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Dartmoor Adventure Photography Workshop

Learn from award-winning photographers in one of England's wildest national parks

This trip is no longer on sale

Trip Ref #10336

Dartmoor Adventure Photography Workshop

Learn from award-winning photographers in one of England's wildest national parks

DURATION

2 nights

LOCATION

United Kingdom

ANNUAL LEAVE

1 day off work

SEASON

Jul-Oct

GROUP SIZE

Up to 6 people

MEETING POINT

Plymouth Train Station, Devon

ACCOMMODATION

Classic

Hostel

OVERALL RATING

5.0

Based on 2 reviews
DIFFICULTY

Easy

An easy trip if you're happy to be on your feet for a few hours, walking unaided over mixed terrain at a gentle pace

Grab your camera and immerse yourself in eery moors and dramatic skies alongside an award-winning photographer

Capture the hours around sunrise and sunset, snap free roaming ponies and master shots of Devon's iconic tors

Develop your photography technique with expert tuition and a never-ending parade of subject matter in remote locations

Day 1

Arrival and sunset at a tor

Photography

1-3hrs

Meet your host in Plymouth, make a quick stop at your accommodation before getting the wind in your hair and your camera out as fast as possible. The first location will be at one of the moor’s most iconic tors where you'll photograph a sunset. During this session, your guide will assess your level of camera skills so that these can be expanded on over the remaining sessions.

Day 2

The heart of the moor

Hiking

2-3hrs

Photography

2-3hrs

Wake up early to catch the sunrise in the heart of the moor, a mystical landscape full of legends and dramatic Dartmoor skies. Hike across the moor watching out for bogs and mires, passing through ancient woodlands and hidden river valleys whilst enjoying the ever-changing light. Spend the rest of the morning relaxing or working on your photography skills with time to explore the beautiful and historic old market town of Tavistock. After lunch, hike over some wild terrain to reach the best photo locations; all part of the adventure of Dartmoor! Finish up the day with a sunset photography session and a well earned dinner in town.

Day 3

Sunrise and an abandoned mill

Hiking

2-3hrs

Photography

2-3hrs

Another early start, this time for a dawn photo workshop venturing out to one of Dartmoor’s hidden gems before moving on to an incredibly photogenic old abandoned powder mill - the perfect place to hone your technique and work on your composition. Your host will take care of breakfast and lunch, allowing you to focus on capturing your wild surroundings and work on your skills. After lunch, your trip comes to a close as your host drops you off at Plymouth train station at 15:00 in time for your journey home.

Included

Guides

Award winning photographers

Accommodation

2 nights in a boutique hostel

Meals

2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners

Transfers

To and from Plymouth train station and everything in between

Not Included

Travel to and from the start point

Travel insurance

Personal expenses

Some equipment

Visas where required

Day 1

Hostel · Mixed dorm

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 2

Hostel · Mixed dorm

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 3

Departure day

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

What is the food like?

You’ll be served a continental breakfast at the hostel, while lunches and dinners will be taken at local cafes and restaurants. No trip to Devon is complete without a cream tea (homemade scones, clotted cream and local jam) so there'll be plenty of time to indulge in this West Country classic. Vegans and vegetarians can be catered for, please let your host know of any dietary requirements at the time of booking.

What is the accommodation like?

Tavistock

You’ll stay at the Tavistock Bunkhouse in the heart of this historic old town. The hostel has excellent facilities and is perfectly placed for accessing Dartmoor National Park. You'll share an 8-bed dormitory room with the other guests on this trip. The hostel supplies linen and has immaculate toilets and showers. There is a drying room to ensure your boots and waterproofs are ready and comfortable the next day regardless of the weather. There are individual charging points in the dormitory room.

Upgrades

There are no private room upgrades available at the accommodation in Tavistock. If you would like to arrange your own private room elsewhere and still join the trip this is fine.

The Area

map

Logistics

Starts

Plymouth Train Station

14:45 on Day 1

Ends

Plymouth Train Station

15:00 on Day 3

Transfers

Your host will meet you at Plymouth Train Station at 14:45 on Day 1 and will transfer you over to your accommodation in Tavistock, or straight on to the first photography location, depending on the weather and time of year for your trip. On Day 3 your host will drop you back at Plymouth Train Station at 15:00 ready for your onward train journey. Please note the start and end times when booking your train tickets.

Travel options

There are various trains to Plymouth Train Station from across the UK.

Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear

In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.

What do I need to bring?

  • Backpack for carrying your camera and personal gear
  • Plenty of layers to stay warm and dry from dawn to dusk
  • Waterproof hiking boots
  • Waterproof jacket and trousers
  • Hat, gloves and scarf
  • Camera gear and tripod
  • Head torch

Canon DSLR with wide angle lens (including tripod hire)

Payable Before Departure

Canon DSLR with wide angle lens (including tripod hire)

Tripod

Payable Before Departure

Tripod

- Hannah(September 2021)

This was my first MBA and I can truly say it won’t be my last. I had a great time and learnt a lot about my how to use my camera effectively and framing the scene. James was a lovely host and was patient, alternatively his style to accommodate me as a beginner and was very knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking to explore and fancy a staycation in the UK.

- Sarah(September 2021)

Really enjoyed the trip! James is a great instructor and breaks it down so that it was easy to understand. Highlights of the trip were going to off the beaten path photography locations, learning something new, gaining confidence in my photography skills and exploring a new area.

We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.

What's the number?
It works out on average at 41kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.

The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.

But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:

  • Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
  • A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
  • 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.

What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.

Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.

Your instructors are hugely experienced photographers and have led photography trips across the globe. They have plenty of wisdom to impart whether you’re a new or advanced photographer. They are also very adept at planning around the weather to ensure you have the best possible chance of being in the right place at the right time. Dartmoor has a very diverse landscape, so you’ll be able to practice your skills on its tors, sweeping river valleys, streams and waterfalls, abandoned buildings and of course its free-roaming ponies, plus there is always the chance of a deer or two. All this under incredible and ever-changing skies.

Specific skills you can work on include long exposure photography, sunrise and sunset techniques, camera handling and composition. There will also be the opportunity to try out various filters and also discuss any questions you might have about post-processing.

You need to be able to walk unaided over mixed terrain for a couple of hours at an easy pace.

Summer and autumn temperatures in Dartmoor are generally moderate, ranging from averages of 11 – 17 °C in September and October and a little higher than that in July and August. The Dartmoor plateau is heavily influenced by the mid-Atlantic drift, which means it has a wetter, windier, mistier and colder climate than its surrounding fringes. Clear days do happen but can be rare, although cloudy skies make for more interesting photographs anyway! Our advice is to pack for any weather you can think of.

Of course. You can leave anything you’re not using at the hostel.

Sure can! Over 50% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

The itinerary is based on an average day in Dartmoor, with favourable conditions dictating the best-laid plans. However, your guides are very experienced in finding locations to shoot depending on a range of conditions, i.e. if there is a lot of rain one day you'll spend more time shooting in a forest. Whatever the weather you'll be sure to have plenty of opportinities to take photos and improve your skills.

Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.

Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our adventures and you are required to provide your policy information before departing.

Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure. We also strongly recommend it includes cancellation and curtailment insurance, should you be unable to join your trip for specific reasons such as illness.

We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last-minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!

We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.

If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.

All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.

You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.

Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.

Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.

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