Their story, in their words…
From the 21st to the 26th of July 2025, we completed a challenging hike across Dartmoor National Park, starting from Bovey Tracey and ending in Ivybridge.
On Day 1, we woke up early and made our way to Victoria Coach Station for our 08:30 coach, already running late after a tube station being closed and a car crash right outside the coach station. After around 6 hours we made it to Newton Abbot quite late because of traffic, with only 10 minutes spare to run across the whole town to make the 14:25 bus to Bovey Tracey.
Luckily, we made it to the bus stop one minute before it was due and found that it was delayed by 40 minutes, so we were let on for free. We had a filling lunch in Bovey Tracey. We climbed up Haytor and then made our way to Cockingford Campsite, passing through Widecombe in the Moor.
On Day 2, we woke up ready for the long 16 mile walk we had ahead of us. Weather was good initially, until it started raining at midday when we reached the highest point of the whole trip at Hameldown Tor, which was over 500 metres above sea level. We continued walking getting more tired with every step. We finally made it back at 20:00, ready to cook dinner.
Day 3 was the hardest day out of the whole trip, even though it was one of the shortest, initially around 10 miles, it gradually became longer mainly due to a path being closed, fluctuating steep slopes and some arguments. Listening to local radio stations helped us greatly through this day. We stopped for lunch at Sharp Tor, before making our way to Dartmeet, looping around the River Dart to Venford Reservoir and then down a path to Michelcombe for our campsite, arriving late in the evening.
On Day 4, we overslept as our alarms didn’t wake us up and since we were extremely tired from the previous days, we decided to shorten the walk and walk around the local towns and villages for the day. We ended up having dinner at a pub in Holne.
Day 5 was the last long walk of the challenge, around 14 miles. We set off, passing through Scorriton, then making our way to Avon Dam, Shipley Bridge and up Sharp Tor, where we stopped for lunch. We then continued down past Weatherdon Hill, until arriving at Harford.
Day 6 was the final day of our challenge. We made our way down to Ivybridge, stopping off at a café for lunch and then picked up a meal deal for dinner on the coach. Next, we travelled to Totnes and waited in a Morrisons café for our 15:10 coach back to London. After the tiring six-and-a-half-hour journey we got back to Victoria, thankful to be able to go home and rest.
Overall, our Dartmoor Hike was such a great experience for all of us. Our challenge wasn’t just about hiking; it was about building our confidence and personal development. Also, it let us disconnect from the busy lives we had at home and try something new together.
Nearly a week of being all together created life-long memories and fun moments that we would never forget. It also gave us some new experiences and brought us closer together. This gave us time to reflect and be grateful about our lives.
