Ten Tors
Encyclopedia
Ten Tors is an annual weekend hike
organised and run in early May for 2,400 young people by the British Army
on Dartmoor
. The majority of entrants are schools, colleges, Scout groups
and Cadet
squadrons from South West England
, though groups from across the UK regularly take part, as do teams from Australia and New Zealand, though from 2012 onwards only teams from the South West of England will be able to take part, due to the high numbers of entrants.
; on the top of each tor is a checkpoint. There are twenty-six different routes over three different distances lettered from A to Z, using a total of nineteen different manned tors: twelve Bronze routes of 35 miles (56.3 km) for those aged 14 to 15 years, ten Silver routes of 45 miles (72.4 km) for those aged 16 to 17 years and four Gold routes of 55 miles (88.5 km) for those aged 18 to 19 years, or 17-year-olds who completed a Silver route the previous year. Teams normally train for a few months before the event.
The organisers stress that the event is not a race – although teams often compete to see who can finish first – but a test of endurance, navigation
and survival skills
, not just because of the distances and the challenging terrain, but potentially the weather: conditions on Dartmoor can vary considerably and change suddenly. In 1996, for example, the event was struck by a heavy snow storm, leading to some teams still being out on the moor a day after the event was supposed to have finished; in 1998 temperatures reached 26°C (78°F).
Participants arrive at Okehampton
Camp on the Thursday or Friday before the hike, watch a safety briefing video and have their equipment checked, a thorough process known as scrutineering. Teams must carry all their food, clothing, tents, stoves, fuel, navigation equipment, maps, emergency rations
and a first aid kit
; they also collect drinking water from the moor and use water purification tablets. Each team has a nominated team leader, who is responsible for ensuring that the team's routecard is stamped at each tor.
All the teams start at 0700h on the Saturday from an area of flat land next to Anthony Stile, close to Okehampton Camp on the northern edge of Dartmoor they stand in a semicircle and set off when a cannon fires. They have 34 hours to visit each of the ten tors on their route in the correct order. Teams cannot pass through a checkpoint between 2000h on Saturday and 0600h on Sunday morning; nor may they pass the ninth tor (eighth for the 35 mile route) until the Sunday. Those trying for a Bronze medal must camp at one of the manned tors on their route, while Silver and Gold teams can camp anywhere on the moor. Teams must finish back at Anthony Stile by 1700h on the Sunday, having visited all ten tors on their route, in order to qualify for a medal.
exercise.
Until 1967 the event was organised by the Junior Leaders Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals
. This responsibility passed to Headquarters South West District, and in 1986 to 43 (Wessex) Brigade, the regional Headquarters of the Territorial Army in the South West. Many military units and civilian groups provide support for Ten-Tors and the Jubilee Challenge including the Royal Wessex Yeomanry
, Exeter UOTC
, 243 Field Hospital RAMC
, 6th Battalion The Rifles
, two Sea King HC4
helicopters from 848 Naval Air Squadron, 39 (Skinners) Signal Regiment
, two Gazelle
helicopters from 7 Regiment Army Air Corps (Volunteers), Bristol UOTC and the Dartmoor Rescue Group.
Since 1977 an additional event, The Jubilee Challenge, has been held for young people with physical or learning disabilities. This involves a selection of four routes of between 7.5 to 15 mi (12.1 to 24.1 ), both on road and cross-country.
, but went ahead in 2002.
Traditionally on the morning of the event a number of songs are played over the loudspeakers. Favourites are "Chariots of Fire
", "In the Army Now
" and "I Will Survive"; in 1986 Cat Stevens' "Morning Has Broken" woke the tented village at 0600h. In 2004 the CD line-up was changed, to large uproar and complaints; it reverted the next year.
was swept away by rain-swollen Walla Brook near Watern Tor, while training for the event. The rest of her group raised the alarm using a mobile phone
, but despite being evacuated by a Royal Navy
helicopter within 20 minutes, she died later that night in Derriford Hospital
, Plymouth
. In December 2009 an inquest into the death was halted for the case to be considered for criminal charges. Several other groups were also evacuated by helicopter after weather conditions in the training area, Dartmoor National Park, deteriorated.
