A RANGER from the Yorkshire Dales has set off on a four-day road trip to Romania, where he will help villagers clear an overgrown Communist-era orchard.
Accompanied by his wife Pauline, Ian Broadwith will drive a van packed with strimmers 1,659 miles through four countries to get to Girbovita in the heart of Transylvania.
There he’ll be met by five fellow Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority staff and four other volunteers, who are travelling to Romania by air on Saturday.
Park officers first visited Girbovita in August last year, on the invitation of Satul Verde, an organisation which promotes Romanian culture and traditions.
All the staff have taken time off for the trip and paid for their journeys. They will be staying in the villagers’ homes.
On Monday, they will start removing brambles and weeds from the 200 acre former orchard site.
Many of the Girbovita villagers are elderly and the volunteers have been told by the director of Satul Verde, Monica Oprean, that their labour will be greatly appreciated.
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