Ten Tors 2025: Success on Dartmoor!
Over the cold winter months, we have been working with Stroud High School and Sir Thomas Rich’s School to prepare their teams for the Ten Tors challenge.
Ten Tors is one of the largest outdoor events for young people in the UK, challenging teams of six to distances of 35, 45 or 55 miles in under two days. The course takes place over Dartmoor National Park, requiring them to pass through checkpoints on ten specific tors. During the event, teams are completely self-sufficient, navigating using map and compass and carrying all they need to wild camp overnight and to complete their route safely.
The team’s first trips out were to the Brecon Beacons, to the moor like area of Cadair Fawr, complete with Dartmoor-style bog and undulating landscape. Their next trip involved heading to steeper ground, when they took on the area around Welsh mountains Fan-Y-Big and Waun Rydd, leaving the bog behind and even seeing some snow. The teams worked on their navigation by completing micro nav challenges linked to more featureless landscapes reflecting Dartmoor’s terrain. Among other things, they also looked at pacing, trialling out different walking speeds and the timings associated with them. This involved our very own, very long-legged Pete striding across the mountain to demonstrate 7km/h – a bit faster than the average legs can go!
Next stop, Dartmoor. The first training weekend gave the teams a pleasant introduction to the moor with sunshine and blue skies, despite the cold weather. They put into practice their skills learned in the Brecon Beacons and deftly navigated to their bunkhouse for the night. The next training weekend, the weather presented a more classic Dartmoor outlook of mist. The low visibility meant that they had to rely closely on their bearings and map work, and they did exceptionally well, with both teams navigating to a range of checkpoints across the moor, and wild camping overnight in a remote location.
Then it was time to head to Okehampton for the main event. Across the route, all our young people showed an incredible amount of skill, drive and determination and went on to cross the finish line. It was a pleasure to be a part of preparing these teams for their successes at the event, congratulations!