 |
| Higher Castor rock formation |
The following blog post is the combination of two consecutive weekends within East Dartmoor's Castor Copse, thus the photos used will be from both walks. I felt a wealth of granite on my solo visit so I thought I'd alert them to tor explorers Tim Jenkinson, and Paul Buck. The weekend after my first visit we went off exploring for ourselves more lesser known tors.
I must note that although accessible and listed as an open access woodland by the Dartmoor National Park authority, upon leaving the copse we found a sign warning us that it is private, yet not noticed on our entry. No harm was done whatsoever, but being private land it is a shame to dismiss a visit to these wonderful tors.
Down the permissive path through the wood, from Bullaton Farm, we came to the only previously discovered tor, Kelly Mine Tor, named by Tim Jenkinson. Its proximity to the neighbouring Kelly Mine and located near to a footpath makes it a strange omission from documents at SX 7967 8182.
We headed east, over a small stream, and onto a wide track, to ascend steeply to a small outcrop I have named Little Castor, at SX 7994 8174. It is a beautiful granite outcrop, protruding from the hillside that I believe is worthy of a name. It is a small, but charming loaf-like tor and has an atmosphere with the stream tumbling below.
 |
| Little Castor |
 |
Little Castor
|
 |
| Little Castor from above |
 |
| Little Castor |
There are some interesting mine workings around this area; as we ascended further to reach the same track again, it has gone around a hairpin bend, veering off to some mossy granite, at SX 8005 8170. This is a large collection of loose rocks at the highest elevation in the copse, 240 metres, approximately. These are part of Higher Castor.
 |
| Higher Castor eastern outcrops |
 |
| Higher Castor eastern outcrops |
 |
| Higher Castor eastern outcrops |
 |
| Higher Castor eastern outcrops |
Higher Castor has a lot more than just views, though, as there are interesting outliers to be seen. It also reminds me of Shaptor Rock, the largest tor in Shaptor Wood, nearby. Although smaller, Higher Castor still impresses in its character and stature. I have included "Jewel of the Copse" as an additional name to emphasise this gem. Such a pity it lies on Private Land, as I keep saying.
We left Castor Copse and into Warmpit Copse. Yes, Warmpit Copse, over some gentle ground, soon to be Bluebell heaven! My first visit here revealed a small pile of rocks but what we were soon to discover was perhaps the second-best tor of the day; Great Warmpit Copse Tor.
 |
| Great Warmpit Copse Tor |
 |
| Great Warmpit Copse Tor |
We recrossed the stream towards Kelly Mine where we began to notice large outcrops to our right (SX 7969 8177). I'd been twice before, once on purpose, without realising that these were near Kelly Mine Tor above. So, for bagging purposes, we labelled this the "lower" section.
 |
| Kelly Mine Tor (lower) |
 |
Kelly Mine Tor (lower)
|
Tim Jenkinson has nicknamed the lower rockpile ''alien head'' due to the lowest stack's appearance looking like one. It is a marvellous tor.
