50km of Eryri path fixed thanks to BMC-funded ranger
This January the BMC Access and Conservation Trust started funding a two-year apprenticeship role for the National Trust Cymru path repair team in Eryri (Snowdonia), which is already having an incredible impact on this beautiful mountain landscape.
We catch up with Arwyn Jones as he nears the halfway point of his apprenticeship with the path repair team in Eryri, North Wales. He has been involved in building, maintaining and repairing approximately 50km of footpaths this year and spoken to hundreds of walkers visiting the mountains, helping to protect the mountain environment and keep paths sustainable for future generations.
Arwyn's two-year role is funded by the BMC Access & Conservation Trust's Mend Our Mountains campaign, including very generous support from BMC members in the Big Give Green Match Fund, the Association of Mountaineering Instructors (AMI), and Athletic Brewing Company's Two for the Trails grant programme.
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has donated to our Apprentice Ranger appeal.
How has your first year gone, Arwyn?
It’s gone very well, I can’t ask for a better team to work with and I’m thoroughly enjoying my time as an Apprentice Ranger. During the winter months at the start of the year, we did a lot of lowland work such as dry-stone walling and fencing. But during the summer months we have been focusing on stone pitching paths on National Trust Cymru land in Eryri. Stone pitching is a technique used to construct solid and durable paths. It involves setting stone into the land to allow water to distribute water off the path to avoid further erosion.
What skills or qualifications have you learnt or taken?
I have learnt a lot so far about paths and have been on many training courses throughout the year. These include an emergency first aid course at work, safe working near water, chainsaw maintenance, cross cutting and felling course, and a Mountain Leader training course which I have very much enjoyed.
How is your Summer Mountain Leader qualification going?
Very well - I attended a week-long training course in September which was very beneficial and allowed me to further develop my mountain skills. These included navigating with a map and compass, weather awareness, leadership and group management which were very useful. The highlight of the training course was camping overnight in the hills near my favourite mountain, Cnicht. I am still currently still trying to get my quality mountain days in, with the aim to do my assessment next year.
How are these new skills helping you to do a cracking job out on the hills?
All these skills are helping me to get a better understanding of the mountain terrain that I work on daily, work safely in remote locations and recognise how the environment affects our work. The skills that I’ve learned with group management and leadership has helped me when we get many volunteer path repair days like Get Stuck In with BMC members.
How many BMC Get Stuck In groups have you worked with?
I have worked with four BMC Get Stuck in groups so far throughout the year. These have been very beneficial for our team as it allows us to get a lot of path repair, maintenance and building work done in a very small amount of time. I'm looking forward to working with more groups in the future.
How important is the work of the BMC Get Stuck In volunteers?
The work of the BMC Get Stuck in volunteers is very important. There are only four members of the National Trust Cymru footpath team here in Eryri, with many kilometres of footpaths that need constant maintenance and looking after. Having these Get Stuck In days allows us to get a lot of work done that would take a large amount of time to complete by ourselves. I am therefore very grateful for the help that these volunteers give us every year, and grateful for the awareness the work raises in the community.
What do you like best about the BMC Get Stuck In groups?
The best bit about the BMC Get Stuck in groups is that you get to meet and talk to different people throughout the UK that are likeminded people, and love the mountains as much as I do.
What has been the most surprising thing that you have learnt this year?
I think the most surprising thing I have learnt this year is how much a metre of stone pitching costs to create. When you factor in labour, materials and in some cases getting a helicopter to take up the stone, it averages out to be around £350 a metre.
What has been the best thing about the job?
The best thing about the job has been the opportunity to work in the mountains that I have grown up walking in with my father. This is an opportunity not a lot of people get, therefore I am very grateful and thoroughly enjoying every second of it.
What has been the most challenging thing?
I think the most challenging thing this year was the changing weather conditions in the mountains. When I first joined the team, I think I only had a couple of days of sunshine in two months, therefore being able to work in different weather conditions is certainly challenging - especially the amount of rain we have here in North Wales.
How many km of path have you been involved with repairing?
I have been proud to be involved in building, maintaining and repairing around 50km of footpaths this year, helping to protect the mountain environment and keep paths sustainable for future generations.
Support Awryn's second year
We are still raising the last £10,000 of funding towards Arwyn's role for 2027. If you appreciate safe, easily-navigable and sustainable paths in Eryri that reduce habitat destruction, please help us continue to support his fantastic path repair work by donating today. If everyone who climbed Yr Wyddfa each year gave £25 we would be able to fix 70,000m of path - the combined total of all six significant routes to the summit!
How many hikers/climbers (roughly!) have you spoken to about your role in path repair and landscape conservation over the year?
We often get many hikers and climbers walking past our work during the day. Hundreds of people have passed us saying how grateful they are of the work we are doing, which is very rewarding.
What is your favourite tool to use in path repair, and what is its name in Welsh?
My favourite tool to use within path repair is a mattock, which is called a Caib in Welsh. It has many different uses and is very effective in footpath repair.
What has been your career highlight of 2026?
My career highlight this year has to be developing my practical footpath skills while working on the stone pitched paths of Eryri. It has been very rewarding to see the work taking shape and knowing I’m helping create durable paths that will hopefully last a lifetime.
What are you looking forward to most about 2027?
The thing I’m looking forward to most about 2027 is to continue getting stuck into footpath repair and maintenance and to further develop my skills for the future.
Anything else to say to BMC members?
I would like to say a big thank you to all the BMC members and the volunteers that have joined us in the BMC Get Stuck in days. Your time, hard work and enthusiasm have made a real difference to maintaining and improving the footpaths in Eryri. If you haven’t joined us for a Get Stuck In volunteering day yet, I’d really encourage you to give it a chance as it’s a great way to learn new practical skills, while meeting likeminded people that give back to the mountains we all love to enjoy.
Join a Get Stuck In event
Path repair work on a Get Stuck In event can be as physically challenging as you want to make it, with BMC volunteers digging drainage ditches, moving stepping stones into place, making steps, re-shaping eroded peat hags, landscaping paths and scattering cairns. Why not give it a whirl?
Donate to us for FREE!
Did you know that you can donate to the BMC Access and Conservation Trust entirely FREE simply by shopping online as you usually would, at any time of the year with Easyfundraising? It only takes two minutes to set up, here's how.
Donate to us (not for free!)
If you want to contribute to upland and mountain access and conservation causes like the above, then simply click here to donate to The BMC Access and Conservation Trust via The Climate Project or Mend Our Mountains campaigns at any time. One-off or regular donations of any amount are always most welcome.
Volunteer
Fancy fixing footpaths in the Lake District, placing stepping stones in Eryri or planting sphagnum in the Peak District? Sign up to one of our Get Stuck In events here. And if you can't volunteer, why not gift us the amount you would have spent in fuel or on a train fare getting to a volunteer event?
Leave a legacy
A wise person once said, the most noble thing you can do is to, "plant trees under whose shade you will never sit," and likewise, fund path repair projects on which you will never walk and moorland restoration projects that you will never see. If you'd like to make a lasting impact on the landscape long after you've left this world, please consider leaving us a legacy.
The Get Stuck In path repair is funded by the BMC Access & Conservation Trust's Mend Our Mountains campaign. To support more work like this to protect the mountains for future generations, join the BMC and/or donate.
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