Hare Tor

It has been a real treat to be on the moor twice in the past week, in conditions which could be described as perfect.  I was determined to get out a second time, and head out to Hare Tor, partly to recce the area for a future walk, and partly to recover an old box of ours.

It takes about 90 minutes to reach the western edge of the moor from Falmouth, and it was clear, as I was heading towards Lanehead car park that the low cloud and mist that greeted me would soon dissipate.


My first stop was an old 'Trotters Boxing Clever' for White Hill sited on the bank of the Willsworthy Brook.  Since this box was sited in 2009, the landowners have erected a fence effectively cordoning off White Hill.  The boundary runs North, crossing the Wallabrook and follows the contour low on Doe Tor to the existing walls of Doe Tor Farm.  There are two or three gates along it's length, but the wires are widely spaced so squeezing through is not a problem if you find yourself between gates.  As me and my box were.  Retreiving my box was not a problem, and I was delighted to find it on site and dry.

After a loop of Doe Tor, sitting out a hail storm over lunch at Doe Tor Brook, I set out for Hare Tor.  In April last year, Dartmoor's "largest moorland fire in years" took place up here.  It later transpired that it was caused by an accident involving a team training for Ten Tors and cooking stove. The area is recovering slowly.  The grass is short and stubby, and evidence of charred, burnt earth is everywhere around the summit rocks of Hare Tor and across the ridge to Chat Tor.

The walk almost done, I left Little Hare Tor and made my way to Ger Tor, for the relatively straightforward descent to Lanehead.  On my way I stumbled on a letterbox sited for the 18th Truro St George Scout Troop no more than 5 minutes from the summit of Ger Tor.  I was surprised to read in the visitors book that I was only the 34th visitor in 17 years it had been on site.  Not bad for an area that has gained notoriety for letterbox theft.