Meet the new path repair Apprentice Ranger in Eryri

Access News
01 Feb
2 min read

Thanks to your generous donations, the BMC Access & Conservation Trust are funding a two-year apprenticeship role within the National Trust path repair team in Eryri, part of the 2026 Mend Our Mountains campaign.

Arwyn Parry Jones is our new Apprentice Ranger with the National Trust's path repair team in Eryri, part of the BMC Access & Conservation Trust's Mend Our Mountains campaign in 2026. Arwyn is 26 years old and based in Beddgelert, North Wales. Crucially for his role liaising with local communities, farmers and labourers, Arwyn speaks fluent Welsh and English. He will also be leading four BMC Get Stuck In volunteer path repair and landscape conservation events, sign up here.

Funds for this two-year role have been raised by over 100 brilliant BMC members and BMC-affiliated club members in the Big Give Green Match Fund in April 2025, a £1,000 gift from the Association of Mountain Instructors (AMI), a £10,000 donation from the Lancashire Group after they participated in a Get Stuck In volunteer day last September, and a £30,000 grant from Athletic Brewing Company's Two for the Trails programme.

BMC Head of Environment and Access, Dr. Cath Flitcroft, says, "The BMC Access & Conservation Trust is very pleased to support the repair of mountain paths and landscape in an area so important to BMC members, at a time when the National Trust is experiencing significant funding cut backs. Congratulations to Arwyn on his new role and we're really looking forward to him leading our fantastic volunteers on the BMC Get Stuck In events in North Wales this year."

Meet Arwyn

What made you apply for this role?

To have the opportunity to work outdoors on the mountains where I grew up.

What will you be doing/learning over the next 2 years?

Learning about and working on outdoor conservation while working as part of the footpath team.

What parts of the role are you most passionate about and why?

The fact that I will be working on mountains that I have been walking/hiking all my life, and to be able to combine that with conservation work for future generations to come.

What do you think you’ll bring to the Eryri path repair team?

Bright new ideas and enthusiasm for conservation in the area that we are working and living in.

Why is mountain path repair important?

It stops or slows down the process of erosion, therefore allowing current and future generations to enjoy the footpaths for many years to come.

What has been your favourite thing to learn about so far?

The form of planting trees called sabre. It is where you plant on a 90-degree angle to a steep slope therefore protecting it from livestock.

What are you most looking forward to getting to grips with this year?

Looking forward to getting hands on with conservation work and working with all the BMC volunteers at the ‘get stuck in’ sessions.

Any challenges you see ahead?

The weather, heavy rain among the mountains increases the speed of footpath erosion. Therefore, we will have to keep on top of footpath repair before it’s too late.

Best piece of advice you’ve been given so far?

Bring a spare pair of socks.

How are you at working in the rain…?

Being from North Wales I am used to it now.

Describe your favourite kind of day out in the mountains outside of work?

Waking up early on a Sunday morning, going up a local mountain (Cnicht) with friends and being back down by the time football starts on the television, whilst enjoying a Sunday roast to warm up after a nice hike.

Any interesting hobbies we wouldn’t expect?

I’m a keen Welsh Football Pin Badge collector. So, I try my best to get an extra Pin to put on my bucket hat every time I go watch Wales play football somewhere.

Any pets?

I have two cats, one called Cybi and the other called Seren (Welsh for star). They are very good mice catchers on the farm that I live on.

What are your hopes and ambitions for your own future?

To enhance my skills further within this role and hopefully get the chance to make a difference, while continuing to work in the landscape that I love so much.

Anything else you’d like BMC members to know about you?

Just that I am very enthusiastic to be able to work where I work and will try my best with the opportunity that has come my way with this apprenticeship.

Athletic Brewing Co. gave a generous grant of £30,000 from their Two for the Trails programme. Image: National Trust

What work will Arwyn be doing?

What work will Arwyn be doing?
Building clear, sustainable and durable paths - to avoid ugly, wide, boggy scars on the landscape and allow the delicate habitats either side to thrive.
Making stepping stones - for easier travel through boggy, wet areas, limiting damage to natural habitats.
Reprofiling peat hags - these loose more carbon-containing soil if left bare, so it's crucial to re-shape them and cover with naturally-protective surface vegetation.
Dispersing cairns - cairns create a barren environment, reducing the amount of places in which wildlife can thrive, so the National Trust evaluates which ones are not useful navigational aids and disperses them.

Help fund our Eryri Apprentice Ranger

We are still raising the last £10,000 of funding for this two-year role. Please donate to the BMC Access & Conservation Trust's Mend Our Mountains campaign if you love hiking, climbing and mountaineering in Eryri and appreciate this National Park's unique beauty and incredible wildlife.

Why donate?

With 10.5 million visitor nights spent in Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park in 2023/24, and over 600,000 people climbing Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) every year, the 1,497 miles of footpaths within this 823 square mile park are seeing more footfall than ever before. This is compounded by an increase in extreme weather due to the climate crisis and quickly leads to the following horrors for hill walkers, climbers, mountaineers and outdoor-lovers alike:

  • Footpath erosion
  • Muddy and slippery routeways
  • Deep, ankle-turning gullies
  • Navigational difficulties
  • Trampled vegetation
  • Loss of habitat for wildlife
  • Decreasing biodiversity
  • Soil-wash into waterways
  • Increased flood risk
  • Nutrient imbalances downstream

So, wouldn't it be fantastic if you could do something really meaningful to combat this nightmarish downward spiral of footpath degradation in Eryri? Here's your chance to support a really worthwhile project to actively combat path erosion and educate more people to protect and preserve this stunning, irreplaceable National Park. Donate here.

Get Stuck In footpath repair events

Get Stuck In events are 1-3 day opportunities for BMC volunteers to give some love back to the landscapes we love to walk and climb in. There are a range of activities decided on nearer the time of the event according to the National Trust rangers who will be teaching you new skills, explaining more about their footpath repair and conservation activities and working alongside you.

Watch the video here

Did you know that you can donate to the BMC Access & 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.

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 & Conservation Trust via The Climate Project or Mend Our Mountains at any time. Donations of any amount are always welcome.

Volunteer

Would you like to give help restore the moor by 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 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.

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