History behind the tors of the Moors

Gutter Tor

Drive across the Moors from Plymouth and you will see many hills with granite rocks on the top, known as tors. Tor is Celtic meaning ‘tower’ and there are over 700 granite towers on Dartmoor.

Many of these tors are easy to reach from the road, while others need a bit more effort to reach and climb.

One of easier rocks to visit is Whitehill Tor just outside of the village of Lee Moor. You can park right beside the tor which is also known as Torrycombe Tor as it is above the Torrycombe Brook. While here you have extensive views of the China Clay Works, the modern solar farm and wooded valley below.

Hawks Tor above Beatland Corner near Wottor - there are two main granite outcrops, one which has an interesting slab providing a shelter possibly used by a shepherd in the early 1800s while looking after his sheep. Below the tor is the remains of a former World War Two radar station.

Near Cadover Bridge and above Trowlesworthy Farm are two outcrops, Great Trowlesworthy and Little Trowlesworthy tors. Great is a large outcrop with a lot of cut stone nearby as well as remains of a rabbit warren. The granite in this area is red in colour, not common on Dartmoor. Between Great and Little you will find a very large curious rounded stone made by man. It is believed to have been cut to provide a base for a flagpole at Devonport Dockyard. The stone masons discovered it was too large to be transported off the moors in the 1800s, even today it would not be an easy task. Just below the ridge there are remains of a Bronze Age village and a number of stone bridges across the leat. These bridges were built so the rabbits could get across the water safely. This area also great views towards Plymouth and Tavistock.

Up stream from Cadover Bridge is Legis Tor and once again the rocks are red in colour. The pink granite is due to the black tourmaline which has a high iron content and it stained the granite when it was formed many, many years ago. Close to the tor there is vermin trap which was built by the rabbit warrener of Legis Warren to catch weasels and stoats which preyed on the rabbits.

Gutter Tor - this large granite tor has three outcrop. With views towards War Horse country and looking across the Plym Valley. At one time this tor was called Goat Tor. A little further away is Eastern Tor just above Ditsworthy Warren House. This tor is very small but views are great looking across the Plym Valley to Hentor and a bit closer are the magnificent Drizzlecombe ceremonial complex, including stone rows, two large cairns one of which is the Giant's Basin, four barrows, two kistvaens, a kerb retaining circle around an internment pit, and a number of round houses.

Further up the valley there are two more tors - Lower Hart Tor with good views up and the Plym Valley and across the River Plym to Claverslake Tor. Lower Hart Tor stands proud on the hillside above the tin stream and above a mire known as Evil Combe, where you could sink up to your chest if you are not careful. Higher up the hill side is Higher Hart Tor, if you’re approaching from the north-east, you will come across a few boulders before reaching the main outcrop and a big drop.

Claverslake Tor, is a humble tor which boasts some interesting features, including a small logan stone (rocking stone) lots of tin streaming working below the tor. The area around the tor is very bleak and we are only a few miles from the source of the River Plym, which is about 22 miles long and to which Plymouth takes its name from.

There are a number of tors to explore near Shaugh Bridge including the Dewerstone, which is a popular place for climbers. Many of the rock outcrops have been named to distinguish the climbs including Raven Buttress, The Devil’s Rock, The Tower, Needle Buttress to name just a few. The devil is reported to live and haunt this area so be aware if walking nearby!

On Widford Down you can found Oxen Tor, also known as Cadworthy Tor. Here there are two outcrops, the eastern one is essentially a compact block of three split rocks that are about 7 feet on the north side.

There are lots of tors to explore within the Plym Valley and here we have just visited a few of them. The sport of visiting these tors is known as tor bagging and you can soon get hooked on trying to ‘bag’ as many as you can.

Gutter Tor

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