The Dartmoor Beast is an annual

charitable The practice of charity is the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act, unmotivated by self-interest. There are a number of philosophies about charity, often associated with religion. Etymology The word ''charity'' ori ...

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

challenge run in aid of the charity ''Cancer Climber Association (CCA) UK''. The challenge takes the form of a daytime navigation exercise held in the

Dartmoor National Park Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

in the county of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. The challenge is usually held on a Saturday in late August or early September. The Dartmoor Beast takes its name from the various

big cat The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus '' Panthera'', namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. Despite enormous differences in size, various cat species are quite similar ...

sightings that have been a recurring feature of local

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

in the

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...

Exmoor Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath. ...

and

Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor ( kw, Goon Brenn) is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough Tor, a s ...

areas for many years and from the Royal Marine Commando speed march held during the final stages of qualification for the coveted Commando

green beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of the Second World War. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF wh ...

Teams

Team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

s of between 4 and 8 participants

hike Hike may refer to: * Hiking, walking lengthy distances in the countryside or wilderness * Hiking (sailing), moving a sailor's body weight as far to windward (upwind) as possible, in order to counteract the force of the wind pushing sideways agains ...

or '

yomp Yomp is Royal Marines slang describing a long-distance loaded march carrying full kit. It was popularised by journalistic coverage in 1982 during the Falklands War. The origin of the word is unclear, and there is no evidence to suggest that it ...

' either a 20 km or 30 km route across Dartmoor carrying a pack of either 10 kg or 15 kg respectively. No prescribed route is laid down for teams entering the challenge, but various checkpoints must be visited at places around the moor. Teams are left to plot and navigate their own route between checkpoints, making use of

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

, map reading skills and global positioning systems. Whilst the challenge is not a competition, a climate of friendly and sportsman like rivalry contributes to the sense of achievement for all teams participating in this race against the clock.

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Each individual participating in the challenge is required to carry a

backpack A backpack—also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders ...

of equipment aimed at ensuring safety whilst on the moor. Adequate clothing, food and water must be carried by each team member, in addition to maps, first aid kit, torch and other important items. The weight of each team member's backpack is checked at the start, finish and various points along the route, and time penalties are levied for every kg under the prescribed weight that each team member is found to be carrying. In practice this means that the 10 kg or 15 kg must not include the weight of food and water that will be consumed en route. Participants that are found to be carrying less than the required weight find their load increased by one or more of the many rocks that litter Dartmoor.

Navigation

The Dartmoor National Park is notorious for being a difficult environment in which to

navigate Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

, especially if visibility is poor. The moor often experiences extensive hill

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

, or 'clag' as it is locally known, which combined with the absence of many linear features (such as walls, paths, fences, forest edges) provides a challenging test for even the most confident navigator.

Staffing

In previous years the challenge has been staffed by volunteers from the

Royal Marines Reserve The Royal Marines Reserve (RMR) is the volunteer reserve force used to augment the regular Royal Marines. The RMR consists of some 750 trained ranks distributed among the four units within the UK. About 10 percent of the force are working with t ...

(RMR)

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and representatives of the CCA. The checkpoints provide an opportunity for RMR staff to assess the fitness, progress and morale of each team, ensuring their safety throughout the

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...

Rewards of participation

Each team member who completes the challenge receives a completion certificate and prizes are awarded for the fastest team on the 20 km and 30 km routes and various other notable achievements. The event culminates in a barbecue hosted by the RMR and CCA at the Fox and Hounds

Public House A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, in Bridstowe, Devon - which acts as the start/finish and command post for the event.

External links