TORS OF DARTMOOR
a database of both lesser- & well-known rocks and outcrops
Leighon Tor For many years this tor was confused with Greator Rocks which stands on the opposite west side of Hound Tor Combe. It seems that Samuel Rowe (1848) was one of the first to muddle the locations in his index of tors in A Perambulation of Dartmoor, the extract reading: 'Grea Tor Rocks - West of Grea Tor on the other side of Becka Brook. Sometimes called Leighon Tor.' Later William Crossing (1901) replicated this same error in 'One Hundred Years on Dartmoor'. Worse still is that both of these books containing the same misinformation were reprinted for a new generation in 1985 and 1987 respectively.  In 1905 Crossing attempted to correct the error in Gems in a Granite Setting with this account of the Combe, 'on its eastern side rise Saddle Tor, the twin granite masses of Hey Tor, Holwell Tor, Smallacombe Rocks and Leighon Tor.' For the first time we gain an idea of the true location of the tor and the author provides more detail later in the same chapter: 'From Holwell Tor near to which is a group of hut circles, the rambler may make his way along the side of the hill to Smallacombe Rocks where there are similar remains and to Leighon Tor, both piles being worth a visit.' We then have to wait another 78 years before Eric Hemery (1983 p737) provides a sharper observation of the tor's substance remarking upon 'the immense horizontal jointings and weirdly shaped core remnants' that make up the tor's arrangement. In 1996 Tim Jenkinson (TJ) was one of the first to attempt a grid reference for the tor of SX 757 787, an estimate that was later revised with the advent of a hand held Global Positioning System (GPS) to SX 7584 7868.  Tim described Leighon Tor as 'one of the largest and most interesting of the lesser known tors, strangely omitted from maps by the OS, it forms a conspicuous landmark as the last and northern most of the fine rock piles that lie high on the eastern side of Hound Tor Combe.' The views from the top of the tor are spectacular and TJ continues: 'Below to the north beyond the tor's wide and heavy clitter, the valley sides steepen above Becka Brook and west the magnificent crags of Great Hound Tor rise. In late spring the hillside and woodland of the combe beneath Grea Tor come alive with an ocean of bluebells that herald the arrival of longer, warmer days.'  Despite much reference in the literature and the understanding of the tor's location after all of the turmoil created by Rowe and Crossing, the tor had still failed to find its way onto the OS Map. It was only in December 2022, after Max Piper contacted the OS to request the addition of Leighon Tor, that it was finally included. It is hoped that this move will inspire a modern generation of tor explorers to visit this wonderful tor and all it has to offer.
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