On Saturday 20th January, the TCS Ten Tors training programme resumed after the Christmas break.
14 of our students joined us to tackle the ever increasing distances, of which was 26km this week. We began at Fernworthy Reservoir and made our way through the forest to Teignhead Farm, built in the 1700s but has now fell in to ruin. The wind began to pick up and we had to prepare for a long trek over exposed land and a lot of tussocks (Miss Ousley’s worst nightmare!)
When walking through the tussocks students had to be vigilant due to the terrain, the large mounds of grass resulted in a slowed down pace and a lot of falling over! Once we made it to Hangingstone hill, we had to take care with the numerous stretches of iced over puddles and bogs and made our way to Hound Tor and Wild Tor. We descended down to Walla Brook Clapper bridge, up to Batworthy Corner and back through Fernworthy forest. The pace had started at 5km an hour and had slowed to 4km an hour due to injuries. Students persevered with no complaints and really showed a heroic team effort. Everyone cared for one another and we kept an impressive time and made it back to the minibus where Mr Horne was tracking our progress.
A special mention to Mr Johns who led the walk and ensured navigation was accurate by working with students throughout as well as it being his birthday. A dedicated Ten Tors leader! Miss Ousley, Mr Johns and Mr Horne look forward to the next training session on 27th January, where we will explore micro navigation at the edge of the moor.