The decision was taken on Saturday 12 May 2007 at 21:30 to abandon the actual event half-way through as a result of severe weather conditions; the decision was influenced by the high drop-out rate of 15% on Saturday. Participants spent the night camped at a manned Tor, before being escorted off the moor by the military the following day.
in the nesting season
. Steeperton Tor and Hare Tor were dropped from the Tor list, and the pass from Dinger to Kitty Tor known as "Death Valley" was zoned off limits. Each team was permitted only two training walks on the North moor. A review of these changes . The 2008 event was the complete opposite of the previous years, with temperatures in the low twenties C, and participants dropping out because of dehydration rather than hypothermia.
The first team across the line was the 20th Torbay Explorer Scouts finishing at 09:10.
For the first time an all-girls team from Torquay Grammar School for Girls broke the record for successfully completing the 35-, 45- and 55-mile events consecutively and with the same team members (Tamsin Owen, Joyce Nie, Francessca Hill, Amelia Skerritt, Rebecca Stanley and Hannah Short).
There were fewer dropouts than in other years in almost perfect weather conditions.
who walked over the line together at 7.37 to break the record for earliest finishers by 40 minutes. This also meant the scout group had crossed the line first for three consecutive years. Notable other finishers were the 'Denbury Boys' who, made up of men who completed the first ever Ten Tors, successfully completed the 35 mile event.
All the above tors are staffed by volunteers, ten are manned by personnel from the Royal Air Force and nine by Royal Navy colleagues.
The following tors are no longer used because of bird nesting:
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
organised and run in early May for 2,400 young people by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
on Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
. The majority of entrants are schools, colleges, Scout groups
The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
and Cadet
Combined Cadet Force
The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...
squadrons from South West England
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
, though groups from across the UK regularly take part, as do teams from Australia and New Zealand, though from 2012 onwards only teams from the South West of England will be able to take part, due to the high numbers of entrants.
Event format
Teams of six are required to visit ten torsTor (geography)
A tor is a large, free-standing residual mass that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest...
; on the top of each tor is a checkpoint. There are twenty-six different routes over three different distances lettered from A to Z, using a total of nineteen different manned tors: twelve Bronze routes of 35 miles (56.3 km) for those aged 14 to 15 years, ten Silver routes of 45 miles (72.4 km) for those aged 16 to 17 years and four Gold routes of 55 miles (88.5 km) for those aged 18 to 19 years, or 17-year-olds who completed a Silver route the previous year. Teams normally train for a few months before the event.
The organisers stress that the event is not a race – although teams often compete to see who can finish first – but a test of endurance, navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
and survival skills
Survival skills
Survival skills are techniques a person may use in a dangerous situation to save themselves or others...
, not just because of the distances and the challenging terrain, but potentially the weather: conditions on Dartmoor can vary considerably and change suddenly. In 1996, for example, the event was struck by a heavy snow storm, leading to some teams still being out on the moor a day after the event was supposed to have finished; in 1998 temperatures reached 26°C (78°F).
Participants arrive at Okehampton
Okehampton
Okehampton is a town and civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and has an estimated population of 7,155.-History:...
Camp on the Thursday or Friday before the hike, watch a safety briefing video and have their equipment checked, a thorough process known as scrutineering. Teams must carry all their food, clothing, tents, stoves, fuel, navigation equipment, maps, emergency rations
Emergency rations
Emergency rations are items of food and drink that a person stores and relies on in case of an emergency. Emergency food supplies can be purchased for camping trips or wilderness adventures. These supplies are meant to last for several day. Many people also purchase long shelf life emergency food...
and a first aid kit
First aid kit
A first aid kit is a collection of supplies and equipment for use in giving first aid, and can put together for the purpose , or purchased complete...
