Major youth challenge sees 300+ walkers take on Dartmoor’s Abbots Way Walk

More than 300 walkers, most of them young people, took part in this year’s Abbots Way Walk across southern Dartmoor last Sunday (5 October).

The annual 23-mile team challenge began at Buckfast Abbey at dawn and finished at its new endpoint, the Red & Black Club in Tavistock. 

The route took participants through Princetown and across open moorland, with checkpoints run by local volunteer teams.

READ NEXT: Dartmoor families encouraged to donate and swap Halloween costumes at local libraries

Event organiser Peter Challiss said: “When I drove into Buckfast Abbey before sunrise, there were already over 100 walkers waiting, and registration hadn’t even opened yet. 

We registered 54 teams in total, and most of the 300 walkers were under 18.”

Checkpoints at Cross Furze, Crossways and Peat Cott were staffed by members of the Ashburton, Plymouth, and Tavistock Dartmoor Search and Rescue Teams, along with support from the Dartmoor Radio Club.

The Tavistock DSRT team said they had a great day supporting the event: “It’s always lovely to see so many people enjoying the Moors.”

The Abbots Way Walk was first held in 1962, founded by the late Bill Ames, a Tavistock and District Youth Officer who used outdoor activities to engage young people. 

Over the decades, the event has raised funds for youth projects across the Tavistock area.

ABOVE: The Abbots Way Walk in 1974 (Credit: Peter Challiss)

Since 2011, it has been organised by the Tavistock & District Outdoor Education Forum (OEF), which promotes outdoor learning and activities for local young people.

Les Watson, part of the organising team, praised the groups who helped make the day a success.

He said: “We couldn’t run the event without the support of the Tavistock Lions, the Radio Club, Dartmoor Rescue Group, the Tavistock Youth Café, and our fantastic volunteers.”

Nigel Cross, manager of the Red & Black Club, said hosting the finish was a proud moment for the venue: “It was amazing to see so many young people enjoying the challenge and the fresh air. The event was really well organised and brought great community spirit to Tavistock.”