Dartmoor & Exmoor
Stowe's Hill
381M
1250FT
About Stowe's Hill
This eastern Bodmin Moor summit is a site of geological and archaeological wonder. Famous for the weathered granite layers of the Cheesewring, the hilltop also contains a massive Neolithic tor enclosure. It offers a rugged atmosphere where industrial heritage meets ancient history, looking directly across to Sharp Tor and Caradon Hill.
Key Statistics
Rank
60th Highest in Region
Parent Range
England
Prominence
?
78m
Nearest Town
Henwood
Geology
You are walking on the Bodmin Intrusion, a vast foundation of granite. It was created when molten rock cooled and hardened deep beneath the Earth’s surface.
Classifications
Nearby Fells
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SX257724
Latitude
50.5254°N
Longitude
4.4604°W
Did You Know?
- •The name 'Stowe's' likely derives from the Old English 'stow', meaning a place or a holy place, often associated with a meeting ground or a site of religious significance.
- •The summit is home to the Cheesewring, a natural geological formation of stacked granite slabs so precarious that local legend claims it resulted from a rock-throwing contest between a giant and a saint.
- •Two massive stone ramparts encircle the summit, forming a Neolithic tor enclosure dating back to roughly 3500 BC, making it one of the most significant prehistoric sites in Cornwall.
- •Looking south, the landscape is scarred by the 19th-century Phoenix United Mines, with the distinctive TV transmitter of Caradon Hill rising beyond the neighbouring peak of Sharp Tor.
- •Despite appearing like a meticulously stacked pile of plates, the Cheesewring was shaped entirely by frost and wind—though Victorian quarrymen did their best to test its balance by working right up to its base.