For over 9 years an enthusiastic group of Dales Volunteers have developed their dry stone walling skills to make a significant contribution to maintaining and improving the stiles and gateways in the Park. Working to preserve the traditional Dales landscape - the walls and stiles are iconic features – whilst recognising that some traditional stiles are a challenge to walkers with reduced mobility. By repairing, lowering, widening and strengthening stiles we make the footpaths safer and accessible to people otherwise daunted by the difficulty of the route.
WIth half-a-dozen experienced volunteers we manage the quality and safety of work on-site. We also teach, guide and mentor a further 6 – 8 less experienced volunteers to help them develop their skills and to tackle progressively more complex work. The combination of hard work, traditional skills, challenging jobs and the fellowship of the group means there is little difficulty attracting and retaining enough volunteers. Meeting fortnightly in all weathers throughout the year we’ve never yet cancelled a session through lack of support!
The team have a strong ethos of ‘adding value’ to the Park. By self-managing our work we contribute over 150 man-days of work each year whilst asking for minimal management and supervision from staff. By rebuilding stiles and gateways we help to reduce the long-term maintenance burden. Our walling team is a partnership that really captures the enthusiasm and commitment of volunteers on behalf of the Park. We make a difference.
