SPOKES Secretary Clive Tombs is also a local Sustrans Volunteer Ranger – part of a network of wonderful people who give up their time on a regular basis to help look after the National Cycle Network. He kindly agreed to answer a few questions to provide us with some insights about his role.

So what is a Sustrans Ranger?
Sustrans’ Volunteer Rangers get actively involved in maintaining sections of the National Cycle Network (NCN). It’s great to get out in the fresh air and to do something positive to maintain and improve paths that get used by people on a daily basis to get to work or college, pop to the shops, or just for leisure.

What section of the NCN do you look after?
The local Ranger team looks after the section of NCN Route 4 from Bedwyn through Newbury and Thatcham, to where we meet the Reading group’s section at Woolhampton canal bridge. It’s quite a long stretch!

What sort of things do you typically do?
Our main activities are: cycling (or walking) the route section/s to carry out checks; cutting back vegetation that is encroaching on the NCN routes; cleaning, checking and where appropriate replacing signs; and reporting issues to partner organisations such as the Canal & River Trust.

What is the time commitment for a Ranger?
It’s really as much time as you can give, but the guideline is 3 to 4 hours a month.

Are there other Rangers that help you?
At the moment there’s only a couple of active volunteers, so it would be great to have a few more to help out with maintenance and keeping the route in good shape. It’s great being able to have a coffee and a chat part way through the day, as well as doing something positive and practical! Helen, the Sustrans’ regional volunteer co-ordinator, is based in Reading and comes to join us too.

What happens when you find something that you can’t fix?
That depends on what it is and where it is! If it’s an issue with the condition of the towpath, it gets reported to the Canal & River Trust. If it’s something on the public roads, it gets reported to West Berkshire Council via their website. We have offered Canal & River Trust the opportunity of some joint work, under their risk assessment, but that offer is yet to be taken up.

If someone is interested in becoming a Ranger, how do they go about it?
Visit the ‘Volunteer with Sustrans’ webpage: sustrans.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer. This will give you more of a flavour of what the large group of volunteers across the country does to maintain the vast network of NCN routes. Alternatively, you can talk to our local volunteer coordinator about the role:

West Berkshire Spokes

For People. For Bikes.

Tag: Volunteer Ranger

Q&A with a Sustrans Ranger