A Countryside Ranger from one of Dumfries and Galloway’s most iconic Estates shows no sign of stopping as he marks a 50 year service milestone.
Brian Hammond, 65 from Thornhill was presented with an award from the Duke of Buccleuch to celebrate his 50 years of service to Drumlanrig Castle and Country Estate.
Starting as an apprentice game keeper in 1968 at the age of 15, Brian worked very closely with the Buccleuch family under the firm but fair leadership of Head Keeper Andrew Hunter.
Brian said: “Initially I planned to complete my five year apprenticeship and then move to Canada to pursue a career in forestry – hoping to follow in the footsteps of my lumberjack Grandfather. However, ill health of my parents caused me to change course and those five years turned into 40 with the game keeping department at Drumlanrig.
“I’m very fortunate to work with the Estate team for this long and to have met such a great number of interesting people during my 50 years.”
Naturally the Estate has changed and adapted over the years and so too has Brian’s role particularly as he moved from Game Keeper to Countryside Ranger in 2008.
Brian added: “I was always kept busy with the game department, and it taught me a lot of discipline from a young age. My typical day now as a Ranger includes maintenance of the Estate, keeping everything tidy and leading Land Rover tours and Ranger activities for visitors.
“Drumlanrig Castle is such a great place to visit and everyone is so friendly – we’ll always go out of our way to enhance the experience of visitors. I really enjoy the educational side of my role, informing visitors young and old about the countryside and history of the Estate.
“We’re always learning from one another and I take real pleasure from sharing gems of information from the Estate with our visitors.
“It’s great to mark this 50 year milestone and I’m honoured to be an ambassador for Drumlanrig Castle and Buccleuch Estates.”
Visit www.drumlanrigcastle.co.uk for further information and keep track of what’s happening at Drumlanrig via the Facebook page @DrumlanrigCastle.
