Dartmoor Training Area
Print-friendly page
Guaranteed Public Access
Non Live Firing Periods
Outline Map of Dartmoor
Military Training Area and
Range Danger Areas
Access Information
Do not touch any military debris - it may be dangerous. If you encounter any suspicious objects; mark the area, note the location and inform the Training Area Commandant on 01837 650010, or the local police on 08705 777444.
Range Danger Areas
Within the designated military Training Areas on north Dartmoor there are three Range Danger Areas (Merrivale, Okehampton and Willsworthy), which are outlined on the 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 maps of the area. They are used for live firing on a limited number of days each year. At all other times the public has access over the Range Danger Areas even though other forms of training may be taking place.
Warning Posts and Signals
The perimeter of each Range Danger Areas is marked on the ground by outward facing warning notices on red and white posts. These warning posts and notices indicate the limit of safe approach to a Range Danger Area. When firing is in progress (on one, two or all three Ranges) warning signals - red flags by day and red lamps by night - are displayed at certain points appropriate to each range.
Access Limitations
For your own safety, entry into Range Danger Areas displaying warning signals is prohibited by byelaws and is of course dangerous. Please note that the Range Danger Areas boundaries abut each other; if firing occurs on two or three Range Danger Areas there is no safe passage between them. When no warning signals are displayed, it is quite safe to enter the Danger Area of that specific Range. Troops carrying out dry training with blank ammunition and pyrotechnics are warned to be considerate to other users.
Publication of Firing Notices
Days and nights on which firing is to take place are advertised in the Tavistock and Okehampton Times on Thursdays, and in The Western Morning News and Express and Echo every Friday and on BBC Radio Devon every morning. Notices are also displayed in neighbouring police stations, some Post Offices, some public houses, and in National Park and Tourist Information Centres. Details of firing programmes can also be obtained by using the Freephone telephone answering service on 0800-4584868
Last Minute Cancellations
Firing may be cancelled at short notice, after
the publication of the firing notices, mostly because poor visibility
prevents observation of the boundary. On days when firing has been advertised,
if the red flags are not flying by 0900 hours from April-September inclusive
and by 1000 hours from October-March inclusive no firing will take place
that day or the following night. This web site, BBC Radio Devon and
the Dartmoor National Park Information Centres are informed of cancellations
as soon as they occur.
