TORS OF DARTMOOR
a database of both lesser- & well-known rocks and outcrops
Smallacombe RockLower Arms Tor  It seems that Eric Hemery is the first to mention Smallacombe Rock in 1983 tucked away on page 908 of the tome 'High Dartmoor' where he remarks in the chapter 'Lyd Country' that: "The short combe opening between Woodcock Hill and Great Links Tor is not without interest. Small rock outcrops, very broken and scattered, occur above the north side of the valley on Woodcock Hill, while further from the south side and lower on the hill is a larger, cohesive pile sometimes called 'Smallacombe Rock' and the ruin of another below it." The name of the Rock also appears in the index of the book.  There is then a later reference to it in Mike Brown's Gazetteer of Dartmoor Names from 1995 where he gives a grid ref of SX 5411 8681 to help with its location (amended slightly to SX 5412 8681 by ToD). Smallacombe Rock was then generally accepted by Dartmoor enthusiasts and the Letterboxing fraternity as a legitimate name for the pile, with a series of stamps sited in the area giving clues and bearings to and from the Rock.  At close quarters it is a great little tor with exhilarating views of Great Nodden and Little Links Tor to the north set as it is on the slope above River Lyd. It consists of two main outcrops with a small avenue between and a clitter beneath on the west side. The stream to the north of here is also known as Smallacombe but the representation of the area on both old and modern maps for this part of the moor shows neither that name nor the rockpile. It is fairly easy to access coming up the slope from Lyd Ford, having walked in from the the Fox and Hounds pub just off the A386 to the west.  However, despite the general recognition of the name at the time an alternative of 'Lower Arms Tor' surfaced c2002 in a Tor Bagging List compiled by none other than Terry Bound of A to Z fame. Considered a misnomer at the time it nonetheless found its way into Ken Ringwood's (KR) more widely read Dartmoor's Tors and Rocks book from 2013 complete with a grid reference that is comparable to Mike Brown's for Smallacombe Rock. KR describes the tor as "two small flattish granite outcrops on the hillside, with some clitter above and below the tor." This has understandably led to some confusion over the rockpile's true identity in recent years, perhaps circulated by those who for whatever reason overlooked the original reference in Hemery's seminal account. Indeed, Smallacombe Rock is sufficiently detached from all granite tors in the vicinity to warrant its own identity and therefore ought not be linked to Arms Tor that sprawls well away to the south of here.
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