This presents as a series of low fissured outcrops that are dotted with gorse and spread across that part of the moor known as Burnicombe Down about 3/4 mile north west of Bridford on the far eastern side of Dartmoor National Park.
Reaching no significant height the small tor's rocks look to be embedded in the hillside above the farm of the same name. We find reference, albeit not named, in a Geological Survey published in 1902; "On the hill east of Heltor Rock the granite exhibits thin shelvy pseudobedding, which, as the vertical joints are ill-developed, gives rise to low cake-like tors."
Completely overshadowed and, above reference withstanding, overlooked in the literature in favour of the nearby and legendary Hel Tor Rock this rather scruffy emergent tor is nonetheless worthy of some recognition as its shape and extent is quite well represented on Ordnance Survey Maps.
Set in private enclosures it can be viewed from the roadside and was first brought to Tim Jenkinson's attention by Dr. Peter Sanders and Alan Watson during their explorations of the area in c1996.
Burnicombe Down Tor
The map above is not a navigation tool and we recommend that the grid reference shown below is used in conjunction with an Ordnance Survey map and that training in its use with a compass is advised.
Grid Ref:
SX 802 869
Height:
315m
Parish:
Bridford
Tor Classification:
Emergent
Access:
Private (but visible from public land)
Rock Type:
Granite
Credit:
Geological Survey Office
Alan Watson Dr. Peter Sanders
Reference / Further Reading:
Geological Survey Office (1902): The Geology Of The Country Around Exeter (explanation of Sheet 325) p.14 Tim Jenkinson: East Dartmoor The Hidden Landscape: Rocks and Tors (published privately) Dr. Peter Sanders and Alan Watson (1996): Tors List 380 Tors Visitations (published privately)
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