THE DUKE of Edinburgh will be attending Ten Tors this year to mark the 50th anniversary of the Dartmoor challenge.

Prince Philip, the patron of Ten Tors, will be visiting the event on Sunday May 9, as around 2,400 young people cross the finishing line.

One of the biggest annual adventure challenges for young people between 14 and 19, the event starts from Okehampton Camp on May 8 and there will be 35, 45 and 55 mile treks on the open moors. With no adult intervention, the teams of youngsters will rely on their own navigational skills to guide them and they will be entirely self sufficient, carrying essentials including overnight camping equipment.

The Jubilee Challenge of up to 15 miles will take place for the less able bodied youngsters, who can enter as a team or as individuals, each one accompanied by an officer cadet from the Exeter University Officer Training Corps.

Brigadier Steve Hodder, director of Ten Tors and commander of 43 (Wessex) Brigade, which runs the event, said: 'I took part in Ten Tors as a Combined Cadet Force cadet from Exeter School, completing the 35 mile route twice, and finishing the 45 mile route early on the Sunday morning in 1975,' he said.

'I look back with pride on how we learned how to cope with a waterlogged moor and the horrendous weather conditions of 1974.

'We learnt how to look after each other and how to work together as a team and as an individual. I learned that with determination and thorough preparation and training, anything was possible.'

'I am particularly pleased to be able to welcome to Dartmoor our patron HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.'

In all, more than 250,000 people have completed the Ten Tors Challenge since its humble beginnings in 1960. Many have never forgotten it.

Walking with this year's young people are a group of men, who first walked Ten Tors in the 1960s. They call themselves 'the Denbury Old Boys'.

Like their younger counterparts, they have already spent a lot of time up on the moor getting in shape for the expedition.

Bob Etherton, 65, who took part in the very first Ten Tors in 1960, said: 'It's obviously fantastic to have the opportunity to take part after 50 years.

'Dartmoor is a great leveller and Ten Tors is an extremely challenging adventure, but it is clear this spirit of adventure lives on in the youth of today.'

To commemorate the 50th anniversary, a unique Ten Tors 50 medal has been designed and will be presented to all those who successfully complete this year's challenge.

A new Ten Tors award has also been introduced to mark the anniversary.

It will be presented every year from now on to thank those adult volunteers whose dedicated support keeps the Ten Tors Challenge alive.