Twenty-four intrepid explorers ventured into the boggy depths of East Dartmoor to tackle a practice expedition for their gold Duke of Edinburgh award.

The group of 16 and 17-year-olds from Budmouth College ranged from 'Ten Tors' competitors, to bronze and silver certificate holders, to complete beginners in navigating and trekking.

However, each and every one of them emerged from the adventure with a whole host of new experiences and abilities.

Early Sunday morning, fuelled by a greasy full English breakfast, each of the four teams set off into the heathland.

Each individual was tasked with carrying their share of the group's equipment which included everything they would need for the three days, such as tents, jet boils, first aid kits and gas, as well as their own personal kit like sleeping bags, clothes and, most importantly, food.

With this weight on their backs, navigating across unknown land was already a challenge for each student, however Dartmoor still had more to throw at them.

Student and participant, Josh Frampton said: "Elephant grass, river crossings and the occasional wild Dartmoor pony were formidable foes for our young explorers and yet there was an even more challenging beast to come - enter the rain and the fog."

In what was a very wet couple of days, each team was out trekking and adventuring for a minimum of seven hours. They had to be self-sufficient throughout the expedition, navigating across the national park with an Ordanance Survey map and compass, cooking their own meals and purifying water from surrounding streams and rivers.

"In these conditions, it was not uncommon for a trekker to struggle at various points throughout the journey. However, throughout each and every team, morale was at a constant high as motivation and enthusiasm was shared and received by all the teammates," Josh said.

By the end of the expedition, every single participant finished with a huge smile on their face. Each of them had successfully developed their navigational skills, learnt to be respectful to the environment, forged stronger bonds with their friends and teammates, and most importantly had a jolly good time doing it!

Bring on the assessed expedition in June!