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Tim Russell

Tim is the Recreation and Access Projects Officer for Dartmoor National Park Authority. He’s been in the role for five years now and has been responsible for creating the award-winning Miles Without Stiles routes among many other recreation and access projects. His interests include wildlife, nature conservation and the occasional bit of mudlarking! In 2022 he published his life story and his 40-year career working to protect nature and wildlife.

One of my all-time favourite places on Dartmoor is a walk down the River Dart from Dartmeet to the rock slabs and waterfalls below Combestone Tor. This takes you past beautiful, quiet stretches of the river, and through ancient oak woods with huge, moss-covered granite boulders. It offers you opportunities to see dippers in the water and buzzards circling and mewing overhead. It’s a magical place to switch off – and it makes a great spot for a peaceful picnic too.

As Projects Officer within the Access & Recreation Team my work is very varied. It allows me to work with all the different teams across the Authority – from rangers to archaeologists through to our visitor centres, development management and Farming in Protected Landscapes team.

Combestone Tor at golden hour ©DNPA
Combestone Tor at golden hour ©DNPA

Some of my most rewarding work has been developing our Miles Without Stiles routes. Improving access for people with mobility issues and families with buggies is a hugely positive and rewarding thing.

The work has involved groups including the Wheelchair Access Group and Disabled Ramblers. They are such an enthusiastic bunch, and their input into how we create routes or make tweaks to improve access has been valuable. Funding from Defra is helping toward this ambition and so far, we’ve created 10 routes.

Other projects have included designing and installing new gateway signs for the National Park with the option of changing seasonal or important messaging.

The Wheelchair Access Group enjoy the surrounds of Yarner Wood ©DNPA
The Wheelchair Access Group enjoy the surrounds of Yarner Wood ©DNPA

In April 2022, our Miles Without Stiles work won the Gordon Miller Award, awarded by the Countryside Management Association (CMA). It’s named after the CMA’s late honorary president, himself a former Peak District Ranger who set up the International Rangers Federation (he sadly passed away last year).

We were named joint winners with the National Trust. We were chuffed to bits to be recognised for our work in improving people’s access to nature.

I recently become ‘Accessibility Champion’ for Dartmoor, a role I’m proud to hold and one that other National Parks also have. It’s so encouraging to see National Parks leading the way in making access to our special places available to all, no matter what their level of mobility.

I’ve been lucky enough to work in countryside management and nature conservation for more than 40 years now. In 2022 I wrote my autobiography ‘The Warden: A Lifetime in Nature’.

‘The Warden’ documents my childhood growing up in Shropshire and career in nature conservation, influenced by my late father, whose untimely death shaped my life and my career which took me from the Welsh borders to the Australian outback via the dreaming spires of Oxford and the rolling Quantock Hills.

My partner Tor Allen provided the illustrations. While I talk about my life, I also explore the importance of access to greenspace for mental health and wellbeing – with plenty of humour and anecdotes along the way.

Celebrations for winning the Gordon Miller award ©DNPA
Celebrations for winning the Gordon Miller award ©DNPA

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