Earlier this year, in July, I had the absolute pleasure of meeting up with Max Piper the walking encyclopaedia of Dartmoor 😍

Many moons ago, I had planned an exhibition of portraits of people who worked or had connections with Dartmoor. Unfortunately this never came about, however, it did give me the chance to connect with some rather interesting people and one of those I’ve kept in touch with was Max.

Only 19, but already having finished his first book East Dartmoor’s Lesser-Known Tors and Rocks - Max is a phenomenon.

I’m forever tagging him in numerous posts on Facebook and Twitter, as I know he’ll always have an educated guess or know who to ask if he doesn’t indeed have the information to hand himself.

We’d discussed meeting up on several occasions, but until this summer, we’d somehow successfully managed to continue to miss one another for one reason or another.

Eventually we settled on a mutually convenient time, and I suggested to Max that he might like to accompany me on a wander which I like to do at least every other month.

From Prewley Moor to Black-a-Tor Copse.

A little away from his usual stomping ground, I was pleased when Max agreed.

We met early and Max was happy to allow me to show him my preferred route. This is, of course, biased towards photography rather than ease of walking, or for discovering hidden or unusual aspects.

Truly a modern day renaissance man, Max was born in Torquay and grew up in Abbotskerswell, becoming initially interested in Dartmoor through family trips to the Haytor area where his mum and uncle had grown up.

Max’s fascination grew after training for the Ten Tors Challenge in 2018 and despite not participating in the actual event through injury, a meeting with Paul Buck (moorlandwalker.co.uk) and Tim Jenkinson (flickr.com) resulted in the creation of the Tors of Dartmoor website.

“The goal of our project is therefore to locate not only the well known but also those hidden and forgotten tors, encouraging people to visit and explore the moor in finer detail that will hopefully facilitate a greater understanding of and acceptance that the land we have grown to love and thought we knew has still so much more to reveal.”

— Tim Jenkinson

At this juncture, to counter some of my rather atypical enthusing and also to dissuade any accusations Max has paid me to promote his work, he walks way too fast!

I’m almost three times his age, and (if I say so myself) not exactly a slow walker, however if Max is going to spot enough on the moor for further books, he might want to stop zooming around like a jack rabbit on amphetamines 😂

Eventually we came to an agreement that we both knew where we were heading, so I was happy to follow on behind 😁

After stopping at Black-a-Tor Copse, we continued along the West Okement River towards Lints Tor.

Originally, I’d planned on just retracing my steps back, but the weather was rather more pleasant than I’d expected so I suggested continuing to Dinger Tor and then over to High Willhays.

Being younger and fitter, Max was more than keen to walk further!

Anybody who knows Max from his online presence will recognise his alter ego “Tor Bagger” …

“So what is Tor Bagging? Well, it is a popular pursuit by Dartmoor enthusiasts. It is a challenge where one aims to visit every named outcrop on Dartmoor.”

— Max Piper

In keeping with his own enthusiasm and his willingness to share his knowledge, Max runs the Tor Bagger website … an amazing resource for routes, maps, advice and photographs and a labour of love I can only wish I had the patience and dedication to achieve.

After taking a Banana Break at High Willhays (people who know Max will understand) we made our way down to Black Tor for lunch.

I’m very pleased to say Max hadn’t visited Black Tor many times before, so I did feel like I might have added a little to his ever increasing knowledge of Dartmoor 😂

Max Piper and his obsession with discovering Logan Stones on Dartmoor — Slight Obsession

Max seems to have a overwhelming urge to continually check for Logan Stones wherever he is 🤣
Here on the edge of Black Tor

When we’d discussed our walk, I’d told Max that I enjoyed swimming in rivers and pools on the moor, and suggested he brought trunks and a towel, as hopefully it would be warm enough for a dip.

Though I think he wasn’t initially over keen, the increasing heat meant that when we got back to the edge of Black-a-Tor Copse the West Okement River looked very inviting!

A Dip By The Copse

Hopefully Max will add a dip or two to his busy schedule - it might slow him down a bit 😂

As well as his other endeavours to share his knowledge of Dartmoor, Max is also a contributor to Dartefacts - an online resource which I use regularly to plan my walks.

“A ‘Dartefact’ or ‘Dartmoor Artefact’ can be defined as; ‘an object, site or feature found on Dartmoor, typically of cultural, historical, cartographical or geological interest’.”

— Dartefact Website

What I really like about the Dartefacts website are the interactive maps which allow you to discover what you might normally miss on a voyage. I always check before setting out now, and I do try (honest Max) to update where I’ve been and which Dartefact locations I’ve visited 😁

An enjoyable walk, with wonderful company.

I’ve never been one of those people who makes a habit of besmirching the younger generation, indeed I fervently feel that whatever might separate our views, there is always much more that connects us and Max is living proof that enthusiasm and passion is not only laudable, but also inspirational.

That being said … slow down Max!! 😍

Max’s Personal Website : https://www.torbagger.co.uk

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/beautiful.dartmoor

Tors Of Dartmoor : https://www.torsofdartmoor.co.uk

Dartefacts : http://dartefacts.co.uk