Diary entry by Tom Pearson, Apprentice National Trails Ranger (Level 4)
January 2025
Since my last entry I completed my Countryside Worker Apprenticeship and in September had the fantastic opportunity to join the National Trails team as their Countryside Ranger Apprentice, working on the Cleveland Way and the King Charles III England Coast Path, as well as helping to get the Coast to Coast ready to officially open during 2026.
It has been brilliant so far, working with volunteers, learning to work more independently, getting to some places in the National Park that I've never been to before, and working in a team full of people with years of experience.
There are many interesting jobs I've done since starting my new role, including walking the entire Cleveland Way as part of our yearly inspections and cutting meadows to encourage wildflowers. But I'd be lying if I said the highlight so far wasn't the helicopter airlift last December.
In the Ranger service, helicopter lifts are spoken about like myths of a long-forgotten era. All the veteran members of the service have at least one story of an airlift from the past, but there hadn't been one for years. So, when I heard about plans to use an airlift to help drop stone into some of the more inaccessible places on the Coast to Coast, I jumped at the chance to be involved.
During this grand undertaking I was tasked with working alongside volunteers to help ensure that members of the public (both on foot and in vehicles) could pass safely, but also to answer any questions they had about what was going on. Our Coast to Coast Project Officer, Bernie McLinden, also asked me to get any photos I could, which was the perfect excuse to bring out my new camera.
Over the course of two days 150 tonne of stone was lifted into Little Beck Wood, pallets full of flagstones and even more bags of stone was dropped onto Greystone Hills and then, as an added extra, the North Area Ranger team chipped in to get some stone and timber dropped onto steps being built down the cliff at Port Mulgrave. It was touch and go as to whether the job would end up spilling over into the following week with the wind starting to pick up, but, thanks to the skills of the pilot, we managed to get the last bags dropped just as the sun set on the second day.
The best part for me however was on the second day when I got to catch a lift in the helicopter to Port Mulgrave and then to Greystone Hills. It was my first time flying in anything, something I'm glad I told the pilot of afterwards, as he said he would have made the flight more “interesting” if he'd known!
It was an amazing experience, I got to chat with the pilot and the ground crew and learn about the work they do and the Bell 205 helicopter they had, colloquially known as a Huey, and I met so many members of the public that had seen or heard the work happening and just had to come and have a look. And now I've got an airlift story that I'm sure I'll keep telling for years to come!