TORS OF DARTMOOR
a database of both lesser- & well-known rocks and outcrops
Longtimber TorLong Timber Tor, Mary Tavy Rock
 Longtimber Tor is a large, aptly named outcrop. Oak and beech have taken a shine to it, invading its nooks and crannies to grow all over. Its darker north face is finished in soft moss. The River Tavy beside the outcrop is a lovely place for a wild swim and a picnic.  William Crossing first describes the tor in his book on Ancient Stone Crosses of 1902 "On a strip of level ground, by the waters of the Tavy rises Longtimber Tor, a square shaped mass of rock with perpendicular sides draped with ivy and embosomed in foliage. It is of considerable size, and when viewed from a distance is strikingly like the ruin of some ancient building. Opposite to this is a dark wall of rock, by which the river sweeps, overhung with trees, that also cover the hill-side above."  Later in his Guide to Dartmoor, the same author describes the appearance of the tor as; "Bearing no small resemblance to the keep of a ruined castle." This is certainly true, but the castle has been all but cloaked with vegetation, including some fine oak. If the rock is dry, you can make it to the top, looking down through the oak foliage you get a real feel of being high up within the canopy.  Anna Eliza Bray also mentions this tor but calls it by a different name; "A beautiful sight here burst upon us. Below rolled the Tavy, under cliffs and crags not of a very lofty but of a most pleasing character; and in the midst of the greensward, on this side the river from its banks, arose an insulated and enormous mass, called Mary Tavy Rock, covered with ivy, lichens, and every sort of rock plant that can, I believe, be found in Devon."
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