Not a tor? Definitely Notter Tor

 I've always been intrigued by Notter Tor, simply because of where it is and the fact that it seems to be rarely visited, probably because it doesn't look particularly inspiring and does not have any clear access points. Having a spare couple of hours recently, I wandered off for a solo exploration. 

It was a short walk, centred on the hamlet of village of Henwood, on the eastern edge of Bodmin Moor. It was a very pleasant jaunt of just under two miles.

In the distance is the engine house associated with Houseman's Shaft at Minions, a reminder that, at one time, Henwood was at the centre of a network of mines and quarries and was a very busy place. Nowadays, it's tranquility belies its heritage.

Access to Notter Tor is via a stile off the footpath from Henwood to North Darley. And this is part of the footpath! It seems to be permanently flooded but is easy to negotiate by clambering up the bank on the left.

Just over the stile and starting up towards the top of the tor. Stunted trees, mainly oak and lots of bracken and gorse. So much of both in the summer that they make the tor essentially inaccessible. That and the ticks.

One of those little mysteries that you come across every now and again on a walk. A small solar array with no obvious connections in the vicinity. Maybe it was there to power an electric animal fence? A bit nerdy of me, really, to ponder on such matters.

Looking across to Sharpitor. Notter Tor is lower than the immediate mass of Bodmin Moor so there are no extensive views in that direction. Sharpitor, at about 2 miles away, is the limit of the panorama.

A disused and flooded quarry of the Darley granite workings. There is only one quarry working around here now, and that produces high quality stone for monumental and memorial purposes.

On the road back to Henwood, looking up to Notter Tor. It looks like a pretty undistinguished lump and that's probably the best way of describing it. I'm glad I went but it's a case of "I did it, so others didn't have to". I won't rush to do it again.

A stand for milk churns. Gradually disappearing as a feature of the roadside near farms. It won't be long before their purpose will only be remembered by a few. There's quite a knack to swinging a 120lb full churn onto the stand - I think this is one of my skills that I'll never have cause to use again.

Henwood Methodist chapel has been long closed and converted into a dwelling. I guess you could call this a shrine to its memory?

Probably the remnants of one of the old chapel's windows. I wonder how many miners sat in pews beneath it and sang hymns on a Sunday. No longer does Henwood echo to their voices. Perhaps on a still evening, they can still be heard?