- Bill Allen, Sector Ranger
- Ella Briens, Sector Ranger
- Ian Brooker, Senior Ranger
- Andrea Crisp, Assistant Ranger
- Ian Durrant, Assistant Ranger
- Paul Glanville, Sector Ranger
- Simon Lee, Sector Ranger
- Serina Rouse, Senior Ranger
- Robert Steemson, Head of Ranger and Volunteer Services
- Jonathon Stones, Sector Ranger
- Paul Salmon, Senior Ranger
- Rob Taylor, Sector Ranger
- Sue Bishop, Ranger and Access Admin Assistant
Bill Allen
Sector Ranger
I grew up in East Devon and, from an early age, I knew the kind of career I hoped to pursue. Many weekends were spent exploring, which led on to the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and Ten Tors. Following a year on pre-college work experience (then a requirement for such courses) I gained a place on the Countryside Recreation Course at Merristwood Agricultural College in Surrey. At that time, one of only a couple of courses aimed specifically at training countryside wardens and Rangers. I studied a wide range of practical and academic subjects such as public speaking, natural history life saving, bridge building and tree felling.
The three year course included two work experience placements. I spent six months working as a warden at a country park near Epsom, and, though gaining much useful experience, it confirmed that this was not my ‘niche’. My second, nine month placement, took me to the Yorkshire Dales National Park, where I was involved in all aspects of Ranger work, from practical tasks such as bridge building, drystone walling and major path restoration work, with large groups of volunteers, to working closely with the general public, both locals and visitors.
On successful completion of the course, I returned to East Devon, to work on a small farm, for three months, before being accepted as a Sector Ranger with the Dartmoor National Park Authority. That was sixteen years ago. Much has changed in that time, but thankfully sound common sense, feet firmly on the ground, is still the name of the game on Dartmoor long may it continue.
Ella Briens
Sector Ranger
I have always enjoyed ‘The Great Outdoors’ and have been lucky enough to spend some of my spare time walking, horse riding, sailing and surfing around the south west, whilst growing up in Devon. In addition I have taken time to work, study and travel my way around many parts of the world, visiting and gathering inspiration from places like Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, America’s Grand Canyon, game reserves in Tanzania and Kenya and theme parks in Australia and New Zealand - amazing places with a common theme - protected landscapes.
After finishing my degree in Geography (specialising in conservation ecology), I travelled to Australia, found a volunteering programme on the internet, signed up for three weeks, but stayed eight months. I started forging my career as a Ranger by volunteering for Parks Victoria in the Dandenong Ranges National Park, Victoria. I found this a huge inspiration to me and gained a lot of experience, including practical skills. I also had the opportunity to visit other parks around Melbourne, meet and learn from other Rangers and get involved with a huge variety of tasks and events. I then went on to work as a station hand on a wilderness reserve on the outskirts of Broome.
I joined Dartmoor National Park Authority in June 2004, after working as a Recreation Ranger in the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in Somerset. That was my first Ranger job in England. I worked for the AONB Service and the Forestry Commission, where my main duties included patrolling and visitor management on the commons, in woodland, and plantation forestry. I organised guided walks and events for the public and co-ordinated the volunteer Rangers and conservation tasks throughout the AONB. All valuable skills and experience. Indeed, much Ranger work is of a similar nature. Meavy Sector covers the south west area of the National Park and includes many spectacular places, like Sheepstor, Burrator reservoir, and fascinating archaeological sites, such as the ancient stone rows and standing stones by Ditsworthy Warren House, together with the wartime bomb bays at the old Yelverton airfield. This sector is a very popular area of Dartmoor, with many visitors coming from Plymouth to picnic at Cadover Bridge and Roborough Down. High visitor numbers do however have associated problems, like littering - please take it home. In addition to regular duties, like patrolling and maintaining rights of way, I have been involved in assessing sites identified as open country, under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, supervising new Volunteer Wardens, co-ordinating conservation tasks with the Dartmoor Preservation Association and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, and helping with Ranger Ralph events.
Ian Brooker
Senior Ranger
Having spent most of my childhood living near the South Downs, with parents that didn't drive, visits to the countryside and walking everywhere formed my earliest memories. It's not surprising, therefore, that my chosen profession should involve something to do with the outdoors. However, the move towards being a Ranger didn't crystallise until after completing my Geography Degree.
