Dartmoor & Exmoor
Gibbet Hill
353M
1158FT
About Gibbet Hill
Rising above the village of Mary Tavy on the western edge of Dartmoor, this prominent Tump offers a straightforward climb with wide-reaching views. The grassy slopes lead to a summit overlooking the Tavy valley, with the distinctive jagged profile of Brent Tor and its church clearly visible to the west.
Key Statistics
Rank
71st Highest in Region
Parent Range
Dartmoor
Prominence
?
40m
Nearest Town
Mary Tavy
Geology
You are walking across the Bealsmill Formation. This ground is made of alternating layers of gritty sandstone and fine-grained mudstone.
Classifications
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SX503811
Latitude
50.6107°N
Longitude
4.1170°W
Did You Know?
- •The hill's name serves as a grim reminder of 18th-century justice; captured highwaymen were once hanged from a gibbet on the summit to discourage those tempted to rob travellers on the main road between Tavistock and Okehampton.
- •From the trig point, you are rewarded with a classic perspective of the isolated St Michael’s Church atop the volcanic plug of Brent Tor, which sits three miles to the west.
- •The hill overlooks the site of the Wheal Friendship mine, which by the 1820s was the largest copper mine in the world and remains a significant part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage site.
- •Its position on the western fringe of the moor provides an uninterrupted lookout across the Tamar Valley into Cornwall, with the distant silhouettes of Brown Willy and Rough Tor often visible on the horizon.
- •Given its history, the summit is one of the few places on Dartmoor where 'hanging around' was once an officially sanctioned, albeit terminal, activity.