Ten Tors Training begins for 2025

News - 27th Jan 2025

This Ten Tors training season we are very lucky to have a full cohort of enthusiastic Ten Tors Trainees. Where we haven’t been so lucky is with the weather which has scuppered two planned Dartmoor walks; we lost one date entirely and one was swapped for a much more home turf training event. That being said we made it out in December to test walking kit for their thermal properties as we faced a cold wind in mid December. Our first walk is a favoured walk South East out of Princetown and through the former Whiteworks tin mining area to Nun’s Cross Farm - previously owned by the school when it was Hele’s Boys School. A picnic lunch a far cry from a Christmas Dinner was enjoyed at Nun’s Cross before returning northwards on the track back to Princetown. A short but very pleasant walk with clear blue skies and everyone enjoyed the experience.

Our second walk was on the first Saturday in 2025 and before the school started on the Monday, all credit to the enthusiasm of the trainees. Due to numerous factors we swapped out our route on Dartmoor for a 22km hike around The Exeter Green Circle. Pupils were briefed not to expect an easy training event and it certainly wasn’t a walk in the park, admittedly we did walk through many a park though! The teams split into three groups and we navigated the course in an anti clockwise direction. Although the route doesn’t require much to any map reading due to the signposts and direction markers it did provide plenty of uphill stages including Pennsylvania, Exwick before heading from Marsh Barton back up through Ludwell Valley to the school. The route was only 20m less in height climbed than our planned walk on Dartmoor but was 8km further in distance, and despite it’s location there was plenty of muddy banks and leafy sections that made for a very pleasant experience. Everyone did exceptionally well and the teams got around the route in very good time.

It’s all systems go now and we look forward to our next walk on 1st Feb.

Mr Goldsmith

Ten Tors Manager