I consider myself immensely lucky and privileged to have found myself working on Dartmoor. I started my working career at Losehill Hall in the Peak District, then moved to seasonal positions in the Mersey Valley, on to a privately run Country Park near Reading and then five years at Horsham, managing several countryside sites.
My expertise in the natural world, however, was not immediate. It has taken many years to build up a working knowledge of the flora and fauna - and I'm still learning!
I also enjoy working with people. It's incredible to think back on all the people that I have met over the years, in a variety of circumstances as you can imagine; from simple help with directions to the hours spent developing projects which seem to involve an endless list of consultees and differing opinions. Gaining consensus and then completing a project can give you a real buzz at the end of the day.
The downside, of course, is the fringe elements that seem to go out of their way to destroy what the rest of us enjoy. Litter is perhaps the simplest form of this and it never ceases to amaze me the lack of care that some take when visiting the countryside.
The Northern Sector is, in my opinion, the most beautiful and remote of the wild places on Dartmoor. Every day there is something new to discover or simply to see the area change as the weather and seasons move on. It’s a pleasure to go to work each day!
Andrea Crisp
Assistant Ranger
When I left school I was in a similar position to hundreds of other teenagers, I had no real idea about what I wanted to do with my life, apart from earn money and have fun. University beckoned, but what to study, what role was I to play in this big wide world?
I decided to try my hand at a couple of different careers, find something that I enjoyed, and then embark on further education if needed.
For several years, I worked for a car sales dealership, and, at the tender age of 22, I had enough money to start the next phase of my life, but again what do I do?
Do I do the sensible thing and buy a house, have some independence from home, and start my climb on the property ladder? Or blow all my savings on a backpacking adventure. There was really no choice.
I had a fantastic 12 months travelling round Australia, working on large cattle ranches, picking fruit and cooking for a cowboy training academy. The seeds of a career were planted in my mind, and from that point I decided that an outdoor life was for me - no more 9-5 office jobs, but a job that offered great satisfaction and a sense of achievement. I carried on travelling, working as a lifeguard in Connecticut, a housekeeper at a Texas hunting lodge and finally finished with a 6 month stint, working on a guest ranch in the Cariboo region of British Columbia.
I then headed home and studied for 2 years at an agricultural college, near my home town of Ipswich, Suffolk. After 2 years of full time study I gained a National Diploma in Countryside Management and a full time job with Dartmoor National Park Authority as an Assistant Ranger.
I cover three Sectors on the west side of the moor, from Lydford down to South Brent, and work in a team with Paul Salmon, Paul Glanville and Ella Briens. I spend most of my time working in the Meavy sector supporting Ella Briens. My role includes working with local school and conservation groups and providing a point of contact for residents and tourists alike. Dartmoor is an amazing place and I learn something new about it every day. Days can sometimes be long and hard, but I tend to go home each night happy and content with life, which is how it should be.
Ian Durrant
Assistant Ranger
Although I had always lived in the country, I didn’t ‘get my hands dirty’ until I finished my A Levels. After working with several inspiring rural craftsmen, all around the country I took up self employment. I carried out hedge laying, drystone walling, coppicing and hurdle making.
All of that was a great education, but after five years I wanted a little more and I went to university. My Course at Seale Hayne allowed me a year working as a Ranger in Cornwall. The job enabled me to combine the practical and the academic. I could see the way forward. It was work which was outside and inside, head and hands, and healthy too.
After University, I was looking forward to working close to home in the community where I live. However, I had to stop along the way, working for BTCV in Plymouth and Torbay. Then Teignbridge District Council needed a Community Ranger for a three year post. When this came to an end I moved to the Dartmoor National Park Authority as an Assistant Ranger.
Paul Glanville
Sector Ranger
I started working for Dartmoor National Park Authority in the Information Centres, back in the mid 1980s. Soon after this I became a voluntary warden for the western Sector Ranger, Simon Ford. Later, a part time seasonal Ranger post came up, to which I was appointed. This involved a lot of litter picking and working with groups on Roborough Down. The seasonal post was then extended into the winter season, and then became full time seasonal and back to back.
In 1989 Simon took six months off, to work in some Australian National Parks, and asked me to look after his dog while he was away. The Head Ranger asked me to look after Simon’s Sector while he was away.
