STEPS FOR THE STAGE: DARTMOOR FOR FLAVEL FOREVER

We invite all adventure enthusiasts and community supporters to back, Paul Smith, a trustee of The Flavel Arts Centre as he takes on the challenge of climbing 200 Dartmoor tors by May 2026. His goal: to raise £35,000 for the Flavel Forever campaign, a fundraising effort launched in 2024 to secure the future of the Flavel Arts Centre. As Dartmouth’s only dedicated arts and community venue, the volunteer-led Flavel Centre is a vital cultural hub that deserves long-term backing. Supporting the ‘200 Tors Challenge’ means preserving a vital cultural cornerstone that enhances Dartmouth’s shared identity and sense of belonging.

THE FLAVEL ARTS AND COMMUNITY CENTRE

The Flavel Arts Centre is a volunteer-supported charity at the heart of Dartmouth, Devon. As the town’s only dedicated arts venue, it serves as a vibrant cultural hub, offering inclusive, accessible events that foster creativity, learning, and well-being. It brings people of all ages together, nurturing local talent and enriching lives through performance, expression, and community connection.

2025 also marks a significant milestone: The Flavel’s 20th anniversary, having first opened its doors in February 2005. It’s a perfect time to reflect on its impact and to ensure that its future is as inspiring as its past.

WHAT IS FLAVEL FOREVER

During the winter months of 2024, the trustees launched Flavel Forever, a five-year fundraising campaign designed to secure the future of The Flavel Arts Centre and to build a legacy of creativity, inclusion, and community engagement for generations to come. It encourages individuals to pledge a regular contribution, with the goal of attracting 500 donors who commit to donating £150 a year for five years. In April 2025 we reached our halfway point. In addition, one off donations or supporting other initiatives such as the ‘200 tors challenge’ all help to provide a stable financial base for the Flavel Centre, allowing it undergo essential changes to become sustainable and to continue offering its services as a community hub in the long-term.

THE 200 TORS CHALLENGE

As a trustee of The Flavel Arts Centre in Dartmouth, Paul has been part of shaping a new business plan to secure its future. Between May and September 2024, Paul began walking the Tors of Dartmoor a personal journey inspired by both a love for the landscape and a desire to make a meaningful contribution to the community. It became clear to Paul that his passion for exploring Dartmoor’s Tors coupled with a commitment to supporting The Flavel were intrinsically linked. In a very real sense, this mission is about taking purposeful steps both literally and figuratively towards a stronger, more vibrant future for our community.

PAUL’S STORY: Walking the Dartmoor Tors – In Support of the Flavel Arts Centre, Dartmouth

My connection with the natural world has always been strong, though I only came to truly understand and formalise that sense of ‘nature connection’ during my time as Interim Managing Director at the Eden Project in Cornwall. If you ever visit, I urge you not just to experience it as a visitor attraction, but to absorb the spirit of the place. It lives and breathes within the sides of that reclaimed quarry, if you’re willing to listen with all your senses.

As a young person I was also a passionate orienteer, earning Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Championship Gold awards, and competed internationally, including in the Swiss Five-Day event. At 15, I was helping to teach night school classes in map and compass skills, terrain interpretation, and route planning.

That early joy in reading maps, understanding the land through contours, and rising to the challenge of walking over all of it has never left me.

My adult walking life was shaped by the beauty of the Lake District: mountains like Scafell, mirror-still lakes, and endless trails, and of course wind and rain! I spent countless hours navigating Wainwright’s routes, and later in life, often with one of my sons on my back, or with me.

Two decades living and working overseas took me away from regular walking, though I found brief respites in Nairobi’s forests, on China’s mountain trails, and the great wall and later in the gentler beauty of the North York Moors. But it wasn’t until I returned to Dartmouth at the mouth of the River Dart that I realised how close and accessible a great walking adventure could be.

WHY DARTMOOR

Dartmoor, just an hour from my doorstep, had been largely unexplored by me, despite my sons participating in the Ten Tors, a young person’s iconic rite of passage in the Southwest. Sometimes the proximity of something precious makes it easy to overlook. But on 27th of May 2024, I climbed my first Tor, Cox Tor and discovered not just a spectacular view, but the beginning of a new chapter.

That day was the start of a personal mission: to walk 200 Dartmoor Tors. Each Tor has become its own kind of orienteering checkpoint, reawakening old skills and offering new challenges. I began with the OS Explorer Map OL28, coupled with specialist guidebooks such as Emily Woodhouse’s 119 Tors Challenge Walk, and The Dartmoor Tors Challenge Hiking Logbook which features 176 tors.

I started diving into historic texts and online research. Some tors aren’t even on the map and, also, I found slightly inaccurate grid references. Phone apps, while helpful, can’t replace a compass and an understanding of terrain. It turns out, what I learned at 15 is still as relevant today as ever. As a personal quest this adventure is helping me achieve a Low Land Leaders award, and hopefully being able to volunteer at Ten Tors event

As a trustee of the Flavel Arts Centre in Dartmouth, I’ve been part of shaping a new business plan to secure its future. In its 20th year, the Flavel stands at a crossroads. Our vision, Flavel Forever, is to build a vibrant, inclusive, and financially sustainable community arts centre that celebrates creativity, connection, and wellbeing.

It struck me that there was a deep and powerful connection between walking the Tors at the source of the Dart, to raise funds for the Flavel at the mouth of the river; walks across Dartmoor to support a place of culture and community.

How can you help?

Every step on the walks I take will be in service of something bigger, supporting the Flavel, and celebrating our connection to landscape and place. I would be very grateful if you would consider sponsoring me or donating to this great cause. Every donation, no matter the size, helps build a stronger future. Thank you for walking with me—whether in spirit or through your support. Every donation will go into a dedicated fund used only for essential upgrades to the Flavel’s facilities.

1. Support Paul by donating to this great cause. No matter the amount, this helps build a stronger future and we would be very grateful if you would consider doing this.

2. Spread the Word: Help us grow this campaign by sharing it on social media and encouraging others to join or donate. Don't forget to include #200torschallenge on your posts!

3. Fundraise yourself: Set up your personal fundraising challenge and get sponsorship yourself through friends, family, contacts etc, join in the challenge and do own tors or walks and open your own JustGiving page linked to this one to rally support from your network. Simply go to the top of this page and click on the 'Start Fundraising' button. Every step you take will bring us closer to our goal of £35,000. There’s even a special reward for those who conquer 25, 50, 75 and 100 tor milestones.

Updates

We intend to publish a newsletter monthly. Sign up for it: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/1585744/156839667145115222/share

Also, you will be able to follow us through The Flavel Centre Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheFlavel).

Additionally, we will post some updates here.

10 of June 2025. I am in Dartmoor first week of July where I intend to conquer some more tors. Watch this space for updates.