Dartmoor Adventure Photography Workshop
Learn from award-winning photographers in one of England's wildest national parks
Duration
2 nights
Annual Leave
1 day off work
Group Size
Up to 6 people
Season
Jul-Oct
Location
United Kingdom
Meeting Point
Plymouth Train Station, Devon
Classic Accommodation
Hostel
Customer Reviews
5.0
Difficulty
Easy
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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
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
Photography
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
Photography
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
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 3
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
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)
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Tripod
Payable Before Departure
Tripod
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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.
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 partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.
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 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. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.
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 always in good company on one of our adventures.
Our trips are typically made up of a mixture of solo travellers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.
Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.
It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.
Don't just take our word for it:
- 95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
- 90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
- 75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends
See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.
Interested in a more exclusive experience? Opt for a 'Private Group' through the dates and prices tab to book this adventure for just you and your chosen companions.
Our team of Adventure Hunters create exclusive adventures with highly vetted, specialist hosts. We only work with independent, local in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. See here for more info about the local teams we partner with.
TRIP DEPARTURE DATES
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