Dartmoor National Park

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Saddle Tor

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dartmoor is an area of moorland in the centre of the English county of Devon in South West England. Protected by National Park status, it covers 953 km² (368 mile²).

The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops (known as tors), providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The highest point is High Willhays, 621 m (2,040 ft) above sea level. The entire area is rich in antiquities and archaeology.

Dartmoor is managed by the Dartmoor National Park Authority whose 26 members are drawn from Devon County Council, local District Councils and Government.

Parts of Dartmoor have been used as a military firing range for over 200 years. The public enjoy extensive access rights to the rest of Dartmoor, and it is a popular tourist destination. The Park was featured on the TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as the top natural wonder in South West England.

 

Dartmoor Views
 

History

 

 

The majority of the prehistoric remains on Dartmoor date back to the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. Indeed, Dartmoor contains the largest concentration of Bronze Age remains in the United Kingdom, which suggests that this was when a larger population moved onto the hills of Dartmoor.

The climate at the time was warmer than today, and much of today's moorland was covered with trees. The prehistoric settlers began clearing the forest, and established the first farming communities. Fire was the main method of clearing land, creating pasture and swidden types of fire-fallow farmland. Areas less suited for farming, tended to be burned for livestock grazing. Over the centuries these Neolithic practices greatly expanded the upland moors, contributed to the acidification of the soil and the accumulation of peat and bogs.

The nature of the soil, which is highly acidic, means that no organic remains have survived. However, by contrast, the high durability of the natural granite means that their homes and monuments are still to be found in abundance, as are their flint tools. It should be noted that a number of remains were "restored" by enthusiastic Victorians and that, in some cases, they have placed their own interpretation on how an area may have looked. Numerous menhirs (more usually referred to locally as standing stones or longstones), stone circles, kistvaens, cairns and stone rows are to be found on the moor. The most significant sites include:
  • Beardown Man, near Devil’s Tor – isolated standing stone 3.5 m (11 ft) high, said to have another 1 m (3.3 ft) below ground. grid reference SX596796
  • Challacombe, near the prehistoric settlement of Grimspound – triple stone row. grid reference SX689807
  • Drizzlecombe, east of Sheepstor village – stone circles, rows, standing stones, kistvaens and cairns. grid reference SX591669
  • Grey Wethers, near Postbridge – double circle, aligned almost exactly north south. grid reference SX638831
  • Laughter Tor, near Two Bridges – standing stone 2.4 m (7.9 ft) high and two double stone rows, one 164 m (540 ft) long. grid reference SX652753
  • Merrivale, between Princetown and Tavistock – includes a double stone row 182 m (600 ft) long, 1.1 m (3.6 ft) wide, aligned almost exactly east-west), stone circles and a kistvaen. grid reference SX554747
  • Scorhill, west of Chagford – circle, 26.8 m (88 ft) in circumference, and stone rows. grid reference SX654873
  • Shovel Down, north of Fernworthy reservoir – double stone row approximately 120 m (390 ft) long. grid reference SX660859
There are also an estimated 5,000 hut circles still surviving today, despite the fact that many have been raided over the centuries by the builders of the traditional dry stone walls. These are the remnants of Bronze Age houses. The smallest are around 1.8 m (6 ft) in diameter, and the largest may be up to five times this size.

Some have L-shaped porches to protect against wind and rain – some particularly good examples are to be found at Grimspound. It is believed that they would have had a conical roof, supported by timbers and covered in turf or thatch.

Many ancient structures, including the hut circles at Grimspound, were reconstructed during the 19th century – most notably by civil engineer and historian Richard Hansford Worth. Some of this work was based more on speculation than archaeological expertise, and has since been criticised for its inaccuracy.

Tors


Dartmoor is known for its tors – large hills, topped with outcrops of bedrock, which in granite country such as this are usually rounded boulder-like formations. There are over 160 tors on Dartmoor. They are the focus of an annual event known as the Ten Tors Challenge, when over a thousand people, aged between 14 and 21, walk for distances of 35, 45 or 55 miles (56, 72 or 89 km) over ten tors on many differing routes. While many of the hills of Dartmoor have the word "Tor" in them quite a number do not, however this does not appear to relate to whether there is an outcrop of rock on their summit.

The highest points on Dartmoor are High Willhays (grid reference SX580895) at 621 m (2,040 ft) and Yes Tor (grid reference SX581901) 619 m (2,030 ft) on the northern moor. Ryder's Hill (grid reference SX690660), 515 m (1,690 ft), Snowdon 495 m (1,620 ft), and an unnamed point at (grid reference SX603645),493 m (1,620 ft) are the highest points on the southern moor. Probably the best known tor on Dartmoor is Haytor (also spelt Hey Tor) (grid reference SX757771), 457 m (1,500 ft). For a more complete list see List of Dartmoor tors and hills.