Dartmoor & Exmoor
Brown Gelly
342M
1122FT
About Brown Gelly
Rising as the highest point on southern Bodmin Moor, this unassuming Tump offers a quiet, moorland experience away from the busier peaks. Its broad, grassy ridge is crowned by five prehistoric cairns, providing a rugged sense of history and far-reaching views across the Glynn Valley toward the distant English Channel.
Key Statistics
Rank
83rd Highest in Region
Parent Range
England
Prominence
?
74m
Nearest Town
Higher Dewey
Geology
You are walking across the Bodmin Intrusion, a vast landscape of solid granite formed from ancient molten rock that cooled deep beneath the Earth's surface.
Nearby Fells
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SX195727
Latitude
50.5262°N
Longitude
4.5479°W
Did You Know?
- •The name is derived from the Cornish 'Bron Gelli', meaning 'Hill of the Grove'. This suggests that the lower slopes of the moor were once significantly more wooded than the exposed, treeless landscape found here today.
- •The summit ridge is home to five substantial Bronze Age cairns. These archaeological monuments mark the ridge as a significant site of ritual and burial dating back nearly 4,000 years.
- •From the summit, the view stretches across the central moor to the distinctive silhouettes of Rough Tor and Brown Willy to the north, while the white pyramids of the St Austell china clay industry are visible to the southwest.
- •While the name might suggest a colorful consistency, a hiker is far more likely to find 'gelly' in the soft peat bogs at the foot of the hill than in the granite of the summit itself.