; they also collect drinking water from the moor and use water purification tablets. Each team has a nominated team leader, who is responsible for ensuring that the team's routecard is stamped at each tor.
All the teams start at 0700h on the Saturday from an area of flat land next to Anthony Stile, close to Okehampton Camp on the northern edge of Dartmoor they stand in a semicircle and set off when a cannon fires. They have 34 hours to visit each of the ten tors on their route in the correct order. Teams cannot pass through a checkpoint between 2000h on Saturday and 0600h on Sunday morning; nor may they pass the ninth tor (eighth for the 35 mile route) until the Sunday. Those trying for a Bronze medal must camp at one of the manned tors on their route, while Silver and Gold teams can camp anywhere on the moor. Teams must finish back at Anthony Stile by 1700h on the Sunday, having visited all ten tors on their route, in order to qualify for a medal.
History of the event
The first Ten Tors Expedition took place in September 1960, with around 200 young people taking part. By 1980, the numbers had grown to more than 2,600. To protect the environment, the numbers are now limited to 2,400 individuals - 400 teams of six teenagers. The Army uses the event as a large scale logisticsLogistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
exercise.
Until 1967 the event was organised by the Junior Leaders Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army...
. This responsibility passed to Headquarters South West District, and in 1986 to 43 (Wessex) Brigade, the regional Headquarters of the Territorial Army in the South West. Many military units and civilian groups provide support for Ten-Tors and the Jubilee Challenge including the Royal Wessex Yeomanry
Royal Wessex Yeomanry
The Royal Wessex Yeomanry is an armoured regiment of the British Territorial Army consisting of four squadrons, each of which bears the cap badge of an old yeomanry regiment:*B Squadron*A Squadron...
, Exeter UOTC
Officers Training Corps
The Officer Training Corps is a part of the British Army which provides military leadership training to students at UK universities...
, 243 Field Hospital RAMC
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
, 6th Battalion The Rifles
The Rifles
The Rifles is the largest regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light...
, two Sea King HC4
Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
helicopters from 848 Naval Air Squadron, 39 (Skinners) Signal Regiment
39 (Skinners) Signal Regiment
39 Signal Regiment is Territorial Army regiment in the Royal Corps of Signals in the British Army. The regiment forms part of 2 Signal Brigade, providing military communications for national operations...
, two Gazelle
Aérospatiale Gazelle
The Aérospatiale Gazelle is a five-seat light helicopter, powered by a single turbine engine. It was designed and manufactured in France by Sud Aviation . It was also manufactured under licence by Westland Aircraft in the United Kingdom , by SOKO in Yugoslavia and ABHCO in Egypt...
helicopters from 7 Regiment Army Air Corps (Volunteers), Bristol UOTC and the Dartmoor Rescue Group.
Since 1977 an additional event, The Jubilee Challenge, has been held for young people with physical or learning disabilities. This involves a selection of four routes of between 7.5 to 15 mi (12.1 to 24.1 ), both on road and cross-country.
1996
1996 saw some deep snow and torrential rain falling, causing the event to finally be cancelled Sunday afternoon, the first time the event had been cancelled.2001–2003
Ten Tors was cancelled in 2001 due to the foot and mouth crisis2001 UK foot and mouth crisis
The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom in 2001 caused a crisis in British agriculture and tourism. This epizootic saw 2,000 cases of the disease in farms in most of the British countryside. Over 10 million sheep and cattle were killed in an eventually successful attempt to...
, but went ahead in 2002.
Traditionally on the morning of the event a number of songs are played over the loudspeakers. Favourites are "Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire (album)
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 musical score by Greek electronic composer Vangelis for the British film Chariots of Fire, which won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Original Music Score....
", "In the Army Now
In The Army Now (album)
In the Army Now is the seventeenth studio album by English rock band Status Quo, released in 1986.-Track listing:# "Rollin' Home" 4:25# "Calling" 4:03# "In Your Eyes" 5:07# "Save Me" 4:24...
