A WOMAN who devoted years of her life to the National Trust’s Marsden Moor has died.

Mrs Barbara Mary Armstrong spent 30 years working as a volunteer on the estate and also got involved with many festivals and events in Marsden.

Former colleague David Finnis said: “Although Barbara was a very private, quiet and unassuming lady who would help anyone at anytime, she also had a great love for, and appreciation of, the countryside, especially the upper Colne Valley.

“Although she lived on the Harrogate side of Leeds, I first met Barbara in 1980 shortly after the inaugural meeting of the West Yorkshire Volunteer Countryside Ranger Service established by the long-abolished West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council when we were both volunteers.

“Soon after the Ranger Service was established it was agreed to form a group in Kirklees based in Marsden to look after the upper Colne Valley. In the early days we used to operate out of a small caravan based at Tunnel End whilst the County Council and Huddersfield Canal Society transformed the derelict cottages into the ‘Canal & Countryside Centre’.

“Since those early days, despite the infamous Pennine weather making travelling from and to Leeds very difficult, Barbara devoted thousands of hours to the area and its residents and visitors through patrols, conservation activities, events and guided walks”.

She worked with the West Yorkshire Ranger Service which was abolished in 1986, then with Kirklees Countryside Volunteers and The National Trust’s Marsden Moor Volunteer group established in 1987, where she was Volunteer Chairman for many years.

She helped to run the busy Plant Fairs and also became involved with the Marsden Cuckoo Festival, serving as treasurer on the committee for man years.

She was also the familiar figure leading the popular “hard” walks over the Marsden Moor area.

Mrs Armstrong had spent her early years as a teacher and then took up a job with the regional examinations board.

In addition, she was also very active in her home community being a School Governor and a volunteer at Harewood House.

She was also a regular speaker at local organisations, recounting her walks and treks across many of the world’s most daunting mountain ranges.

A funeral service takes place on July 20 at 11am at St John’s Church, Moortown, Leeds.