By: Blonde Two

Please note: Four Winds is far too close to the road and neighbouring buildings to be a suitable wild camping spot. Check the Dartmoor National Park wild camping map and regulations before choosing your pitch.

Blonde One and I had occasion to check a tent the other day. Sometimes the only way to check tents thoroughly is to pitch them. Since we both started new jobs we haven’t seen each other quite as often (although we do manage to still have lots of ‘meetings’). As we were going to be up on Dartmoor for a bunkhouse night on the Saturday, we decided that on the Sunday we would walk out somewhere, pitch, strike, pack, have a cuppa and then walk back again.

The weather wasn’t really playing ball with this game and it soon became clear that heading for the hills with something that, had it been assembled slightly differently, would have been called a giant kite wasn’t going to be the best plan.

So we decided on a lowland quick pitch. Now, there are plenty of places on Dartmoor with lovely warm, gentle names, ‘Yellow Mead Farm’ sounds quite warm and cosy, ‘Cowflop Bottom’ sounds quite sleepy and ‘Chat Tor’ is obviously very convivial. Did we Blondes choose any of these sensible sounding places? No of course not, we ended up with our tent/kite at a spot called ‘Four Winds’!

I have often wondered if Four Winds actually does have access wind times four. It used to be a school so you would imagine not. I can now confirm however that the wind does blow from at least four directions (if not more) at Four Winds. It ended up being the quickest pitch and strike I think we have ever done.

Here is a little video which shows how we tested the wind (in the name of science of course!)