TORS OF DARTMOOR
a database of both lesser- & well-known rocks and outcrops
Little Hare TorLittle Hay Tor  This impressive little rockpile is described by Eric Hemery (EH) in High Dartmoor; "The tor heads a low, westerly ridge terminating at Little Hare Tor (1,500 feet). Its higher part is a cohesive pile, but its weathered lower pile contains many narrow frost-partings. Principal views are of Lyd country, but the tor also overlooks the head and greater course of Willsworthy Brook..."  An account of the area resurfaced in 1996 when Tim Jenkinson (TJ) included it as part of his Lesser Known Tor series in Dartmoor Magazine (DM) where he writes: "Resting in the shadow of its parent tor at SX 546 842, the rocks of Little Hare Tor overlook the descending Walla Brook to the west." He goes on: "the tor consists of two main piles of which the lower is the most striking, forming a compact stack..."  As with many of the lesser known tors at that time, Little Hare (LHT) had received minimal attention in the literature of the moor despite its prominence on the ridge when viewed from the north and west above the River Lyd on High Down. One of the earliest references is accredited to William Crossing in the Guide to Dartmoor (1912 edition, p.173) who gives a brief but tantalising reference to 'Little Hay Tor', although he strangely places that pile to the north of the main tor and not on the western slope where it actually resides. In the 1995 rewrite of The A to Z of Dartmoor Tors by Terry Bound, the author describes the location of LHT as being to the east of Hare Tor. This is simply mystifying given EH's earlier description.  Concurring with EH's location, TJ continues his account in DM with the following descriptions: "The lowest and most significant outcrop gives rise to a moderate clitter as well as sheltering on its southern side the remains of an abandoned partly cut granite trough. This interesting artefact, rather crudely fashioned from a huge oblong block, regularly traps a small pool of rainwater in its lower lip." There are certainly good views to be had from this vantage spot, particularly to the north-west where Doe Tor and Brat Tor can be seen in the lower valley and northward where the ruined mine buildings at Foxholes beneath Rattlebrook Hill are visible. To the south, the distant dim shape of Great Mis Tor is just discernible.
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