Reflecting back on a year of walking to all the tors on Dartmoor, I realised my knowledge, approach and attitude is not the same as when I started. Here are the main things I learnt.
How to go solo
I grew up on the edge of Dartmoor and have walked for pleasure all my life. However, setting this goal meant that I had to crack on and do much more solo walking than I was used to. I had company for some walks, and dragged the kids out on shorter ones, but for the most part I was on my own. Importantly, all the most remote walks were done solo. My first remote walk was to Flat Tor, after weeks of dry and sunny spring weather, and the easing of lockdown. I headed north from Two Bridges but as I gradually left the well-trodden tracks behind, I felt trepidation. The remoteness made me unsettled. I wasn’t used to it. But I also got such a sense of achievement. By late summer and into autumn, I had reached all the most remote tors – including Lints Tor, Watern Tor and Fur Tor. As the year closed, on a walk and wading through endless tussocks of golden Purple Moor Grass, I realised I was in the middle of nowhere. I was on a featureless hillslope devoid of paths. I stopped and looked around, taking in the solitude. I realised that I had walked into the wilds without giving it a second thought and, although now aware of my isolation, I felt content not unsettled. An introvert by nature, walking solo suits me, and now, emboldened by experience I am more than happy in going it alone.
The benefit of online maps and GPS
As a geographer by professional background, I do love a map and I even know how to use a compass. I am still old school and always take a paper map and compass when heading into open moorland. Should technology fail it’s vital to have a map and I feel there is no substitute for the bigger picture spreading a map out affords. However, for the first time I have started using online maps and a GPS to plan and follow routes. I know that many people prefer ViewRanger but I am using the OS Maps app. I have loved planning the routes, flitting between map view and aerial views to pick out the more well-trodden pathways. And whilst walking using a map in good visibility is straightforward, the GPS was invaluable on the few walks I have done in the fog. I am not going back; it’s belt and braces tech plus map and compass for me.
That not all tors are equal
Of course, I knew that some tors are bigger than others but walking to all the tors and focusing on that as a mission means you think about them a bit more than you would otherwise. I was first aware of being a bit disappointed when I got to Flat Tor early on in my quest. I had walked north into the remote wilds, traversing a large expanse of mire, but Flat Tor was diminutive and unspectacular and didn’t feel like it matched, what I had felt was quite an effort to get to it. But other tors fell even further short. Some barely existed at all, such as Rook Tor, which is more of a scattering of boulders down a hillside, or Little Hound Tor, that I definitely passed through on the map but I’ll be buggered if I saw any rock outcrop one could describe as a tor. Contrast these to the magnificent Beardown Tors – a magnificent triumvirate of large rocky pinnacles, each worthy of a name in their own right.
The value of having a goal
The most important lesson I have learnt is the value of having a goal for my walking. Defining what I was going to do and giving it clear boundaries has given me focus. This has meant that I have explored so many places on the moor that I have never been to before. I have never been undecided about where I should go. Granted, at the start, the options were many, but I just started ticking them off, making sure that the longer walks were tackled in the middle of the year. Having this goal has made getting out and knowing where to go easy and so…..
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