MORE than 200 hundred hikers, ramblers and roamers took part in Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team’s largest fund-raising event of the year.

Now in its twelfth year, the team’s ‘Templer Way Challenge’ saw walkers traverse the Templer Way, a route linking Haytor on Dartmoor with the seaport of Teignmouth.

The challenge raises money for the rescue team, which is a registered charity of more than 60 volunteers who assist emergency services in search and rescue operations across Dartmoor.

‘Thank you and huge congratulations to everyone that took part’ a spokesman for Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team said.

‘This year we were privileged to have 250 of you give up your Sundays to come out and walk the 18 miles from Haytor to Shaldon and help raise an incredible amount of money for the team.

‘We are extremely grateful’ the spokesman added.

The rescue team received two call-outs during the event, which took place on Sunday, April 28, but these were quickly dealt with, as was a fallen tree at Stover.

Special thanks was given to Newton Abbot’s A Bite to Eat Mobile Catering, who, in addition to presenting the team with a cheque for £315, provided refreshments for participants.

Shaldon’s London Inn also received praise for its hospitality.

Where possible, the Templer Way route follows the line of the Stover Canal, built by John Templer to carry clay for export, and the Haytor Granite Tramway.

Granite that travelled along this tramway was used in the building of London Bridge, the British Museum and the National Gallery