Inspiring girls conquer 35 & 45-mile Ten Tors Challenge

Published by Godolphin, Salisbury on Monday 9th of May 2016

On Saturday 7th May, two teams of students from the Godolphin CCF set out to take on the daunting Ten Tors Challenge in Dartmoor. The largest youth challenge in the UK, it had around 2400 teenagers participating. Both Godolphin teams sought to push their strength and willpower to the limit; Polly Blythe, Izzy Baker, Ella Loudon, Bea Clapperton, Tash Mundell & Emma Simon made up the team walking a 35-mile route, and a team of Lower Sixth girls (Bella Beney, Catherine Cockrell, Camille Kippen, Katie Henderson, Madi Smith & Anna van der Horst) faced a 45-mile journey. The routes took the girls two days to complete and required them to stop and camp overnight. Families and friends were able to monitor the progress of each team by following a tracker linked to the Ten Tors website. On top of traversing such long distances, the teams had to be totally self-sufficient – most of the girls carried backpacks weighing up to 14kg that contained their food, water, tents & emergency equipment. Prior to the event, Godolphin participants had benefitted from numerous practice walks coordinated by Major Reavill, who heads up the Godolphin CCF. This preparation certainly paid off spectacularly as the Lower Sixth team were the first Godolphin team ever to complete the 45-mile endeavour. It is an outstanding achievement to succeed at the Ten Tors Challenge, and Godolphin congratulates all who participated in this adventure.