A year later I had been taken on full time with my own Sector, in the south west of the National Park.
The good bits about the job are the feeling of connection to the landscape and the local community, and also the opportunity to have a picnic in a different location every day. It has also given me the opportunity to extend my knowledge and work with some very dedicated and expert people who also work for the Authority.
The major downside is dealing with the problems that a very small minority of people cause.
The Sector I work in runs from Yelverton to Princetown and northwards to the parish of Bridestowe. I feel very lucky to be able to work in such a wonderful place.
Simon Lee
Sector Ranger
My name is Simon Lee and I cover the Teign valley sector, which encompasses the parishes of Hennock, Christow, Bridford, Dunsford, Cheriton Bishop, Drewsteignton, Throwleigh and Gidleigh. The area is characterised by wooded valleys amongst farmland, with open moor leading out from Gidleigh and Throwleigh.
I started working for Dartmoor National Park Authority as a student Ranger in 2002, helping out in the Dart valley, as part of my degree course at Seale Hayne. After my student placement had finished I was asked to look after the Teign Valley Sector, as the Sector Ranger was soon to be leaving, naturally I jumped at this opportunity. When the post of full time Sector Ranger was advertised, I applied and got the job. I feel very lucky to work in this part of Dartmoor, as it is the area that I grow up in, and in which I still live. However, I want to finish my degree, so I spend my two days off a week, attending lectures and my evenings completing the coursework. This means I lead a busy life at present.
The management of the area’s extensive rights of way network keeps me busy, with maintenance activities such as strimming and replacing stiles and gates. There is also ongoing liaison with users, landowners and managers, to improve the rights of way network. I enjoy the practical work and being out on the ground meeting people. My job also enables me to undertake conservation work, both on my own and with the help of conservation volunteers, which I find particularly rewarding.
Serina Rouse
Senior Ranger
My family moved from Totnes to Belstone when I was two, I have lived on Dartmoor ever since.
We had tremendous freedom as children and spent the whole time running about outside and helping on a couple of local farms. I became quite useful with sheep but had no talent with horses whatsoever. At that time I was thinking of becoming a shepherd up north somewhere – dogs, hills, sheep and solitude seemed to offer what I wanted. Having thought long and hard however, I decided that the agricultural workforce was likely to keep on shrinking and that shepherds would become an uneconomic luxury, ie there would not be much scope for employment. I decided to sign up for an HND in Rural Resource Management at Seale Hayne College instead, which I duly achieved.
The course had a six month ‘sandwich’ period, allowing students the opportunity to gain further practical skills in a working environment. I applied to Dartmoor National Park Authority and was taken on for the summer of 1986. All I can remember of that time was endless miles of path clearing with a long handled hook (we did not have many brushcutters back in the old days) and plenty of evening patrols. Neither of these put me off, and after finishing college I was accepted for a second stint of seasonal rangering, in the summer of 1987. A Sector Ranger left and I was taken on for the winter to cover his sector. I applied for the post in February 1988 and here I am, still rangering.
During that time I have had three Sector changes and now have the large ‘Dartmoor Forest’ parish and Chagford Sector – most of the high moor really. It is a great patch with plenty going on and lots of public rights of way and access work, which I really enjoy.
When I started rangering I had no idea that Dartmoor Rangers were so involved with people - I had fondly imagined that it was a job involving animals and habitat - how naïve. In fact it is a very much people orientated career choice - that came as quite a shock I must admit. I am used to it now of course. The job has changed in many ways over the years but still essentially requires a ‘hands on’, ‘feet on the ground’ common sense approach. It is very rewarding if you are primarily a self motivated conscientious individual. I feel very lucky to work in such a lovely environment, although long wet winters can be something of a trial, as can the unsightly and unwanted deposits of litter and rubbish left behind by various abusers of the moor. The good invariably outweighs the bad however and I love the place. Dartmoor is timeless and that quality alone can be incredibly inspiring.
Robert Steemson
Head of Ranger and Volunteer Services
I was brought up in the village of Poundsgate, in the parish of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, with the fantastic Dart gorge virtually on my doorstep. After attending the local primary school, which regularly linked the fantastic environment with lesson objectives, I then had the culture shock of becoming a boarder at a comprehensive school in Totnes. Getting home, whenever possible, to explore the wilds of Dartmoor became a necessity.
