There was a special pilgrimage onto the high moor in high winds last Sunday (December 7) to say farewell to a mountain rescue stalwart of the Okehampton-based North Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team (NDSART).

Ada the mountain rescue Land Rover is believed to be the oldest mountain rescue vehicle in the country and possibly the oldest emergency vehicle in the country. She has been with NDSART since 2008, and is now looking for a new home.

Ada was previously based with the Langdale and Ambleside rescue team in the Lake District.

In Okehampton she helped with hundreds of rescues on the high moor and further afield.

On Sunday, the team drove Ada up Yes Tor, the second highest point in southern England (after neighbouring High Willhays).

Ada’s replacement, a newer Land Rover equipped with the latest blue lights, joined her on the way to the summit.

At the top of the hill, amid high winds, Ada’s rescue radio call-sign ‘Dart 51’ was transferred ceremonially to the new Land Rover.

The convoy of Land Rovers included those of the Tavistock Search and Rescue Team and Devon 4x4 team, who the North Dartmoor rescue team often work with.

West Devon borough mayor Paul Vachon, a member of NDSART, had the distinction of driving Ada down to Okehampton from her former home in the Lake District in 2008, to begin her new career in the team.

Ada was the team’s lead vehicle, transporting them to incidents, allowing them to save valuable time to reach remote spots on the north moor.

NDSART chairman James Watts gave a tribute to her in the howling gale on top of Yes Tor, after everyone enjoyed a mince pie and mulled apple juice.

James said: “It is great to have you all here. We thought it would be a good idea to have a bit of a send-off for this amazing vehicle, rather than just pass it on to somebody. At 32 years old, we think Ada is the oldest emergency vehicle in the country and it is certainly the oldest mountain rescue vehicle in the country.

“After it spent 16 years at Langdale Ambleside, it came here. Paul brought it down to Okehampton in 2008 and she’s given 16 years of service to the people of Okehampton and much wider beyond. That includes extracting people on the moor, carrying people on a stretcher inside or helping get some of us into Plymouth to help evacuate residents from a World War Two bomb.

“I reckon there’s been hundreds of people who have been helped by this vehicle and that’s pretty amazing.

“But all good things must come to an end, and over the last year or two, we’ve come to realise that we really can’t maintain it as the reliable vehicle that we need and so we will be looking for a new custodian for this amazing piece of emergency service and mountain rescue history.”

Joe Bradley, one of the team, was among those feeling nostalgic. He said: “I’m going miss Dart 51. I’ve got a tear in my eye.I learned to drive a 4x4 in Ada. It is a sad day. She has saved a lot of lives in that time.”