Mel Tor

Mil Tor, Mill Tor, Molletor

This is an excellent and romantic granite tor with great views of the Dart Valley and Venford Reservoir, with the Bench Tors beyond. As well as boasting good geology, including several small rock basins atop the summit rock, it is very easy to access. This is from the north, at Bel Tor car park with only a 5 minute walk to the tor.

Hemery sets the scene; "East of Simon's Lake is the greatly weathered pile of Mil Tor (1,125 feet) which, like its westerly companion Sharp Tor, stands in a commanding position six hundred feet above the valley floor. The common map version of the name, 'Mel' Tor, is a mistranscription of the accepted vernacular corruption of 'middle', which is 'mil'; just as Mil Tor (E. Ockment) is the middle tor of the three, so is this pile intermediate between Sharp and Bel Tors."

An old tradition is also mentioned by Hemery, described as the 'Rolling of the Wagon Wheels on Midsummer's Day' - "It was revived for a time during the late 1950s, since which it has again lapsed. The aim was that the wheels should reach the river, but so rock-strewn is the six-hundred-foot slope that few ever did. In consequence, the old iron tyres of long-rotted wheels lie about in Miltor Wood - some now encircling seedling trees."

Mel 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 6934 7260
Height:	346m
Parish:	Widecombe in the Moor
Tor Classification:	Spur
Access:	Public
Rock Type:	Granite
Credit:	William Crossing Eric Hemery Ordnance Survey
Reference:	Ordnance Survey Maps Eric Hemery: High Dartmoor

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