A HUNDRED teenagers descended on Tavistock this week at the end of a 480-mile hike from Glasgow ? and the first group to arrive headed straight for the Times.
The teens, from all over the country, are part of the Bnei Akiva Jewish youth community charity group and were taking part in a summer expedition challenge.
They left the Scottish city at the end of June and headed to Tavistock because of its location on the edge of Dartmoor and not too far from the coast.
The challenge, designed to improve fitness, stamina and as a social activity for the summer holiday, took six groups six weeks to complete with minimal budgets.
Each group, made up of old and new friends, had around 20 members, including older leaders to help out, and had to fend for itself in cooking, navigating, finding places to stay each night and managing their budget.
Daniel Isenberg, 15, was part of ?group one? ? the first to reach the town. He said: ?It was the experience of a lifetime, great fun.
?There has been a lot of washing of clothes, camping in fields and trying not to be caught in places we shouldn?t be by leaving early.
?Some days we were up at six in the morning and not going to bed until eleven at night, and walking most of the day.
?We had to slow down in the last week because it was especially hot and we needed to take a lot of breaks. The heat has been unbearable at times.
?Part of it was completing challenges along the way ? like pictures of us in police cars, or squeezing as many of us as possible into a phone box ? they helped to keep motivation up.
?Group one? agreed the South West was the most friendly place and the people here were really helpful.
After arriving on Monday, and meeting with the other groups as they arrived, the teenagers planned to enjoy a week exploring the area, visiting the beach, having some ?proper? food and ?not walking?, before catching the train home on Monday.