A few brief notes about walking on Dartmoor
Nearly everybody who walks on Dartmoor has an enjoyable and safe time of it, bar the odd wet foot. Although once Dartmoor was home to Bears, Wolf, Hyena and even Mammoth, there are no longer any dangerous mammals to hunt you.
The biggest risks to you as a Dartmoor walker are disorientation and exposure. Also, at 365 square miles, Dartmoor is relatively small and few areas are more than 2 or 3 hours walking from the road. That said, people do get in trouble on Dartmoor and need rescuing. It is prudent to take some care before setting off.
Your phone is unlikely to have signal for much of Dartmoor. Don’t rely upon it solely, but it can be a good tool.
3 questions to ask yourself
- Am I confident I have the knowledge and skills for the day?
- Do I know what the weather will be like?
- Do I have the right gear?
From Ordnance Survey mountain guide
Apps for walking
Don’t rely on your phone having signal when on Dartmoor, most of the area has weak or no signal for data or voice.
That said, mapping apps are very useful, but ensure they can use offline maps and that you’ve downloaded the right area.
I use Organic Maps - Free, allows download of maps for offline use, can record your track and uses the excellent OpenStreetmaps mapsets.
Google Maps is pretty useless for walking - it has poor or no coverage of footpaths or bridle paths. Whilst there can be some value to Satellite images when planning, these don’t give useful information to ground conditions or terrain.
Purpose built handheld GPSrs like the Garmin Oregon or Montana ranges are rugged, weatherproof and if loaded with good maps and batteries, a very useful and reliable tool.
If you do get lost!
Don’t panic! If you feel yourself starting to get worked up, spend three minutes focusing on nothing but calm breathing. Then use your brain and reason things out: Can you figure out roughly where you are? Can you backtrack? Can you hear a road? See any landmarks?
If you need to contact Mountain Rescue, then call 999 when you have signal.
If communication isn’t available, then try to find a river and follow it downhill. All rivers on Dartmoor take fairly direct routes off the moor and you will reach a road or buildings sooner or later.
Have fun!
Walking in nature is fantastic for both your physical and mental health. No two walks are ever the same and on a place like Dartmoor where there is such a rich depth of natural and industrial history, there is so much to see and learn about.
Ee puts wun fut in frunt of t’other, an on ee goes – How to walk on Dartmoor