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Higher Castor |
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.
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.
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Little Castor |
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Little Castor |
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Little Castor |
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Little Castor mossed top |
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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 outliers of Higher Castor.
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Track through Castor Copse |
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Higher Castor outcrops |
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Higher Castor outcrops |
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Higher Castor 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.
Under a barbed wire fence, that cuts our next tor, we could easily view Lower Castor, an apt name I have given to this small tor. It is very close to Higher Castor itself, but separate. It is best viewed from below, where you can appreciate the scale of this outcrop more.
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Lower Castor |
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Lower Castor |
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Lower Castor |
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Lower Castor |
Beside a manmade pond, at the stream, this tor is a giant. Huge granite stacks tumble down the hillside that surely deserves ''great'' in the name, thus I named it just that.
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Great Warmpit Copse Tor |
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Great Warmpit Copse Tor |
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Great Warmpit Copse Tor (part of), showing the stream |
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.
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Kelly Mine Tor (lower) |
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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.
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Kelly Mine Tor (lower) alien head |
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Kelly Mine Tor (lower) |
So that's my tour of Castor Copse and surrounding woodland. Many great tors, but please remember this is all on Private Land! Kelly Mine Tor (upper) is the only one that is easy to reach without straying from the path too far.
But additionally, on my first visit, I bagged another private tor: Bullaton Rock. However, because it was visited at the same time it must be included here as an extra. Now, whilst it is supposed to be on Private Land, unlocked gates, a good track (albeit muddy in places) and a lack of 'keep out' signs meant it was easy to find.
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Permissive path to Bullaton Rock |
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Bullaton Rock centre left |
In the field where the tor is situated, you have the option to go into the woodland and explore its mossy outcrops, or, if you want to take it easy and enjoy the views, walk straight up to the summit from the back (field side).
I chose to see it in the wood first, then thought it would be an adventure to ascend from the woodland side up a slippery rock face - don't do this! Exit the way you came in through the unlocked gate.
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Unlocked gate into Bullaton Rock woodland |
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Bullaton Rock |
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Bullaton Rock |
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Bullaton Rock Avenue |
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Bullaton Rock - the way I chose to ascend! |
Once I had scrambled up the hard way, sliding down the rock, I sat down and enjoyed the stunning views of Lustleigh and across to Black Hill, Hound Tor and Chinkwell Tor whilst having lunch.
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Bullaton Rock Rucksack |
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Bullaton Rock lovin' life |
There's only one way out, the way you came in assuming you used the 'permissive path'. A great end to a rewarding couple of Saturday's exploring more of East Dartmoor's 'hidden' landscape.
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