Following Josh’s insistence not to be late the group arrived ready and raring to go at Bath Spa station at 8am ready to get the train to okehampton! Unfortunately there was one small problem, the person with the group tickets was still in bed… with the help of a taxi our fearless leader, Josh ‘the rice wizard’ Nicholas did make it just in time and we set off on the train!
After a couple of changes we arrived at a gloomy but dry Okehampton ready to head off into the wilderness! The walk started well meeting Priscilla the chicken and following the river up onto the atmospheric moor.
Priscilla says hi ^^
We made good time with everyone in good spirits and stopped for lunch by the river. With the weather starting to improve we then carried on heading up towards High Willhays and Yes Tor for some nice views of Dartmoor. From there we could see our campsite down in the valley so we set off down the hill. Once we reached our 5 star all inclusive campsite we quickly set up the tents and enjoyed the lovely surroundings. At this point several more exuberant members of the group decided there was only one logical thing to do: build a dam across a small stream near the campsite and then take it apart again. Meanwhile the older members of the trip had a more leisurely time sitting around drinking tea and reminiscing on old times. Soon though it came to dinner time where exotic meals such as ‘pasta’ and ‘filled pasta’ were consumed. At this point it was decided that we should go and watch the sunset from a hill on the other side of the valley so we headed to be greeted by what would no doubt be a wondrous sight! Unfortunately we were then reminded that we were in Dartmoor as the sun had completely gone behind the clouds. ‘I’m sure it’ll reappear soon’ said Will (ah the optimism of freshers!) but eventually it got too cold and the cloud was unrelenting so we walked back down and went to bed.
The next day started with a nice lie in for everyone before we set off to head back to Okehampton. Again the weather was much nicer than expected and made for very pleasant walking conditions. We made good progress as a group and were able to enjoy lovely views! The route was so nice that Will and I even retraced some of it to retrieve some waterproof trousers Will had borrowed and then promptly thrown off a small cliff. We did then manage to catch up with the rest of the group to enjoy lunch in the sun before heading back to Okehampton! The journey back went smoothly and some of the group were even able to sample a very fancy spoons in Exeter too! Overall a successful trip and a huge thanks to Josh for all his hard work organising!
Until next time!
Joseph