TORS OF DARTMOOR

a database of both lesser- & well-known rocks and outcrops

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Little Hayne Down Tor

Swine Down Tor (incorrect positioning)

Eric Hemery first describes this outcrop in High Dartmoor, p.726, but only giving us a brief description of its location; "South-east of Jay's Grave the Ashburton road reaches a junction at Swallerton (a corruption of 'Swine-a-down') Gate, the gate having vanished before memory can recall. From here, a road drops eastward into the border-country, and between these two roads another runs due north along the east flank of Swine Down and passes through Moyle's Gate, so named after a man called Moyle who once lived at the nearby cottage. The remains of at least two hut-circles are seen near a spring on the plain above the enclosures, where large patches of almost impenetrable furze, bramble and bracken occur. A short way north of the spring is a very large weathered block, surrounded by the block-like ruins of what was once a tor."

Sanders and Watson (1996) named this outcrop 'Swine Down Tor', but the grid reference they give takes the visitor down and away to the south of the main rock to a point where rather nondescript low boulders lie, snarled up in the bracken. These rocks would not be visible in the summer.

This location fits Hemery's description perfectly, and retains a poised-like position below the much larger outcrops up on the summit of Hayne Down. The rock features a shallow rock basin, and can be clearly seen from the road and gate below, a popular place for walkers and sightseers who come to visit the spectacular Bowerman's Nose rock stack, just north of this outcrop. It was later Tim Jenkinson, in 2018, who suggested that this is the site.

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Little Hayne 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 7406 8022
Height:
360m
Parish:
Manaton
Tor Classification:
Small
Access:
Public
Rock Type:
Granite
Credit:
Eric Hemery
Tim Jenkinson
Reference / Further Reading:
Eric Hemery: High Dartmoor

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