AN ANNUAL Easter pilgrimage to the top of the highest tor on Dartmoor is under threat — unless a new leader can take over the event, and lure walkers from their beds early on Easter Sunday. A three-quarter moon illuminated the moor this year as just a faithful few made their way up the track to the summit of Yes Tor for a traditional dawn service. The mild temperature and quiet weather made this year's event one of the most tranquil and spectacular in the many years that the event has been running — yet only six people were there to hear the skylarks heralding the rising sun as it burned through the early morning mist. Chris Bourne has organised the event for the last eighteen years. He said: 'Normally we have around 50 people on the walk. 'They come from a wide variety of churches in the area, and people often come along who are on holiday here too. We've had visitors from New Zealand and Australia on the walk before.' This year's walk didn't receive the publicity it normally would, or run on its usual scale, because over the last year, Okehampton's 'Christians Together' organisation has been trying to find a new volunteer to take over the leadership of the walk. 'I need somebody with younger legs to take over from me.' Chris said. 'But by this Easter, nobody had been found, so I went up anyway, to take up the few people who had turned up to see if the event was taking place.' The Easter pilgrimage up Yes Tor is believed to have originated around the time of the second world war. Once at the top, a 20-minute service takes place as the dawn rises, with a different speaker every year. 'It is vital that this is not lost to the local community,' Chris said. 'The job of leading the walk, and of writing once a year to the National Park, the army camp, and Dartmoor Rescue, to gain permission, isn't very onerous. 'It just needs somebody who is fit enough, and who loves the moor.' Anyone who can help secure the pilgrimage's future should call Chris Bourne on 01837 53797.
