Meet the Dales Volunteers

Dales Volunteers come from all walks of life and carry out all sorts of different activities within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The profiles below will give you an idea of what's on offer as a Dales Volunteer.

Repairing drystone walls is a far cry from Alastair Macintosh’s old job as an IT sales manager. But that is just one of the things he has turned his hand to since he retired, moved to Hawes and became a Dales Volunteer in 2002.

“Once we got here and got established I started to think about what I should be doing with my time.

I didn’t see retirement as a reason to stop doing everything and volunteering seemed to be the opportunity to do something different and a way of giving something back to other people.

I have always enjoyed the outdoor life. I love the countryside – walking long distance routes and things like that.

I like the variety of work as a Dales Volunteer – everything from stabilising a river bank to walking a fair part of the Settle Carlisle railway logging sections of walls that need repairing.

I have led guided walks, I’ve been involved in a buildings at risk survey and I have just finished a drystone walling course – hopefully that will be put to good use.

I am not a fantastic DIYer at home. I do a bit but all my shelves end up off no matter how much I use the spirit level. But there is a bit more leeway with a stone wall so I’m not too bad.

I think often there is a sense of satisfaction in having done something I would never have done if I hadn’t become a volunteer.”

Vicki and Nathan Wright moved to the Yorkshire Dales from Hertfordshire in 2004 and quickly became Dales Volunteers in the north west team.

Vicki, is a procurement officer for Skipton Building Society whilst Nathan is an IT project manager. Vicki describes her experiences below.

“My trainee year was great fun - I have learned so many different skills – health and safety, including first aid, drystone walling, bridge building, navigation.

I have carried out parish footpath surveys in the Howgills, which was great fun, and I have been involved in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, going out on patrols walking over access land and talking to people you meet about the Act and what it means and finding out what they know about it.

There are lots of other things you can do – leading guided walks, learning about biodiversity, archaeology or geology.

Nathan and I like the outdoors. We do a lot of walking and mountaineering and we decided to become volunteers for two reasons. We wanted to put something back into the countryside and we enjoy the social side. There is a great bunch of people in the north west team and we do a lot with them.

I am in an office during the week so it is good to do something practical and some of the things are very tangible and give you instant satisfaction.

Before we started we would be out walking and we would assume that a path or a stile was OK. You don’t think about the fact that someone has had to build and maintain them. Now we do and we appreciate these things more.”