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Ranger Colin retires but his love for moors goes on
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| Colin Dilcock |
A CAREER spanning 40 years, caring for the North York Moors National Park, has come to an end with the retirement of Colin Dilcock, the senior ranger.
Colin's interest began when he joined the team as a volunteer warden, a role he held for five years before he became a full-time member of the park staff as a ranger, a wide ranging role which has included helping to look after the park's 915 miles of public footpaths and 512 miles of bridleways, ensuring they are clear of obstructions for the thousands of walkers and horse riders who enjoy the park's 553 square miles every year.
In addition, Colin has played a key part in the running of the park authority's village improvement and upland management schemes which benefit the 25,000 population living in its picture-postcard villages and remote farmsteads.
He has also supervised the 200-strong army of volunteer rangers in the park.
As senior ranger, Colin was at the centre of the major catastrophes which hit the park after the devastating fire of 1976 when thousands of acres of heather moorland was destroyed, and again when fire caused massive destruction of the Fylingdales Moor in more recent times.
Then, in June 2005 came the floods which saw more than 40 bridges and water crossings lost after the River Seven burst its banks, taking with it ancient stonewalls, many historic features, trees and cattle.
Colin was brought up in Beverley and spent a number of years as a teacher at Willerby Hall near Hull, specialising in handicrafts. He was also a youth and scout leader - a role which first brought him to the park when the groups held their annual camps. "That led to me becoming a voluntary warden, " recalls Colin.
He has seen many changes over the years, not least the growth in the number of people walking the moors, especially since the passing of the Countryside Rights of Way Act which opened large areas of the park's panoramic landscape to walkers.
One area which did cause problems for Colin and his team was the immense popularity of the 40-mile Lyke Wake Walk, from Osmotherley to Ravenscar, a pilgrimage which became a victim of its own success as the ancient pathway, used by pilgrims, suffered erosion, especially over the Cleveland Hills. The restoration tooks hundreds of hours.
"The big change is that the park is much more available to the public than it used to be, and very accessible."
Farming has seen significant changes, Colin said, but the park, through its policies of conservation, has been able to help farmers diversify into new enterprises and become champions for its heritage and landscape. "Without farming the whole of the park will change" he added.
While he was once responsible for being a ranger for the entire park, in recent years he concentrated on an area stretching from Carlton Bank down to Helmsley and Coxwold.
Colin's keen interest in wildlife filming and photography has enabled him and the park authority to monitor its birdlife, and he takes great pride in recent figures which show a dramatic increase in the number of wading birds breeding on the moorland and in the number of such birds as curlew, golden plover and lapwing in the park.
But the lure of the park will remain with Colin despite his retirement, and he will still be filming and photographing its breathtaking scenery and wildlife as he returns to the role in which he started - as a volunteer helping the park fulfil its role as one of Britain's greatest natural treasures.
12:05pm Thursday 27th March 2008
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