Ticks

Our route will take us through healthland, woodland and other areas with thick vegetation, carrying the potential of ticks. Devon is a tick-prevalent area, and levels of Lyme Disease are higher than UK-average. Please be tick-aware, consider carrying a tick removal tool (or pointed tweezers) and be aware of the signs of a Lyme infection. 

Snakes

There are snakes, including adder, in the route area. Being part of a group of 500 walkers means you would be extremely lucky to see one! If you are the frontrunner or alone, you may surprise one basking in the heath, but chance of being bitten is minimal. In the extremely unlikely circumstance of sustaining a snake bite, please follow NHS advice.

Cattle and other lively livestock

Devon would not be complete without clotted cream, and for that, we need cows! Our route is not especially livestock-heavy, but there are likely to be cows around, particularly in the early and late stages of the route. Cow incidents are very rare, and cows are not naturally aggressive, but some people do feel intimidated by large crowds of sometimes young, inquisitive and rather large beasts.

Here is an excellent short YouTube video on how to (and how not to) walk past cows without exciting them. Basically: walk (don't run) and be extremely boring to them.  

Other than sheep, we do not currently think there will be other forms of exciting livestock on the route itself (horses, goats, chickens or alpaca) but similar principles would apply. Please remember to leave all gates as you find them, and comply with the Countryside Code.