Assycombe Hill

Rising above the dense plantations of Fernworthy Forest, this rounded Dartmoor shoulder offers a quieter experience than the nearby popular tors. The terrain is a mix of tussocky grass and heather, leading to a modest summit that looks out across the vast, rolling northern plateau toward the dark profile of Cosdon Hill.

• •The name Assycombe is derived from the Old English 'aesc', meaning ash tree, and 'cumb', a narrow valley, describing the sheltered combes that cut into the moorland here.
• •On its western slopes lies the Assycombe Stone Row, a double alignment of Bronze Age stones that stretches for 120 metres before ending at a large burial cairn.
• •The hill provides an excellent vantage point over the Vitifer mining district, where deep gullies known as 'gerts' remain as evidence of the area's intensive tin-working history.
• •While many Dartmoor summits are crowned by granite tors, this Tump is a grassy, heather-clad dome that offers an uninterrupted view across the water of Fernworthy Reservoir towards Sittaford Tor.
• •It is the kind of hill where you are more likely to encounter a stray Dartmoor pony than another human, mainly because most walkers are distracted by the nearby Warren House Inn.