We enjoy the work we do, but understand agency life can be demanding. We make sure our team takes regular time out. Our team days gives everyone time to bond with each other outside work, as well as enjoy new experiences together. We find the days also provide a different environment to recharge creative thinking or valuable time to think about things differently.
Our July team day went something like this...
Fueling up with Breakfast
We started with breakfast at Clockwork HQ! Consisting of, many, pastries with pancakes, fresh fruit, yogurts, muffins, fruit juices, the list goes on.
A classic Pete breakfast never goes amiss! We somehow always end up with more food than we need, but this all gets nibbled for days after and fuels our creative minds.
Some history at Templar Way
We then made our way to Bovey Tracey to meet with our tour guides for the day, James, and Alex from The Dartmoor Tour Company.
After we’d acquainted ourselves, we split into three cars and made our way to Templar Way, rich with history we learned from James that the 18-mile walk traces the historic route of granite being taken from the quarries at Haytor to the docks at Teignmouth. The route follows the Haytor Granite Tramway and Stover Canal, this is the way the granite was moved.
Up to Hound Tor
Next, we drove to Hound Tor, where we walked up the Tor, which is the setting for the famous novel ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ by Arthur Conan.
The novel follows a story of an attempted murder inspired by the legend of a fearsome, diabolical hound of supernatural origin.
We then found some flat ground on the tor ready for our group yoga session!
Moor wellness
An hour of wellness and tranquillity in the sunshine was the perfect way for some of the team to de-stress and practise wellness.
As for those who didn’t take part in the yoga, there was time to just relax and take in the surroundings, some of the team choosing to read, whilst others talked about API’s and software programs …. looking at you development team…
In all seriousness the time to relax and unwind was welcomed! The chance to just be with the team out of the working environment and in nature was a great way to spend our day and bond with each other.
Going back in time
After the yoga session had finished and cold drinks had been passed out, we went on a walk from Hound Tor to the settlement of long houses just down the Tor and saw how the people of the 13th Century lived.
Our guide James explained that two or three farming families would live in each house, alongside their cattle, with only a wall dividing the people and the livestock. This settlement was convenient for the farmers as the people had ample access to a water supply, building materials (the granite), and land to farm, which Dartmoor is famous for.
Lunch at The Old Inn, Widecombe
Next up was lunch at The Old Inn at Widecombe in the Moor. Many of the team had never been before so it was a first for most, we sat outside in the sunshine and enjoyed the great food.
Here at Clockwork, we’re a team of dog lovers and the sheer amount of pooches lounging around the garden was enough to make the perfect day! There were even a few ducks running around nipping people’s feet – we all, luckily, escaped unscathed by the grumpy ducks.
The Navigation Challenge
Finally, we left The Old Inn and started a very competitive navigation challenge. The team was split into two groups, given a map, a compass, told a specific start time and dropped at opposite points of Hookney Tor, and thus the competition began!
Team A (a.k.a Tor Be or Not to Be) consisting mainly of the youngest members of staff and team B (a.k.a The Dartmoor Dawdlers) consisting of the more mature team members. Needless to say, team B thrashed team A … partly due to wisdom and partly due to team A going the completely wrong direction for the first 5 minutes. I guess it was 'not Tor be...
Either way, once both teams reached the meeting point, we were greeted with ice creams and the sight of countless Dartmoor ponies, one even posing for the camera.
Grimspound Bronze Age Settlement
After we had caught our breath James informed us about the history of the Grimspound Settlement which is directly across from Hookney Tor.
This land is of great historical importance as Grimspound is a settlement from the late Bronze Age. Consisting of a set of 24 hut circles surrounded by a low stone wall. The site was first settled in about 1300 BC and the hut circles were surrounded by a granite perimeter wall, the purpose of this being to keep the cattle within the settlement. Human activity has been found within the settlement, with artefacts such as pottery and pot boilers!
After our talk we made our way over to the settlement to have an explore around Grimspound first-hand. Once we’d finished with exploring, we called it a day, piling back into the cars, heading back to CW HQ and dispersing home!
Safe to say the whole team had a great day, and we couldn’t have done it without James & Alex who were not only great tour guides but provided many laughs and insight into even the most niche questions! Thanks Dartmoor Tour Co.