TORS OF DARTMOOR
a database of both lesser- & well-known rocks and outcrops
Hollowpark Rock East Dartmoor is a treasure trove of hidden rockpiles that crown the hilltops and valley sides, but they are often cloaked in the darkness of a thick canopy of trees that conceal them from most visitors. Historically, a handful of these tors have been identified by authors and a few others have been named on Ordnance Survey (OS) Maps, but disappointingly and mysteriously some of these latter locations have been removed from modern representations.  The whereabouts of Hollowpark Rock was published in print in Dartmoor News (DN) Issue 178 in 2021 complete with an NGR, but for Max he felt that it deserved to be back on the map. So, he contacted the OS in September 2021 about the situation via their Error Reporting Tool and, to his surprise, was delighted when it was accepted as a legitimate inquiry. In April 2022, the tor was added to their Landranger Map and in December 2022 to their Explorer Map. This ground-breaking revelation sparked the interest of BBC Radio Devon who contacted Max to ask if he could take one of their reporters/presenters up to the Rock for a short audio interview that would later feature on BBC Breakfast. Later, in May, an article on the discovery was published online (see here).  As for visiting Hollowpark Rock, it is conveniently positioned beside a public bridleway on the southern edge of Beacon Plantation. From this angle, approaching from the south-west, it resembles a giant mushroom, and its summit reveals a massive exposure of slab granite that is topped with moss and bracken. In springtime bluebells are found in the adjacent enclosure, but perhaps a better place to appreciate the Rock in its entirety, albeit from a distance and across private land, is as Max describes in DN: "the best view of it is from across the field to the south, by a ford at SX 80843 84555."  The Rock straddles the parish boundaries of both Bridford and Christow and there is no doubt that it would have once acted as a prominent marker commanding impressive southward views prior to the damming of the Kennick and Tottiford Reservoirs and subsequent afforestation. The Rock's name is also indicated on historic 19th Century Tithe Maps where two plots, 863 and 870, are labelled as Rock Hollow Park and Great Hollow Park respectively. These both reside beneath the outcrop.
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