" and "I Will Survive"; in 1986 Cat Stevens' "Morning Has Broken" woke the tented village at 0600h. In 2004 the CD line-up was changed, to large uproar and complaints; it reverted the next year.
2004
In 2004 the Ten Tors record for earliest complete team home was broken with a time of 08:19. This stood until 2009.2005
In 2005, one of the original teams from the 1960 Ten Tors took part in the event, which was held on 14–15 May in particularly adverse weather conditions: constant rain on the Saturday, combined with a bitter wind, leading to an unusually high number of retirements.2006
In 2006, the event was held over the weekend of 13–14 May, with high temperatures on the Sunday resulting in several cases of dehydration.2007
On Sunday 4 March 2007, Charlotte ShawDeath of Charlotte Shaw
Charlotte Shaw was a fourteen-year-old British schoolgirl who drowned while crossing a swollen stream on Dartmoor while training for Ten Tors in 2007. Her death, the first to occur in connection with Ten Tors or one of its training expeditions, made national news headlines in the United Kingdom...
was swept away by rain-swollen Walla Brook near Watern Tor, while training for the event. The rest of her group raised the alarm using a mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
, but despite being evacuated by a Royal Navy
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
helicopter within 20 minutes, she died later that night in Derriford Hospital
Derriford Hospital
Derriford Hospital, is a large teaching hospital situated in Plymouth, England. The hospital serves Plymouth and nearby areas in Devon and Cornwall. It also provides tertiary Cardiothoracic surgery, Neurosurgery and Renal Transplant surgery for the whole of the South West Peninsula...
, Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. In December 2009 an inquest into the death was halted for the case to be considered for criminal charges. Several other groups were also evacuated by helicopter after weather conditions in the training area, Dartmoor National Park, deteriorated.
The decision was taken on Saturday 12 May 2007 at 21:30 to abandon the actual event half-way through as a result of severe weather conditions; the decision was influenced by the high drop-out rate of 15% on Saturday. Participants spent the night camped at a manned Tor, before being escorted off the moor by the military the following day.
2008
From 2008 the event was much changed with different routes and use of the moor itself to help bird conservationBird conservation
Bird conservation is a field in the science of conservation biology related to threatened birds. Humans have had a profound effect on many bird species...
in the nesting season
Nesting season
The nesting season is the time of year during which birds and some other animals, particularly some reptiles, build nests, lay eggs in them, and in most cases bring up their young. It is usually in the spring....
. Steeperton Tor and Hare Tor were dropped from the Tor list, and the pass from Dinger to Kitty Tor known as "Death Valley" was zoned off limits. Each team was permitted only two training walks on the North moor. A review of these changes . The 2008 event was the complete opposite of the previous years, with temperatures in the low twenties C, and participants dropping out because of dehydration rather than hypothermia.
The first team across the line was the 20th Torbay Explorer Scouts finishing at 09:10.
2009
In 2009 the Ten Tors' record for the earliest complete team home since the rule change was broken with a time of 08:17. 20th Torbay Explorer Scouts became the first organisation to cross the line first on consecutive years.For the first time an all-girls team from Torquay Grammar School for Girls broke the record for successfully completing the 35-, 45- and 55-mile events consecutively and with the same team members (Tamsin Owen, Joyce Nie, Francessca Hill, Amelia Skerritt, Rebecca Stanley and Hannah Short).
There were fewer dropouts than in other years in almost perfect weather conditions.
2010
2010 saw the 50th Anniversary of the Ten Tors event. To mark the occasion the Duke of Edinburgh visited the event on Sunday morning to speak to finishers and present some with the commemorative 50 years medals.It also marked the first year that teams carried a GPS tracker which enabled the organisers and Team managers to track the participants' progress directly. The first finishers were 20th Torbay Explorer Scouts and King Edward's School BathKing Edward's School, Bath
King Edward's School , Bath, Somerset, England is an independent school providing education for 950 pupils aged 3 to 18.The school is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
who walked over the line together at 7.37 to break the record for earliest finishers by 40 minutes. This also meant the scout group had crossed the line first for three consecutive years. Notable other finishers were the 'Denbury Boys' who, made up of men who completed the first ever Ten Tors, successfully completed the 35 mile event.
