Wild Camp on Fur Tor - The Dartmoor Podcast Episode Thirty Two

Рет қаралды 1,476

5 ай бұрын

Was a mid-January storm really the best time to trek out to southern England's remotest spot for a wild camp? Find out, as George attempts to create a completely normal outdoorsy video, with absolutely no weird stuff - just a long walk to find a big rock.
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Пікірлер: 39

@matthewwakeham2206 3 күн бұрын

I learnt to navigate Dartmoor by walking in straight lines. If you can't navigate in straight lines you really have not much hope of navigating any other way. It used to work for us as we were fit enough to stomp through any terrain. Now though I would advocate pointing your straight lines around obstacles such as massive bogs and deep valleys. When you are a bit more experienced I would suggest adding more artistic licence and taking the easy route that you know ends up at your destination but is much kinder on your feet and in many cases faster. When I was younger paths were for wimps and hills for challenging your friends to a race to the top. When I got a bit older I was tired and knew that the longer, smoother route was quicker and less draining. In the mist though, you need to be able to walk in straight lines because it is the only way to know where you are and if you don't know where you are then you don't know where you are going and then you are truly lost.

@devonwalking 5 ай бұрын

Excellent, our favorite bit of the moor although we still haven't quite made it to 'The Queen', in some ways I don't want to as when we have it will feel like there is nothing else to conquer 🤣 I liked the fact that this was a straightforward normal vid with no weird stuff 😉🤣🤣 It was great while it was frozen wasn't it, except perfect ankle turning conditions. Brave coming back via Black Ridge, we did that in the summer when it was nice and dry!! 😁

@thedartmoorpodcast 5 ай бұрын

Thank you! I had very little idea where I was on the way back, so it was definitely stupidity rather than bravery!

@devonwalking 5 ай бұрын

🤣but you were heading in the right direction at least. I bet you did know where you were (ie Mordor 😉 ) just not where you perhaps wanted to be@@thedartmoorpodcast You can tick off another 365 square for that one too (as well as H8 for 'The Queen'). Looking forward to your next installment. 😁

@tweedyoutdoors 5 ай бұрын

Wonderful! I'm itching to get back to Dartmoor now, having watched this. I enjoyed as ever the strange split personality between past George and (present?) George (who I suppose by now is also another past George?). They make a very good double act, I laughed out loud at "yes that was pretentious"! It's also fascinating how different those two voices sound. I suppose it's partly down to the acoustics (out on the moor versus presumably indoors) but also the reactive "in the moment" voice versus the after-the-fact contemplative voice. It's a really nice way to construct a narrative actually, the best of both worlds. Your ever calm temperament hides what I imagine was actually quite a tough trek! Well done. Although your Dartmoor credentials were never in doubt!

@thedartmoorpodcast 5 ай бұрын

Thank you! I think Narrator George always records early in the morning and is trying not to wake anyone up, hence why he sound so laid-back compared to Past Past George! Let me know when you're down this way!

@waynus2021 5 ай бұрын

brave man , i wouldn`t , not with that equipement in Winter time anyway . But fair play for having the kohoonaah`s to try and succeed! Kudo`s for a brief flash of my home town (Teignmouth) on the way out! wasn`t expecting that on a video about Fur Tor

@thedartmoorpodcast 5 ай бұрын

Ha! Not so much brave as naive, I think! Anyway, it all ended okay despite me still aching two weeks later.

@stevedexter 12 күн бұрын

I enjoyed your video. Interesting. You are a brave man! My friend is trying to persuade me to include the stretch of marshy bog between Dinger Tor and Fur Tor in our next three night hike across Dartmoor. I don't fancy the bog. Can you please (immediately) make a video showing how terrible and treacherous it is and how no one should ever try it. Thanks.

@thedartmoorpodcast 11 күн бұрын

Haha! Fine line between brave and stupid and I'm not sure which side of it I'm on. It's funny you should mention bogs, as the next episode actually *will* be about them! Out in about a week. :)

@dogdadoutdoors 5 ай бұрын

Remember, you are never lost as you know where you are, you are right there, its all the other people, towns and villages that you can't find, technically, in my mind at least, they are lost...

