TORS OF DARTMOOR
a database of both lesser- & well-known rocks and outcrops
Willmead Tor Set in the little copse on the right hand side of the road just above the start of the long drive to Willmead there is a surprising cluster of at least three small outcrops but they are all well hidden within the trees. Whilst it is most probably a private woodland there is some accessibility from the road via a tricky little pathway.  The fissured rocks here are quite impressive and whilst the upper piles are a little easier to reach, it is the lower outcrop beyond an old wall that forms the best portion of the tor. There is more granite spreading downhill out of the wood on the open slopes above the house that can seen from a field gate to the south.  According to the history of the once farmstead here, an interesting former tenant of the house was the Reverend William Davy, who was a peripatetic local vicar until his death in 1826. However he is more notably credited with the invention of key components used in the construction of the Diving Bell, a rigid chamber that was used to transport divers from the surface of open water to depth and back again, usually for the purpose of performing underwater tasks such as rescuing artefacts from shipwrecks. In his later years Davy concentrated his energies on the gardens at Willmead by moving around granite boulders, and arranging terraces among the rocks and parkland. Given its proximity to the private enclosures you will need to proceed with caution whenever visiting the tor and observe any signage if in evidence. 
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