EXMOOR National Park Rangers from past and present gathered on North Hill for the unveiling of a new 1.5 mile circular route in memory of Exmoor’s first ever ranger – Jim Collins.

The walk starts and finishes at the car park near the old tank training grounds on North Hill.

It was one of Jim’s favourites, for its views across Exmoor and the Bristol Channel, and was overlooked by the house he lived in until his death last year, aged 95.

The gathering on July 31 – World Ranger Day – was attended by dozens of Exmoor Rangers from over the decades.

Dan Barnett, Exmoor National Park’s Authority’s head ranger, said: “Jim maintained strong ties with the national park right up to his death and I’m sure he’d be delighted to see his name commemorated as part of Exmoor’s much celebrated rights of way network, which he helped create.

“Jim was a real trailblazer and evidence of the work he started can be seen all over the national park.

“This included some of the first way-marked rights of way and permissive routes on Exmoor, a task that meant winning over the hearts and minds of farmers, landowners and the public.

“It’s a skill still central to the job of rangering and to the success of our now 1300km long access network.”

Close family of Jim’s attended the gathering to witness the unveiling of a new fingerpost naming the route ‘Jim’s Path’.

His son, Phil Collins, said: “It’s wonderful to see such a gathering of Jim’s friends and colleagues, with some I know who have travelled from as far as Australia.

“It’s not hard to see why rangering in such a beautiful landscape leaves its mark, but it takes someone special to see that it’s the people who make the place, and my father was testament to that.”

A display celebrating Jim’s life, and comparing how the job of the Exmoor ranger has changed over the years, has gone on show in the National Park Centre in Dunster.