COLD winds did not stop His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales from heading out on Dartmoor yesterday to meet with representatives from Okehampton Camp. 

His Royal Highness visited Okehampton Camp, located on the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Dartmoor Training area, to hear about the ways in which The Duchy of Cornwall has been working with the MOD, the local community and other stakeholders on a wide variety of Dartmoor conservation projects.

Prince Charles met with members of the Dartmoor Steering Group, who bring together the MOD plus key statuary and land owning bodies that have an interest in managing of the Dartmoor Training Area. 

He also meet with soldiers, local farmers and land cleaners who said they still used horses to clear livestock ahead of any military exercises.

Captain Chrispin D’apice, who led the tour of the camp, said: ‘His Royal Highness was genuinely fascinated by what we do here and how we operate. It was overall a fantastic visit. He was able to see a training session in action, which I think he enjoyed.

Les Vickery, area delivery manager, said: ‘It has been an important day for the camp. Dartmoor is His Royal Highness’s land after all and its important for the locals and others concerned with the camp that he visits and takes an interest in what the camp does.

‘Our team work tirelessly all year round to ensure that the camp operates effectively and efficiently and that has been proven today.’ Pictures by James Bird