New Dartmoor web-app launched to help simplify tracking of visited tors

A new web-based app, designed to help people keep track of the Dartmoor tors they have visited, has been launched by an Exeter-based web designer.

The app, called TorBagger, has been created by Eder Da Silva, who says the idea came from his own experiences of walking on Dartmoor and trying to record which tors he had already visited.

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Mr Da Silva, who runs design studio BRUK Designs, has been visiting Dartmoor for many years. He said he wanted a simple way to log tors without using complex hiking or navigation apps.

“I essentially wanted to create the product that I wished already existed,” he said.

TorBagger focuses on the “achievement” side of walking on Dartmoor rather than navigation. 

Users can create an account and mark tors they have visited on an interactive map. 

Once a tor is logged, its icon changes colour to show progress, and users can see how many tors they have completed in different areas of the moor.

ABOVE: A screenshot of how TorBagger appears on first arrival to the site (TorBagger/BRUK Designs)

Mr Da Silva said he deliberately avoided adding features such as turn-by-turn navigation, which are already covered by other platforms. 

“I wasn’t trying to mimic Google Maps,” he said. “My aim was to build a clean, simple tool to help hikers keep track of their bagged tors without any fuss.”

The app was first shared with the public on the Reddit forum r/dartmoor, where users were invited to comment on the idea before and after launch. 

Early feedback included suggestions such as offline use, photo uploads and clearer map labelling, as well as comparisons with existing global hill-tracking apps.

One user said they liked the Dartmoor-specific focus, while another commented that they would “give it a go”.

TorBagger went live earlier this month and Mr Da Silva says further improvements are already planned. 

These include an offline mode for use in areas with no signal, the ability to add the app to a phone’s home screen, and tools allowing users to suggest new tors or corrections to existing listings.

He said he hopes the app will develop with input from its users. 

“I’m hoping this becomes a community-driven application,” he said. “Ultimately, I created something I found useful for myself, and I just hope others will find it useful too.”