TORS OF DARTMOOR
a database of both lesser- & well-known rocks and outcrops
Steeperton Nose Steeperton Hill is well known for its lofty summit tor and far reaching views across the Taw Plain, but the north spur, where Steeperton Brook meets the River Taw, is rarely visited in modern times. The area here is a jumbled scene of industrial archaeology with abandoned walls and spoil heaps of the Steeperton Tin Mine dating back to the 16th Century, in addition to what Hemery describes as 'the foundations of a shepherd's hut twelve feet in diameter'. What once was a busy place is now a sheltered spot, albeit far from peaceful with the cacophony of the two watercourses tumbling hurriedly to the calm flat lands of Taw Marsh. It is here that some rocks undocumented in literature can be seen protruding from the base of this great hill.  The constant flow of Steeperton Brook over time has revealed some good sized boulders on both its banks and just off to the left, the skirt of the hill has not escaped the effects of this erosion. There is an untidy jumbled pile consisting of an emergent slab with eight boulders perched against and overhanging it, the more striking of which has a triangular profile resembling a nose.  Just a few metres away, another section of the granite bedrock has been revealed possessing a more rounded and aesthetically pleasing facade. Here you can see patches of exposed bedrock that soon disappear as height is gained. Keeping with Hemery's describing it as 'the north spur, or nose' and taking into account the shape of the aforementioned boulder, we have named this set "Steeperton Nose". 
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