Rough Tor

Rising above the Camelford plains, this is Cornwall’s second-highest point and perhaps its most atmospheric summit. The peak is a chaotic tumble of granite stacks and logan stones, surrounded by a vast prehistoric landscape of hut circles and ramparts. It offers a rugged, wind-swept experience with a straightforward ascent from Poldue Downs.

• •The name derives from the Cornish 'torr', meaning a rocky peak or hill, combined with the Old English description of its fractured, weathered granite summit.
• •The tor is home to a sprawling Neolithic hillfort and over 100 Bronze Age hut circles, making it one of the most significant and well-preserved prehistoric landscapes in the South West.
• •The summit offers a clear view across the valley to Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, while looking north reveals the Atlantic coastline stretching toward Tintagel and Boscastle.
• •Near the base stands a memorial stone to Charlotte Dymond, a domestic servant whose 1844 murder on the slopes of the tor became one of Cornwall's most famous Victorian mysteries.
• •The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division memorial on the summit commemorates the soldiers who used this rugged terrain for training before the D-Day landings in 1944.
• •The tor features a logan stone—a naturally balanced boulder—though any attempt to make it 'log' (rock) today will likely result in disappointment and a strained back, as it has long since settled firmly into its base.