Wild camping on northern Dartmoor: a photographic adventure

Overview:

• Date: 10-11 August 2025

• Location: Northern Dartmoor, Devon, England

• Total distance: 14.2 kilometres (8.8 miles)

• Elevation gain: 353 metres (1158 feet)

• Summary: A short overnight hike on northern Dartmoor to shoot self-portraits with my new sunburst crown

• Highlights: Self-portrait shoots at the waterfall and Belstone Tor, watching the moon rise, sunrise over the moor

Trip log:

I've shot a lot of self-portraits this year, most while I was on my fieldwork cycle ride across England. Those shoots, however, were more about capturing the adventure of my ride than about creating art. I've enjoyed looking through the photos from the Farming Futures Cycle Tour, but have also felt like I needed a break from creating content for the project. So, on Sunday evening, I ventured onto the northern edge of Dartmoor for a one-night photographic adventure. The goal: to shoot self-portraits with my new homemade sunburst crown.

As I was packing my gear into my backpack, I realised that I hadn't been backpacking since 2023 – all of my camping since then has been done by bike! I was a little nervous about carrying the weight of my gear on my back, but I managed okay over the short (and relatively flat) hike. I hopped on the train to Okehampton, where I had planned a hike that Brett and I had done back in Spring 2021. The first stretch of the hike – along the Tramlines Woods trail and under the railway viaduct into the forest – is a route I've hiked many times since Brett and I first explored this area in Spring 2021.

Following the East Okement River through the ancient forest, I soon reached the first location where I had hoped to shoot – a gorgeous waterfall, cascading amongst moss-covered rocks. My biggest challenge: getting to the waterfall. I changed into my swimsuit and left my backpack on the side of the river, before carefully wading through the fast-flowing water, carrying my camera bag, tripod, sunburst crown, and dress.

Brett has taken photos of me alongside this waterfall before (as seen here), but this was more challenging because I was shooting self-portraits. I set up the tripod and camera on one side of the river, then had to climb through the waterfall pool, the rocks slippery underfoot, and onto the rocks on the other side, before I could climb up to the rocks below the waterfall – all while trying to keep my hair, dress, and crown dry!

I did a whole series of poses and waded back across to the camera, just to realise it hadn't been shooting the whole time! I thought I'd set the timer to start shooting every two seconds after a two minute delay, but it turns out I'd accidentally set the delay to two hours – oops! So, I crossed the stream again, and carefully picked my way back onto the rocks below the waterfall.

I love shooting self-portraits with waterfalls, especially when I can use a slower shutter speed to capture the movement of the water. In these shots, the shutter speed was 1/10th of a second, which also meant I had to stand very still to prevent any unwanted motion blur. Each pose, I held to the count of five, to make sure at least one shot had the pose in focus.

I started off trying to keep my dress dry, but I eventually realised that was an impossible feat with a waterfall crashing just inches behind me. As it got increasingly soggy, I eventually gave in and committed to the shot. It was completely soaked by the time I was finished, but I'm so proud of the images I was able to capture.

After I finished shooting, I took a quick dip in the waterfall pool, before packing up my things and carefully making my way back to the other side of the river. Leaving the waterfall behind, the path climbed up and towards the edge of the forest, where the trail led me onto the edge of the moor.

I followed the Dartmoor Way trail, heading up towards the string of tors where I was planning on camping for the night. Instead of trying to find an established path up to Belstone Tor (the highest tor of the ridge), I decided to forge my own path and head straight up the hill. This ended up being a very poor decision as I had to zigzag around thick gorse and navigate rocky terrain as I climbed. After finally reaching the tor, I ate my dinner overlooking the valley, regularly picking out the flying ants that kept diving into my pasta.

After eating, I began to explore the rocky outcrop, looking for a good location to shoot some more self-portraits. The sun was just beginning to peak out from behind the clouds, and I knew I needed to make the most of the golden lighting. The sunburst crown looked wonderful in the sunlight. Although my hair had dried from my swim, the dress was still soaking.

Within half an hour, the sun had dipped down behind a thick bank of clouds, the golden light disappearing with it. The midges were out now, too, so it was time to pack up the photography gear and start looking for a spot to camp for the night!

Leaving Belstone Tor behind me, I walked in the direction of Higher Tor, where Brett and I had camped back in 2021. I could spot a few tents pitched up near Higher Tor, however, so I found a flat spot amongst the stones near the Irishman's Wall, a historic stone wall. It's been awhile since I've camped in my bivy and it took a bit of readjusting to – what a change from the three-person tent I travelled with on my PhD fieldwork! It was also my first time wild camping on Dartmoor by myself and I had to convince myself that the sheep munching grass just metres away were unlikely to trample me in the middle of the night.

As I was reading my book before bed, I noticed the (nearly) full moon rising over the moors, glowing orange. I debated getting out of my bivy to photograph it, but decided it was too much effort, so I enjoyed the view from my cosy sleeping bag.

As expected, I didn't sleep very well. Although I was never cold, the wind picked up at midnight, shaking the bivy and making a racket at the same time. At one point, I got out to make sure the plastic bag holding my sunburst crown wouldn't fly away in the wind. As I readjusted my backpack, the moon was bright overhead and I was excited to see my moon shadow.

I was relieved when my alarm finally woke me up at 5:30. Although sunrise wasn't for another 30 minutes, the sky was already glowing a soft pink. As I packed up my camping equipment, the clouds became increasingly vibrant. I contemplated doing another self-portrait shoot, but just as quickly as the colour had appeared, and it was already starting to fade away.

The wind was cold, so I sheltered behind the rocks at Belstone Tor to watch as the sun rose from behind the horizon.

Looking in the opposite direction, the moon was still high in the sky.

After watching the sun come up, I began making my way back towards Okehampton, this time, following the paths instead of trying to forge my own way through the overgrowth.

Once I'd rejoined the Dartmoor Way, I retraced my steps back down into the forest...

...where I couldn't resist stopping for one more self-portrait shoot, before continuing on to Okehampton.

Luckily, there was time for a coffee and flapjack at the station cafe before catching the train to Exeter.

I had an incredible time on my PhD fieldwork, cycling across England and shooting the country's farmed landscapes. But I'm glad I have the time now to shoot for fun – to create art purely for the sake of creating.

Behind the scenes

Here's a few photos of the process of making the sunburst crown. I started with a metal headband, upon which I attached 31 large zip ties. I cut them down to size, painted them using gold acrylic paint, and – voila – one sunburst crown, ready for goddess-style photoshoots!