@thedartmoorpodcast 5 ай бұрын

Ha! That's one way of looking at it!

@devonwalking 5 ай бұрын

Absolutely.

@darrenrobson5977 5 ай бұрын

Nice one George lad really enjoyed thàt 👍

@TigerLily7. 5 ай бұрын

Impressive adventure!! Watching this felt surreal - like a strange dream on a strange stormy planet. Eerily beautiful.

@AnyoneForToast 5 ай бұрын

Be temptation so far Or dream so near A simple straight line From which not to vear Is often not The greatest idea Dartmoor so wide Or New Forest's inside Nature's found road Is the best way to steer

@thedartmoorpodcast 5 ай бұрын

Nice!

@rialobran 5 ай бұрын

Good effort, you must be fitter than a butchers dog to carry that kit that distance over by far my least favourite route. I'm torn with the name. 'Far Tor' fits nicely, but in my mind too nicely. As in Brentor (Tower Hill) I prefer Veur Tor (pronounced Vur Tor) meaning 'Great Tower'.

@thedartmoorpodcast 5 ай бұрын

It was a long slog - going the Tavy Cleave direction might have been more sensible. Luckily I've the spirit of a Dartmoor Pony - don't go anywhere very fast or with much finesse, but just keep plodding along despite the elements!

@jasonkelsey987 5 ай бұрын

Excellent film. A tough walk that! It’s on the list. Thank you

@dartmoordog7912 5 ай бұрын

Another excellent piece, thank you. Aside from the filming, I really enjoy your commentary - accompanied as it is by "out of the box" thinking, and thoughts which inspire. Great job!

@jamessimkin830 5 ай бұрын

Fur tor is a wonderful place, and you managed to avoid the never ending cut hill, which would have been no fun at all in that wind! Here’s to hoping that one day I spot the dartmoor podcast in his natural habitat!

@bechilled3875 5 ай бұрын

Wow, now that was an adventure. How many miles was round trip do you think ?. 🤔

@thedartmoorpodcast 5 ай бұрын

Thank you! I think the trip out was around about 10miles - but made difficult by all the hills, wind and rough terrain. No idea how long the journey back was, as I was lost for most of it!

@TommyBrookman 5 ай бұрын

Some brilliant geography here, but feel you missed a pun in not calling it Dartmoor-dor when referring to N.Dartmoor as Mordor 😂

@h.bsfaithfulservant4136 5 ай бұрын

Epic achievement ✌️ ...I did wonder how you slept through to 6.30 in that wind George. 1am makes more sense, given the conditions... Excellent entertainment...thankyou 🙏

@thedartmoorpodcast 5 ай бұрын

I think the whisky might have helped with my befuddlement! I was annoyed to have eaten my breakfast in the middle of the night, but glad to get a few more hours sleep... The wind did die down a bit in the small hours. Thank you for watching!

@jonathanpork-sausage617 5 ай бұрын

Bold George, bold.

@thedartmoorpodcast 5 ай бұрын

It was certainly an adventure!

@Camped_on_Dartmoor 5 ай бұрын

liked before its even finished.

@thedartmoorpodcast 5 ай бұрын

Ha! Thank you very much! But be careful with premature liking as my videos can go off the rails at any moment....

@hiccacarryer3624 5 ай бұрын

Much as the open landscape is dramatically bleak, its emptiness is the result of centuries of sheep ( over) grazing and human tree felling - i wonder if it is time to 'rewild' and return to mixed woodland?

@thedartmoorpodcast 5 ай бұрын

I'd love to see more wildlife-friendly habitat up there - yes, woodland, but also heath, bog and rhos pasture. The issue of rewilding is a complicated one that I'll definitely be looking into more on the channel.

@hiccacarryer3624 5 ай бұрын

@@thedartmoorpodcast look forward to it!

@stevedexter 12 күн бұрын

I think so. Our predators cut down the forests and sheep prevent natural rewilding. Sheep should be removed from many bits of the countryside so that corridors of rewilded areas, such as woodland can rejuvenate.