TORS OF DARTMOOR
a database of both lesser- & well-known rocks and outcrops
Taw Rocks These interesting rocks are easily reached by taking the left (west) bank of the River Taw northwards from the ford at SX 6094 8724. Whilst the majority of them are boulders running approximately 300 metres along the valley on the east side of the River Taw, it is the west side that is the best place to view the scene and has the finest candidate for an emergent outcrop at SX 60959 87590.  It is William Crossing who first mentions Taw Rocks in the valley between Ockside and Ockment Hills, in his description of a route from Wild Tor to Ockment Hill and Newtake (now marked as Hangingstone Hill on OS maps), but, sadly, he fails to describe it.  Eric Hemery offers further details; "Below the Ford, which lies 1,650 feet above sea level, the valley sides close in and Ockment Hill rises two hundred feet above; the confined river has eroded its valley and the first cascades occur in the defile, which ends as the left bank recedes to form a hollow carrying a tributary feeder. On the lower east valley side here, opposite the hollow, are the great boulders known as Taw Rocks (approx 1,650 feet)." 
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