Great Staple Tor

About Great Staple Tor

Rising above the Walkham Valley, this western Dartmoor landmark is famous for its architectural granite stacks and weather-sculpted towers. Classified as a Tump, the hill offers an accessible ascent over short turf and clitter, rewarding walkers with views that stretch past Roos Tor toward the distant heights of Bodmin Moor.

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Did You Know?

• •The name 'Staple' is likely derived from the Old English 'stapol', meaning a pillar or post. This refers specifically to the tor's remarkable upright granite columns, which appear almost man-made from a distance.
• •The summit features some of the best examples of 'lamellar' weathering on Dartmoor, where the granite has eroded into horizontal plates that look like stacks of giant stone pancakes.
• •From the highest point, walkers have a clear line of sight to the isolated church atop Brentor to the west, the massive bulk of North Hessary Tor to the southeast, and the deep cutting of the Tavy Cleave to the north.
• •The slopes beneath the tor are part of a rich prehistoric landscape; just to the south lies the Merrivale stone rows, one of the most significant Bronze Age archaeological sites in the National Park.
• •Despite the convincing appearance of the various rock stacks, they were not, in fact, piled up by Neolithic builders with a surplus of time, but by several million years of wind and rain.