TORS OF DARTMOOR

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

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Chat Tor

Loaf, Clatter Tor, Rattlebrook Hill

On top of Rattlebrook Hill, one prominent layered outcrop on the boggy track between Hare Tor and the bridleway near to Bleak House. It appears as one over-sized dollop of cow pat, but its geology is very interesting since it is a rare form of embedded granite. The 360 degree views are worth the effort.

Hemery says of the area north-eastward: "Chat Tor provides a view of the turf-ties (pre-industrial) from which so much peat was formerly transported by packhorse along the old Lydford path, and from which the eighteenth-and nineteenth-century miners in the valley would have obtained their fuel."

Crossing explains that the tor is marked on a Duchy Map as 'Loaf', which likely comes from the tor's character and is an ancient name. Certainly, the tor has a loaf's features in some respects.

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Chat 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 5554 8528
Height:
542m
Parish:
Lydford
Tor Classification:
Small
Access:
Public
Rock Type:
Granite
Credit:
Willam Crossing
Ordnance Survey
Reference / Further Reading:
Ordnance Survey Maps
Eric Hemery: High Dartmoor

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