On the first weekend of October, several trainees and full team members of North Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team will be completing a 55 mile expedition replicating that of the Ten Tors event, in an effort to raise some vital funds to replace our current Incident Control Unit (ICU).

The current ICU is an extensively modified IVECO Daily light commercial van which serves as a mobile base during call-outs. It was first registered in 2002 and purchased second-hand by the team in 2006.

The vehicle is equipped with sophisticated electronic equipment which is used to co-ordinate searches and to maintain mobile communication links with operational search teams when on a call-out. It is also used to store vital medical and rescue equipment, as well as providing shelter for exhausted team members and casualties during bad weather.

However, the ICU is now twenty years old, and is in urgent need of replacement.

Our expedition will replicate the annual Ten Tors 55 mile event, with the team setting off at 7am on Saturday 1st October, and arriving back at the finish line by 5pm on Sunday 2nd October. We will be fully self-sufficient, and be adhering to the Ten Tors regulations, such as carrying full team kit and not receiving our route until the day or two before.

I never thought I'd sign up to walking 55 miles across Dartmoor again, after completing the 55 mile event with Okehampton College back in 2016, so this will be a real challenge for me!