 1973.

“Last year the government announced the Coast to Coast would be a national trail and we’ve got a nice section over Nine Standards Rigg,” said Mr Neale.

“The target for that work is October 2025 so that will be the focus for the first 18 months.”

The area is also home to the Dales Bike Centre, which is the start point for the Swale Trail, a 12-mile route for mountain bikers.

Mr Neale said benefits of the role included building relationships with the farming community and local community and “working in the best national park in the UK in terms of physical beauty”.

“It’s a great job with a good team and lots of opportunities,” he added.

The National Park Authority also recruits seasonal rangers who focus on visitor engagement and enforcing the Countryside Code in busy areas during the summer months.

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