2011
Ten Tors 2011 was the most over subscribed year, there were more fallouts then any other year. 13 teams did not complete the course, with the main reason being heat exhaustion due to the adverse weather conditions. It was also the 50th Anniversary of Dartmoor as a National Park so everyone received a participant certificate.2012
Ten Tors 2012 has been confirmed for 12th - 13th May 2012 and training starts in January 2012.Manned tors
The tors used as checkpoints on the Ten Tors challenge are:- Beardown Tors
- Black Tor
- Combestone Tor
- Chat Tor
- Great Mis TorGreat Mis TorGreat Mis Tor is a hill with a rocky outcrop situated in Dartmoor. It has been called one of the grandest hills in Devon, and lies above the River Walkham, about 4 miles north-east of Princetown....
- Hartor Tor
- Hound TorHound TorHound Tor is a tor on Dartmoor, Devon, England and is a good example of a heavily weathered granite outcrop. It is easily accessible, situated within a few minutes from the B3387 between Bovey Tracey and Widecombe-in-the-Moor...
- not the Hound Tor by Hay Tor but the one on the North moor - Oke Tor
- Kitty Tor
- Lynch Tor
- Lower White Tor
- Pupers Hill - not actually a Tor but used due to a lack of tors on the south eastern side of the moor
- Shilstone Tor
- Sittaford Tor
- Sourton Tor
- South Hessary Tor
- Staple Tors
- Trowlesworthy Tor
- Watern Tor
All the above tors are staffed by volunteers, ten are manned by personnel from the Royal Air Force and nine by Royal Navy colleagues.
The following tors are no longer used because of bird nesting:
- Hare Tor (Replaced by Chat Tor)
- Steeperton Tor (Replaced by Hound Tor)
- East Mill Tor (Replaced by Oke Tor)
- Rough Tor (Dartmoor) (Replaced by Lower White Tor)
Ten Tors Prayer
Every year before the start of the event the following prayer is read.O God who has made the Earth of great beauty,
and who has given us the Spirit of Adventure,
we thank you for the beauty of the world,
for the courage and vigour of young people,
for the companionship and for the opportunity
to enjoy all these gifts.
We pray that you will keep them safe on this great venture
and grant that they may meet each challenge
and difficulty with unselfish courage and so find the
true spirit of comradeship as shown to us by
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
Jubilee Challenge
Since 1977 the event had also paid host to the Jubilee Challenge, which is a shorter version of ten tors for competitors who are impaired in some way (be that a severe learning difficulty or physically disabled) thus showing that any one can take up the challenge. The Jubilee challenge takes place on the Saturday, over distances of 7.5, 8.5, 11, and 15 miles.See also
- Four Inns WalkFour Inns WalkThe Four Inns Walk is a hiking event held annually over the high moorlands of the Northern Peak District. It takes place mainly in Derbyshire , in northern England. It is organised by the Scout Association...
, a 45 miles (72.4 km) competitive event in the Northern Peak DistrictPeak DistrictThe Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
, often attempted by young adults, as well as other teams of fit, experienced walkers - Three Towers HikeThree Towers HikeThe Three Towers Hike is a Scouting-organised, downland hiking competition held annually covering footpaths in West Berkshire and South Oxfordshire...
, a hiking event with three hikes of varying lengths held in West Berkshire and Southern Oxfordshire.
External links
- Official Ten Tors website at Exeter University, which includes accounts written by past team-members telling of their experiences of the event.
- Map showing the 26 routes used (as of 2008)
- BBC Ten Tors 2002
- Cabot Scouts Ten Tors site