My mainly outdoor upbringing gave me the desire to seek a career doing something worthwhile in the outdoors. When asked by the school careers teacher what thoughts I had regarding possible futures, my reply was well focussed. My choices were to become a Dartmoor Warden (as they were called in those days), to do something using maps, or be involved in television (a cameraman perhaps).
To help achieve my goal I went out regularly as a volunteer with local Wardens, gaining invaluable knowledge and experience. I also assisted on local farms, got some contract work with a woodland company and did voluntary work with the Devon Trust for Nature Conservation (now Devon Wildlife Trust) which involved being trained in many aspects of practical conservation work.
In 1979, a seasonal position at Newbridge became available and during the winter months I secured a job looking after Dunsford Nature Reserve, which gave further practical training.
In 1981, I achieved a full time Sector Ranger position which covered an area containing the parishes of Holne, West Buckfastleigh, Buckfastleigh, Dean Prior, South Brent, Ugborough, Harford and Cornwood. I also joined the Ashburton Section of the Dartmoor Rescue Group and became a member of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme, Dartmoor Expedition Panel.
In 1984, I took over the Dartmoor Forest Sector. This area contains land predominantly owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. One aspect of my work was linked to a published joint Duchy and National Park Management Plan. This included working with tenant farmers to achieve Access Management agreements with the Authority. Other areas of work involved developing contacts with the Dartmoor Training Centre, Dartmoor Rescue Group and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. A few years later I became a Senior Ranger, managing two other Sector Rangers, covering a third of the National Park area.
In 1997 I was promoted to Head Ranger when the National Park was made free standing from Devon County Council and, looking back at my schoolboy ambitions, I can say that my present role involves all of the elements I felt important - Ranger work, use of maps, and occasional television appearances. I feel privileged to be managing the team of dedicated people who look after this wonderful area.
Jonathon Stones
Sector Ranger
I had an active childhood, enjoying many outdoor pursuits and decided that I wanted to be a Dartmoor National Park Ranger when I was twelve years old. I contacted Simon Ford, who was the Sector Ranger with responsibility for Roborough Down, and started working as a volunteer.
On leaving school I gained experience in agriculture and conservation/visitor management and enrolled on a HND Rural Resource Management course at Seale Hayne. This included six months working for Dartmoor National Park Authority as a Seasonal Ranger.
On gaining my HND, I applied to the Ranger Service for a Seasonal Ranger post, which I secured in 1991, and continued after the summer as an acting Sector Ranger, from there I progressed to full time Sector Ranger in 1993.
What I like about my job is the variety, and that you have a certain amount of freedom in the execution of your duties. Having recently moved from the Plym Meavy Sector to the Dart Sector, after twelve years, I have the challenge of becoming better acquainted with this Sector. I consider myself lucky to be working in, what is considered to be, one of the most interesting areas of the National Park, due to its topography, habitats and work balance (such as visitor and public rights of way management as well as a variety of other duties).
Paul Salmon
Senior Ranger
I was born in Truro, Cornwall, but moved to the outskirts of Bristol at the age of four. The family home was close to open countryside and I spent most of my time out of doors exploring woodlands and rivers on foot or bycycle. My secondary school was very involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme and outdoor education. It was participation in these activities which gave me an introduction to Dartmoor, as a member of a Ten Tors Expedition in 1964.
The family moved back west shortly after this, and we lived by the sea in a rural location near to Plymouth. After a short spell working as an apprentice car mechanic (which I did not enjoy) I enrolled on a three year Graphic Design Course at Plymouth College of Art. During the final year I specialised in photography and this led to employment as a commercial / industrial photographer. I worked for two different Plymouth based companies for the next ten years. I enjoyed the variety, consisting of location shoots throughout Devon and Cornwall, together with studio product photographs and darkroom work.
A chance meeting in 1978, with one of the then Dartmoor Wardens, led to an offer of a seasonal placement with the Dartmoor National Park Authority. It was a difficult decision to make - giving up a secure and well paid job, but I was ready for a change and luckily the position soon became permanent, so I have never really regretted my change of career. The first few years, working for the Ranger Service consisted of a great deal of practical work, getting the public rights of way network open and signed, erecting stiles and gates, fencing old mineshafts and removing many eyesores and old rubbish dumps. We were very poorly equipped - no power tools or communications and working within a modest budget. Bridges were built, mostly from old telegraph poles donated by the GPO.
