Cadets brave 55-mile Dartmoor challenge in one of the UK's toughest youth expeditions

More than 2,000 young people descended on Dartmoor for the Ten Tors Challenge 2026 – navigating routes of up to 55 miles across some of the harshest terrain in the country. 

Teams of six set off from Okehampton Camp before dawn to tackle routes of 35, 45 and 55 miles across the northern half of the moor, navigating between 10 checkpoints using only maps and compasses while carrying everything they needed to survive overnight. 

For many across the southwest, Ten Tors has become a rite of passage, testing young people against distance, exhaustion, steep terrain, and rapidly changing weather conditions in the toughest landscape. 

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Training for the challenge often begins months in advance, with schools, cadet units and youth organisations preparing teams for the physical and mental demands of the event.

And while some teams inevitably compete to be first back to camp, Ten Tors has always been about far more than speed. The challenge is designed to test resilience, teamwork, leadership and determination under pressure. 

As the event's founder Colonel "Greg" Gregory is reputed to have said: "If there is anything more important than the will to succeed, it is that the will shall not falter."

Organised by Army Headquarters South West, with support from the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, emergency services and hundreds of volunteers, the event has become a permanent fixture in the region since the first event in 1960. 

Alongside the main event, the Jubilee Challenge and Dartmoor Granite Challenge also took place, giving young people with additional needs the opportunity to experience the same spirit of adventure across routes tailored to their abilities. 

The Jubilee Challenge is aimed at young people aged between 14 and 21 with a range of challenging conditions, while the Dartmoor Granite Challenge is designed for young adults with SEND who may find the main Ten Tors event inaccessible, but are still capable of taking on arduous terrain and an overnight expedition. 

Ten Tors organiser Lieutenant Colonel Tim Gilbert, who has been involved with the event for the past seven years, said the challenge is ultimately about teamwork, resilience and young people pushing themselves beyond what they thought they were capable of. 

He said the experience of navigating Dartmoor independently for hours at a time, carrying heavy kit across difficult terrain and dealing with exhaustion and changing conditions teaches lessons that simply cannot be replicated in a classroom. 

"It's the sort of experience that stays with people," he added.