Dartmoor & Exmoor
Langstone Downs
380M
1247FT
About Langstone Downs
Rising above the village of Henwood, this rounded Tump offers an atmospheric walk through a landscape of prehistoric remains. The terrain is largely open grassland, defined by its namesake "Long Stone" monolith. From the summit, the jagged profiles of Kilmar Tor and Sharp Tor dominate the northern skyline.
Key Statistics
Rank
61st Highest in Region
Parent Range
England
Prominence
?
33m
Nearest Town
Henwood
Geology
The ground beneath your feet is solid granite, part of the underground rock formation known as the Bodmin Intrusion.
Classifications
Nearby Fells
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SX255737
Latitude
50.5370°N
Longitude
4.4638°W
Did You Know?
- •The name refers to the 'Long Stone,' a 2.7-metre-high granite monolith dating back to the Bronze Age. In Old English, 'lang' and 'stan' simply mean 'long stone,' a common descriptive name for such prominent landmarks.
- •The downs are located within a designated World Heritage Site, reflecting the area's significance in the 19th-century mining boom. The nearby ruins of the Phoenix United Mine once produced vast quantities of copper and tin.
- •A circuit of the downs is often combined with a visit to the Hurlers—three Neolithic stone circles—and the Cheesewring, a stack of weathered granite plates situated a short walk to the south.
- •On a clear day, the view extends past the Caradon Hill transmitter to the Tamar Valley and the distant, dark humps of the hills on the western edge of Dartmoor.
- •While the Long Stone has survived thousands of years of Atlantic weather, its greatest contemporary challenge is resisting the enthusiastic rubbing of local moorland ponies.