Things have steadily improved. We now have more Rangers and reliable transport, together with radios and mobile telephones. This is just as well, since the pressure has grown with the steadily increasing workload and range of duties performed by today’s Rangers Service. In some respects the old warden service, which I joined 25 years ago, was a lot more fun - we had to be totally self reliant and we only came in from ‘the field’ a couple of times a month to collect mail and messages. Today we work as a much more integrated Ranger Service. We are required to be more accountable, partly because we are funded with public money, and, of course, because of health and safety requirements. But the essential ingredients of being a Ranger are unchanged - working mainly in the beautiful open spaces of Dartmoor, meeting many people every day, educating, informing and hopefully encouraging a love of the countryside in others.
There are inevitable unpleasant sides to the job, dealing with rude and aggressive people, clearing up rubbish (general litter and fly tipping) and repairing damage done through ignorance and vandalism. Thankfully, the anti-social few, who cause such problems, are vastly outnumbered by those who love Dartmoor and treat it with the respect it deserves. I still feel lucky to work in the Dartmoor Ranger Service. All of my colleagues, past and present, were, and are, great individual characters that can be relied on to lend a hand and work as a team whenever required.
Rob Taylor
Sector Ranger
My name is Rob Taylor and I am Sector Ranger for the Moretonhampstead, Lustleigh, North Bovey and Manaton parishes. I started in June 2004 as an Assistant Ranger covering the north and east side of the moor. In November of the same year I was promoted to the Sector Ranger position.
I started my working life in the army with the Royal Engineers Band. After eight years I left the forces to retrain as a National Trust Warden, based on southern Dartmoor. This is where I got the Dartmoor bug. Following a two and a half year apprenticeship I became a Warden for the Trust on the North West Devon coast. The bug was biting harder and harder and the opportunity came in June to return to Dartmoor.
I feel that the time spent as an assistant Ranger helped me to get to know the area. I am involved in a great deal of consultation with landowners, sometimes acting as a mediator, sometimes needing to take a firmer approach. The reactive element is something I enjoy a lot and I maintain a good working relationship with landowners in my Sector.
There is also the yearly maintenance of the public rights of way. I work in an area where I am lucky (or not, depending on how you look at it) to have one of the highest concentrations of public rights of way. The maintenance of these rights of way takes up a fair percentage of the working week, during the spring and summer months, but it does give me the opportunity to meet many visitors to the National Park.
I have a good cross section of habitats and landscapes in my Sector. There are the higher areas of Hameldon and Hookney Down, shadowing the well known archaeological site of Grimspound as well as the Bovey Valley National Nature Reserve, a Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI), containing broadleaf woodland, jointly owned and managed by English Nature and the Woodland Trust. Every day is a different. That is what is so good about it. There is always something to learn, someone to get to know and above all somewhere to enjoy.
Ranger and Access Admin Assistant
Sue Bishop
As a child growing up in the leafy Cheshire suburbs I suppose I took countryside for granted, as many people did.
My father had a passion for fly fishing and many weekends were spent sitting by river banks and reservoirs. Gradually an appreciation of open spaces crept up on me. Family holidays were spent in north Wales and on the Norfolk Broads, again in lovely rural areas.
None of the information I had access to at school even hinted at a career in anything rural and I fell into special needs education more by default than anything else.
When I got married, my husband and I spent many hours in the countryside around our home on the Pennine foothills, sharing a joint interest in the countryside and photography.
A major turning point came in 1986, with a holiday in a converted barn on a working farm in the Teign Valley. There was a badger sett on the farm and I sat for ages at dusk watching these fascinating creatures. We loved the area, and thought that it would be lovely to bring our family up in Devon.
We moved to Devon in early 1987. The children were introduced to the delights of Dartmoor and looked forward eagerly to our weekly excursions, although as they grew older they rejected the idea and left us to tramp the moor without them. I also joined a local group committee of the Devon Wildlife Trust.
I wanted to return to the workplace, as the children had grown up, but didn’t want to return to my previous role. I sought employment in various office administration roles, gradually improving my office skills. Then, three years ago, I answered an advertisement for a clerical position with Dartmoor National Park Authority’s Ranger Service. The rest, as they say, is history.
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