Musings from Higher Downgate and Elsewhere: Hawkstor, Trewortha Tor and 12 Men's Moor

Thursday 3 June 2021

Hawkstor, Trewortha Tor and 12 Men's Moor

I'm getting rather fond of the eastern area of Bodmin Moor, probably because it feels isolated and we rarely meet more that a handful of people when we walk there. It's also got the advantage of being quite close to us so getting there doesn't take too much time and effort. And if those aren't good enough reasons, there's also the views and the history. Here's a description of a walk we did last weekend. It was a good one.

We began and ended at the top of the lane leading from Berrio Bridge to Trewortha Farm. Our route took us up to Hawkstor and then across the ridge to Trewortha Tor and King Arthur's Bed. From there we dropped down through Trewortha Farm, skirted Kilmar Tor and headed on to Twelve Men's Moor, to follow the old mineral railway back to the car. Just under 5 miles and I'd rate it moderately difficult because of the rough terrain and boulder hopping.

I've never seen a notice like this in an isolated wood. What was in danger of being stolen? Machinery? Logs?

It's the time of year where there is fresh green everywhere and I feel I could almost inhale the oxygen pouring out of them as the various plants photosynthesise. It's somewhat ironical, however, that plants look green because it is the part of the light spectrum that they don’t need to photosynthesise. Leaves are green because green light is surplus to requirements.

I rate this as the best photograph of the day - a female, to the left, and a male Stonechat in the same frame. I'd like to say this was intended but it wasn't. I only noticed them after the event when I was sifting through the ones I'd taken. I could easily have overlooked this - serendipity rules, OK?

Climbers on the granite of Hawkstor. By all accounts, it's a very popular spot for them with a range of pitches going from easy to extreme. It's not so much the height that's important but rather the technical difficulty.

Cheesewring-like laminated granite at Hawkstor. In my opinion, as good as the best on Dartmoor.

Looking towards Trewortha Tor from Hawkstor.

The jumble of granite on Trewortha Tor. There was lots of boulder-hopping on this walk which made the going quite difficult.

On the way to King Arthur's Bed, looking back on Trewortha Tor, with Hawkstor in the middle background.

King Arthur’s Bed is quite close to Trewortha Tor and is a deep hollow in the rock, big enough for someone to lie in. But this strange hole in the granite was not formed by human hands or indeed the magic of Merlin. And it’s only connection to King Arthur is one of legend. King Arthur’s Bed is actually a Solution Basin and simply the result of weathering.

Solution Basins are started when standing water collects in a small irregularity. Gradually weathering causes a small hollow to form which becomes progressively larger and deeper. As the granite dissolves the insoluble crystals of quartz are deposited and often form a magical, glistening layer in the bottom of the basin. They can be perfectly circular, while others at oval. And sometimes, after centuries, they erode into each other forming a chain of basins. King Arthur’s Bed is a particularly large rock basin and in all likelihood this is how it was formed - several basins slowly joining up with each other to become this evocative shape.

Rock balancing on the grandscale. An art form that captures the balance forces of nature. But, it doesn't do anything for me.

These are impressively large but I'm not sure what you'd do with them. Not quite true, I know what I'd do with then and that would be to put them back from whence they came. In such a landscape with its human connections over so many millenia, who is to say that they have no significance. Remove them from their context and this possible significance is lost forever.

Looking up to Kilmar Tor. There are two ways to get to the other side: up and over or around. We went around. Perhaps next time we'll try up and over for a change, particularly if the ground is boggy.

Looking back to our route across the ridge - Hawkstor to the right, then the rather more diffuse jumble of Trewortha Tor leading on to King Arthur's Bed on the left. At this distance, it looks easier than it was in practice.

One of a series of boundary stones that marked the extent of the unenclosed moorland owned by the Duchy Manor of Rillaton. It is marked '9 Ril 1846'. Such delineation was important in marking boundaries for quarrying, mining etc.

Wherever you look on Twelve Men's Moor, there are signs of granite working, as evidenced by the split marks of these pieces. A lonely, unforbidding place to work when the weather is bad.
And why is it called Twelve Men's Moor? You need to go back to around 1230 for the origins of this. At that time, the moor was owned by the Priory at Launceston and a grant of usage (grazing rights, turf) was given to parcels of land for twelve farmers whose land abutted the high moor. Hence, Twelve Men's Moor.

Looking back along the mineral railway with a loading ramp on the right. Most of the manipulation of the lumps of granite was done by muscle power - levers and rollers most probably.