This is a Member-Led Event, with a maximum of 8 participants, led by Bridget Davies FRPS.

This event will be on an exposed part of the Dartmoor, on a level with the highest tors in the area. There are wonderful views across a varied landscape with scattered tors, open moorland, patches of woodland, a few villages, and plenty of sky.

We will cover a number of distinct outcrops. The granite rocks are full of character, offering many opportunities for different compositions. Bonehill Rocks are sometimes used as a practice area by climbers. Bell Tor has a very large, unattached and precarious looking boulder wedged in a cleft between stacks. Chinkwell Tor provides a great outlook to the east towards Haytor and Hound Tor. Honeybag Tor has its eccentric, inexplicable name, and numerous large stacks.  The full walk is about 3 miles long, with about 700 feet/200 metres of ascent.

Meet: meet at the Car park on northern side of B3387, 2.4 miles west of National Park Visitors Centre at Haytor, 1 mile east of Widecombe in the Moor, for a prompt start at 09:30.  

  - Map reference SX 73471 76747

 - 50.577N / 3.789W

 - What3words:///timidly.scrambles.relations

Parking: no fee.

Toilets: there are facilities on the walk itself. There are rocks behind which some privacy can be found.  The nearest public toilets are in the village of Widecombe in the Moor or at the Visitor Centre at Haytor.

Terrain: all of the walking is on grassy footpaths and stony/muddy tracks. The ground in places is uneven, and care needs to be taken when walking through areas with scattered rocks. It can be boggy. The climbs are not especially steep or long, but do require a reasonable degree of fitness and mobility.  It is possible to avoid walking or scrambling on the rocks, but if you choose to do so, bear in mind that they can be slippery, especially if it is wet or icy.  The walk is in an exposed area of moorland. The weather can be windy, cold and wet, with occasional poor visibility and/or snow, and conditions can change quickly.

We encourage participants to stay close to the leader if are concerned about their individual navigational capabilities.  The leader will provide a route map and GPX file, which can be used by those with an appropriate device.  Participants should download what3words and OS locate to smart phones if you have them.

What to wear: warm walking clothing suitable for winter/spring, preferably waterproof anorak, and possibly waterproof trousers, depending upon the forecast.  Walking boots are preferable.  Conditions on the moor are often significantly more windy and cold than lower lying parts of Devon. We will be at an altitude of about1,300 feet/400 metres. The Met Office forecast for Haytor Summit gives a reasonable guide to local conditions.

Food & drink: we are planning to finish the walk by lunch. You might want to take something to drink and eat when walking.  After the walk, we can eat at the Café on the Green in Widecombe in the Moor. This is a lovely photogenic village, a short drive from our meeting point.

What to bring: camera plus a standard lens (say 24-70mm full frame) will work fine; a telephoto lens for distant views is also an option.  

Tripod can be useful to facilitate bracketing to cope with dark rocks against bright skies. If windy, ND filters can be used to extend shutter speeds so as to capture the blurred movement of fast scudding clouds.

Walking poles if you would like to have more stability on some of the rougher or steeper bits of the path.

Bad weather plan: should the weather be poor we will switch to other more sheltered options include Haytor Quarry and Yarner Woods.  If the weather is forecast to be extremely poor, we will have to postpone or cancel.

Advice: This is a member-lead event, simply to introduce you to a location, with no professional guidance. If you have a technical query, the leader or fellow participants might be able to help.

Terms for RPS Landscape Group Events:

Carbon offsets

Tickets for events that involve travelling include a £2 carbon offset charge that will be paid to a carefully researched and selected offsetting partner.

Cancellation by You:

If you wish to cancel your booking PLEASE tell us with as much notice as possible: a) directly to the event leader / organiser once they have issued the joining email (typically 10-14 days pre-event); or b) if before that email, use the Contact Organiser button. If early enough, we may be able to open up sales on a sold-out event or help the leader decide if numbers are low; if nothing else, it can avoid delaying the start of the event while they wait for you.

If you have paid for an event, please note that this fee/ticket price is non-refundable unless we are able to sell your place to somebody else. You are welcome to sell your place yourself but, again, PLEASE notify us in advance of any change.

Cancellation by us:

Event leaders are asked to make plans for alternative activities or locations in the case of poor weather and, in most cases, events will proceed despite poor weather unless, in the view of the event leader, the weather will lead to unacceptable safety risks or very little chance of successful photography. It is inevitable, however, that occasionally an event will be cancelled for this or another reason beyond the RPS’s control.

Occasionally an event may also be cancelled owing to lack of bookings. So if you wish to attend an event, don’t leave it till the last minute to book as it may be too late.

If an event is cancelled we will give you as much notice as we are able and any payment by you to the RPS in respect of the event offered as a full refund. In the case of events cancelled because of lack of interest we will aim to give at least three weeks’ notice wherever possible.

Please note we are NOT able to refund any associated or consequential costs including but not limited to travel, accommodation, insurance premium or other costs incurred by you in order to attend the event.

Responsibility:

You are responsible for your own health and safety and must appraise your own strength, fitness and mobility; and be prepared for the terrain, changing weather conditions etc. The event leader is NOT responsible for your safety, welfare or attendant medical conditions. Strictly the event leader is there to introduce you to a location.

You are responsible for your equipment etc at all times; use suitable bags for carrying it.  Keep camera bags close/secured in public. Please also take care if using a tripod in public areas to avoid any trips.

Car-sharing lifts with fellow participants, or the event leader, is at your own risk. Those offering car-sharing lifts may only do so provided that they have suitable insurance cover. 

Liability for any accident, injury, medical condition, loss or damage to property, inappropriate behaviour, dress, equipment and third party liability is accepted by you when signing up for the event. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Royal Photographic Society from all claims of whatsoever nature.

Insurance:

You are advised to consider having insurance to cover: event cancellation by you or by us, accident, medical, personal equipment and public liability.

In particular you should also consider, in the case of high cost events, the likelihood and consequences of you having to cancel or not attend at the last minute because of accident, medical or other unforeseeable circumstances.

Using your data:

Your personal details (name, telephone number and email address) will be provided to the leader of the event or workshop you have booked in order to enable them to:

• send you joining instructions for the event
• contact you at short notice in case of any emergency or last-minute change to the event.

If you do not want your details to be shared with the event leader please cancel your booking immediately. You will not be eligible for a refund as this information was provided on the web page where you made your booking.

Thank you

RPS Landscape Group Committee

© RPS Landscape Group / Images are used with the owner’s permission