We are very proud of our two Ten Tors 35 mile teams...

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King’s Bruton 35 mile Ten Tors Teams travelled to Okehampton Camp in great excitement on Friday 10^th May. Six training sessions on Exmoor, Quantocks, South Dartmoor and North Dartmoor over three terms had prepared the two teams for the 2024 Ten Tors Challenge. They had trained in some of the worst conditions experienced on Dartmoor in recent years, mist, wind, rain, hail, cold, swollen rivers and the occasional sunny interval. They had practiced all the skills required to work as a team over two days in navigating themselves around Dartmoor covering 35 miles and visiting 10 Tors, carrying all their equipment and food necessary to survive on their own. Dartmoor decided to throw a new challenge to the teams for the actual event!! 23 degrees on both days!! These sunny and sweltering conditions tested our walkers to their limits.

Base camp had been set up very early on Thursday 9^th May and a Friday evening meal of Bolognese, pasta, choccy pudding and custard was well received by the two teams. A night drink of hot chocolate, squirty cream and marshmallows was the last luxury before two days of navigation and tough walking. The teams also had the pleasure of meeting Ray Mears who gave them some great advice, sadly none of the walkers knew who he was but the King’s Ten Tors staff certainly did!

The ‘Chariots of Fire’ music sounded at 5am on Saturday 11^th May and the two teams tucked into a hearty breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs, beans, cinnamon pastries and tea - their last proper meal for a while. The teams made their way to the start along with 400 other excited teams. An excellent parachute display by the Red Devils was followed by the Ten Tors Prayer and then the guns went off and the Challenge was underway at 7am.

The two teams made good progress on a very hot but beautiful day on Dartmoor. The Boys’ Team were able to reach Standon Farm on Saturday night, which had been their initial aim. Sadly along the way, they lost a member of the team to the heat and the remaining five made camp and rested weary limbs. The Girls’ Team missed their destination of White Barrow and instead had to camp at Higher White Tor. They too lost a team member earlier in the day and the time delays incurred, through no fault of their own, resulted in narrowly missing being allowed to walk to White Barrow.

Sunday, and staff watched the results board closely to see if the two teams had arisen at 6am and set off. The first Tors were reached and both teams were off and running and looking good. They had indeed risen early! The Boys’ Team checked in at East Mill Tor (their final Tor) and they reached the Finish at 12:54 - a fantastic effort in tough conditions. The Girls’ Team came over the hill from Prewley Moor and finished at 16:21. They had lost another team member to the heat on Hare Tor and had been stopped for a compulsory 30 minute water/rest break at Prewley Moor under the direction of the Ten Tors Organisers who were concerned at the effects of the heat on the teams left on the moor.

Both teams were delighted to finish and to complete the Challenge. The time is irrelevant in the Event, it is all about crossing the finishing line. An emotional welcome from the many parents who came to cheer on their children was a great highlight of the last day. There were tough times for all over the Event and in the days preceding the Event when injuries and illness saw members have to drop out, but the togetherness and camaraderie shown by all at the end was testament to the journey that all have been on over the past three terms. The Ten Tors Staff were very proud of all in the efforts during the training and in the actual event and look forward to coaching a new batch of ‘Ten Torers’ for 2025.

Major Barrow - Ten Tors Manager, Contingent Commander, King’s Bruton CCF

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