Hillwise Freelance Mountain Leader

I shortly have two navigation sessions coming up for people who have done a little bit of navigating and want to develop further.

The first is on Tuesday the 6th of March 2012 at Combestone Tor starting at 10.00hrs until 16.00hrs called “Developing your Navigation skills” and will be limited to 6 people. The cost is £15 per head and needs to be pre-booked.

The second is on Tuesday the 27th of March 2012 at Haytor Lower Car Park starting at 20.00hrs until mid-night and is “An introduction to  Night Navigation” . This course is limited to 4 persons and costs £10 per person. Again booking is essential.

Both courses are being marketed through the Moorland Guides website www.moorlandguides.co.uk  Where you can find more details.

Sorry NO DOGS!

Moorland Guides, the group of guides who are providing guided walks in place of those previously run by the Dartmoor National park Authority, has now been up and running for some time. However, as the DNPA walks end on the 1st of April, we are having an official launch at Postbridge on  Tuesday the 3rd of April 2012 (well we wouldn’t pick April fools day would we?). We will be providing 2 and 3 hour walks from Postbridge starting at 10.00 am and then every hour until 2pm, and all fees will go direct to Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team (Ashburton) who will be in attendance to show off their control vehicle and answer questions.

Moorland Guides are currently running a series of “Warhorse Walks” showing people the bits of Dartmoor that feature pivotaly in the film Warhorse. They are heavily subscribed so booking is essential. See www.moorlandguides.co.uk for more information.

I have just received accreditation as a Duke of Edinburgh Award Assessor for Bronze, Silver and Gold expeditions, expiring in Dec 2016.

During the winter I will be leading a series of Widecombe Skyline walks for the National Park. They all start at Widecombe car park (adjacent to public toilets) at 10.00 am and last for 6 hours. The cost is £9. Whilst the walk will pass many places of interest including antiquities on Hameldown and at Grimspound, the main purpose is to have a good leg stretch and blow out the cobwebs.

Dates will be 6/12/2011, 10/01/2012, 28/02/2012, 13/03/2012 and 17/04/2012

I will also be leading walks from Haytor during the winter and spring, and running a National Park Beginners Navigation course.

For full details see www.moorlandguides.co.uk

I will be running further Dartmoor National Park archaeology walks at Haytor Information Centre on the 5th and 12th of October 2011. The walks, as always, start at 10.00hrs and last for 4 hours. Bring some snacks as we span lunchtime. The cost is £7.50 per head.

I am now half way through the programme of regular Wednesday walks from Haytor Information Centre, run on behalf of the Dartmoor National Park and they have proved popular. The remaining ones are on the 21st and 28th of September and both start at 10.00 am and run for four hours (so bring a snack). No booking is required, just turn up on the day. The cost is £7.50 in line with normal DNPA charging policy. Just make sure you have your wet weather gear. These walks have been so popular I am considering continuing them into October.

…….what with a month in India trekking in the Indian Himalaya and project working in Rajasthan, more than 20 days spent working for Canoe Adventures, a family trip in the Lake District canoeing on Ullswater and mountain walking around the Patterdale area, plus all the usual guided walking. There are big changes coming to the Dartmoor National Park Guided Walk Service too, which I have been involved with shaping.

As an experiment I will be leading a walk every wednesday in September from Haytor Lower car park on behalf of the Dartmoor National Park. It will last 4 hours and cost £7.50…just turn up with your waterproofs and a snack. Walks will start at 10.00 hrs.

and this year I am leading an expedition on behalf of World Challenge. The trip will take in project work on Delhi station, 12 days trekking in Himachal Pradesh, R and R in Shimla, project work at a school near Jaipur and a visit to the Taj Mahal. I will be away until the last week of July so don’t expect an early response to any e-mails!

………..what with the usual guided walks and navigation training, plus a lot of additional training in preparation for the World Challenge Expedition I’m leading to the Indian Himalaya this year. This has included a course on High Altitude 1st aid, and in a couple of weeks I’m doing a 2 day course in water safety, just to keep skills up. Canoe Adventures kept me busy through April steering their massive new 12 seater canoes and June is shaping up well.

I will publish the autumn programme of courses and walks in late July so watch out for those, but in the meantime, if there’s anything you want, get in touch.

We are adding a second Navigation Workshop to our January programme. We now have navigation workshops starting at 10.00hrs from Haytor Lower Car Park on the 6th of January and the 20th of January 2011. Each costs £15 per head and booking is essential as there will be a maximum group size of 4. You will need your day kit, including waterproofs, stout footwear, and a packed lunch. Bring your own map and compass if you have them.

For more details call 01803 812280 or Email adrian@hillwise.co.uk