Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul.(John Muir. The Yosemite, 1912)
The official registration of the Park was approved by the Countryside Commission in October 1976. A Management Committee - an advisory group including local landowners and interested organisations - was formed and a ceremony was held with the presentation of a plaque to mark the occasion.
Public Life
Working with the public was an important part of the Ranger’s work from the start. Duties also included mending fences, litter picking, visitor counts, checking permits, monitoring species, bird counts and helping with research projects. Welcome assistance came increasingly from volunteers of all ages.
‘…The shore should be enjoyed by all…it should be a fine experience into which man’s artefacts did not intrude.’(Frank Tindall, Memoirs and Confessions of a County Planning Officer, 1998)
Local planners recognised the need to protect the coastline in the 1950s. In 1970 the County Council established Scotland’s first Ranger Service. Archie Mathieson, East Lothian’s first Ranger, was soon assisted by part time Rangers, car park attendants and ‘Wendy’ the horse, an eight year old Welsh cob who was stabled at Tyninghame.
Polartec fleece, waterproof clothing and boots replaced the original breeches and tweed, issued in the early 70s. Vans, first yellow then dark green, took over from the original Landrover. Staff numbers in the county grew from one in 1970 to thirteen in 2005, after the introduction of the new Access Code. They included senior, permanent, and seasonal Rangers. One member is now responsible for covering the Park.
A day in the life
