EEEEEK!!

[newbie-nick]

My next run is scheduled for about 7:30 am on Friday... the lovely BBC say that I will have to endure this... Thanks, BBC.

[Voldatort Graduate]

Eeww. Can you plan your route to hide between buildings and only go with the wind direction ? 😎, Yes that looks....challenging to say the least.

[newbie-nick Graduate in reply to Voldatort]

I wish! This is the route, taken by a drone during the Wild Night Run a few years ago. OK, I only do the first little bit as I'm a newbie and this run is 10 miles, but you get the idea.youtu.be/BM2QQ-N5Ios(Not working as expected?)

I do marshall this though!

[Voldatort Graduate in reply to newbie-nick]

Oh that is so fabulous. I had to Google it- it's not like any 'Brent' around here 😁....I'm in North London, it's all pavements with the odd park. I can only dream of such lovely scenery.... Personally I would enjoy that in any and all weathers 😍, but yes maybe aim for something a bit sheltered 🤣

[Devon_straggler Graduate]

I thought I recognised the area from the aerial shots I'm from the N part of the moor, but have enjoyed many walks from Shipley Bridge. I'm sure as a local you know the paths, but I remember the track back towards Didworthy being ok (I was walking then though!), and not too steep. Being in the woods in that kind of wind might not be advisable either though!

[newbie-nick Graduate in reply to Devon_straggler]

We are just down towards South Brent from Didworty! I marshall the run at the SB end of the track you mention. It is steep in places, and it can get exceptionally muddy too. In the Summer we sometimes get a cross moor race come past and one year many of the runners were stung as they ran past a hornet's nest! That race certainly had a sting in its tail!!Being a new runner I only plod along from Shipley towards the dam. One day I will run to it and then back to the car. One day!

[Devon_straggler Graduate in reply to newbie-nick]

I saw you'd posted elsewhere that you'd been beaten to the car park despite getting there early. I can see why now - it's almost impossible to park there in the summer. But by then you might be fit enough to run from home 🤞 (and then up to Huntingdon warren, across the ford, and back down the tramway to Shipley of course 😂... you can see my ambition is set high - much higher than my body will ever be able to do given that a 10 mile walk around there is enough for me for a day!)

[newbie-nick Graduate in reply to Devon_straggler]

The car park has been stupidly busy ever since a national paper mentioned it as a place to go instead of Hay Tor - thanks, paper! Luckily, I can walk or cycle there, and I also have a friend who lives there and I can park at her house, but it is so busy, it is no fun. The run you mention would be a good one indeed. My dog's vet is a runner and he regularly does 20 to 30 miles in the area, so it is quite doable. Another good one is along Puffing Billy to Red Lake. A straightforward route and a wild swim, if that is your thing, at the turning point.I used to be the [contracted] photographer for the DNPA, so I know the moor quite well.

Which part are you on?

Oh, a trot around the Staples is nice too, and add in Cox Tor to make it worthwhile. I've only walked it as I'm very, very new to running.

[Devon_straggler Graduate in reply to newbie-nick]

I'm sure I will have seen some of your photos then The 20 to 30 miles might be quite doable to some, but as I'm only on W5, it might be a little while till I'm doing it! The track up to redlake is a good one. I've swum in leftlake, but only a quick dip (we were trying to do at least one wild swim a month) - the dark water and lots of vegetation around your ankles allows the mind to start imagining all sorts of things in there! The track out from Princetown is also a good possibility for running. I'm slightly jealous - I'm attempting to run on the moor (I'm in the Gidleigh/Throwleigh area) but it's hard going as it's uneven and boggy at the moment. I'm looking forward to it drying out a bit, but this weather isn't helping!

[newbie-nick Graduate in reply to Devon_straggler]

It will dry. It will dry. It will dry. Just keep repeating that mantra and watch for the clouds from the west to stop being so grumpy! Soggy ground is no fun. I was a Scout leader for a good while and we did longer events from Princetowm. One year, the water was so high they couldn't get through from The Scout Hut, and we had to collect them in the minibus.The track from Princetown towards Leather Tor is good for cycling, and I've only ever walked it as a part of the min Ten Tors we did with the Cubs. That was a boggy day, and we convinced one of them that had developed trench-foot [he wouldn't avoid the wet and had very soggy paws], something his doctor mother perpetuated for some time on collection.

20-30 miles is not something I shall aim for, but if I do feel able in the years to come, who knows. If you do, I can only wish you the very best of British.

I did a little bit of C25K a few years ago, and I found that the short step from Western Beacon to Butterdon Hill via Black Pool to be a happy little trot. It's measured in the 100s of yards rather than mileage, but it is such a lovely bit to run on. When at the cairn, turn and run back, or branch off to Ugborough Beacon. It's a great little one.

Harford Moor is also a great place to run/walk, and I could tell you a story about Scouts and navigation training with that one. The Harford Moor car park is currently closed. COVID?