The 'Lone Ranger' of Snowdonia is retiring after 39 years, and his job is up for grabs
- Andrew Roberts, nicknamed the "Lone Ranger", was Wales' longest-serving ranger.
- He's retiring after almost four decades: "I couldn't have imagined doing anything else."
Andrew Roberts was just 21 when he joined Britain's National Trust in 1983 as an assistant forester — and he never left.
He eventually became lead ranger for the Ysbyty Estate in Snowdonia. After almost four decades of work caring for its stunning landscapes, Roberts earned the title of the longest-serving ranger in Wales.
He earned his "Lone Ranger" nickname in 2016 after buying a horse. "When some men reach the wrong side of 50, they go off and buy a Ferrari. In my case, it was a horse," Roberts told North Wales Live.
But after 39 years, he's decided to retire, so the National Trust is recruiting a successor.
The successful applicant will continue Roberts' work caring for the Ysbyty Estate. According to the National Trust, it comprises 20,000 acres of "dramatic river valleys, magnificent uplands, and wild open moorland."
Roberts says he'll miss the job: "I couldn't have imagined doing anything else and it'll be hard to let it go, but I'll always have a connection with the people and places of Ysbyty."
Since 2018, the Ysbyty Estate has been home to a group of Welsh mountain ponies. They were introduced to eat invasive grasses, and are said to doing a good job of supporting biodiversity. One of the tasks for the new lead ranger will be regularly checking in on them.
Trystan Edwards of National Trust Wales paid tribute to Roberts: "Andrew leaves a terrific legacy on the Ysbyty Estate, and from a conservation perspective it is in far better condition now than when he started his mission. He can focus on his own flock of sheep now and help gathering – both great passions in his life."
Applications to be Roberts' successor are open until Sunday if you're keen to be the next "Lone Ranger".
Edwards says the successful candidate will be "an inspirational leader and a passionate, experienced nature conservationist."
If you're hired, "you'll be leading and supporting your team of rangers to deliver practical maintenance and conservation work across the estate; from fencing and dry-stone walling to tree safety, tree planting, and peatland restoration."
It's a fairly modest £30,000 ($34,000) salary and requires a real commitment to the outdoors.
As well as lacking a work from home option, there's one other catch: candidates need to be able to speak Welsh. That's because its majority Welsh-speaking area, and most of the farmer tenants speak the language.