Combined Cadet Force teams from across the country congregated on Dartmoor in May to take part in one of the Army’s most challenging events.
Ten Tors, as it is known, is a two-day hike, which includes wild camping, and sees adventurers independently navigate their way across at least 10 designated tors, using only their map-reading an navigational skills to guide them.
Dartmoor’s terrain is notoriously challenging even for the most experienced walkers. One of the schools that took part was Budmouth College CCF which entered teams in the 35, 45 and 55 mile hikes.
Here their cadets give a brief overview of their experience.
Anyone who has ever witnessed the event will know that the sight of over 2,400 young adventurers waiting to begin is something special to behold. Lucy Jones described the waiting at the startline, alongside over four hundred other teams, as ‘quite overwhelming – you don’t really know how to feel.’ Daniel Bell and Angus Jeffcott of the 35 mile team said that they were feeling ‘slightly nervous but pretty hyped!’
A mere 30 hours and two minutes later the 45milers crossed the finish line at 13:02PM. Lucy Jones said it was ‘so relieving’ to complete the hike, while her teammate Ben Roberts said ‘it feels like you’ve achieved something big’. The 35 mile team, consisting of Kyle Becalick, Daniel Bell, Martha Brown, Luke Challoner, Angus Jeffcott and Jack Weeks (all aged 13-14) completed the challenge, crossing the finish line at an impressive 10:51AM. Their achievement was no easy feat, as Daniel and Angus recalled getting the team to their seventh tor on the Saturday evening proved very challenging, but they were ‘thankful’ in the morning for getting so far on the first day. The team described the feeling of completing the challenging as ‘an awesome sense of achievement’.
When asked what they would say to any young person thinking about trying out the Ten Tors Challenge the answer was simple: ‘do it!’ Martha Brown (of the 35 mile team) said ‘I feel quite proud because I did a lot of the training last year and I didn’t make the team, but I did this year’. She added that ‘it was great to bond as a team over the training and the weekend. Even people who weren’t on the team were really supportive and made it a great experience’.
The students who took part in the Ten Tors Event, whether part of the hiking teams or support teams, wish to thank the staff that have trained, supervised and given up many weekends to help them prepare for this experience.
