AN EXPERIENCED walker is planning an epic adventure to raise money for the Dartmoor Search and Rescue team Tavistock.

Chris Bunney is training for the 22-day hike across Dartmoor this summer to raise funds to help redevelop the team’s new rescue centre at Abbey Rise in the town.

He hopes to raise £15,000 by walking 350 miles up and down 173 tors and 66 hills. Training includes weight training in his garage to prepare to carry a large rucksack full of clothing, camping gear, water and food.

The Dartmoor Beyond Sensible challenge has a fundraising page online and is already attracting support. He is confident he can complete what he describes as being the longest continuous hike on the moor because he has already set the bar high for himself with a similar walk in 2021.

The previous walk was much harder than he expected with horrendous weather for the summer and some hair-raising experiences, including running away from a fierce steer and nearly being swept away in a swollen river. He said: “I don’t think anyone has been as daft as me to walk so far for so long. At least there’s been no recorded walk as long or as far that I know about. This is a significantly longer walk with another one hundred miles and another week or so.

“I’ll be spending the whole time on the moor and therefore, wild camping. I’m planning the route and the logistics to the smallest detail, which the best project officers should do. I’ve learned a lot of lessons from the first walk and should be much better prepared for the weather. But there were many days when I was in my tent looking out at fog and listening to the heavy rain and wondering if I could continue with the walk. I think I’m now more mentally prepared also, having been through the unexpected and come away stronger.”

However, some things he could not plan for: “The weather was so bad that even though I had a crossing point in mind for the East Dart river, I did not expect it to be impossible to cross where I’d planned. So, I got wetter and exhausted plodding up and down the boggy banks looking for a safe crossing. Eventually, I had to settle for the least worst option and make sure I was safe if I fell in. So, I leapt across and just managed to scramble up the opposite bank. Very cold and wewt, I set up my tent and got into dry clothing and with hot food and coffee, eventually warmed and dried. But it was a hairy moment.”

Another potentially dangerous experience was facing down a steer: “I was being stared down by an aggressive huge white steer with nowhere to hide, except a granite rock. It kept staring, snorting, kicking its hooves and waving its horns. If I turned to escape it started following me. I stood behind a sizable rock, the only thing separating us, until, luckily it was distracted by his herd of cows and I took the chance to sprint and get out of sight below a ridge. This was the only time my my finger was on the red SOS button of my GPS device to call for help.”

On his latest walk Chris will replenish by having people re-supply him with food at prearranged points because he cannot carry enough food for the three weeks. He lost just oer a stone in weight on the 2021 hike from a combination of exercise, burning calories and, surprisingly, not eating as much as he expected. He will be living off dehydrated high energy food and will ensure he eats more regularly as his body needs.

Chris can be sponsored www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-bunney2 and followed on www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-bunney2 - his Dartmoor Beyond Sensible Facebook and JustGiving pages.