Fox Tor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fox Tor |
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 438 m (1,437 ft) |
| Prominence | 4 m |
| Listing | (none) |
| Geography | |
| Location | Dartmoor, England |
| OS grid | SX626698 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 202 |
Fox Tor is a small but interesting rocky hill, called a tor, located in Dartmoor, England. Dartmoor is a beautiful national park known for its wild open spaces and unique rock formations. Fox Tor might not be the biggest tor, but it's surrounded by fascinating history and legends.
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Legends and History
Childe's Tomb
Just north of Fox Tor, about 500 meters away, you'll find Childe's Tomb. This spot is famous for a sad local legend. The story says it's the final resting place of Childe the Hunter. He was a traveler who got lost and died in a terrible blizzard on Dartmoor. It's a reminder of how wild and dangerous Dartmoor can be, especially in bad weather.
Foxtor Farm
About 800 meters northeast of Fox Tor are the remains of an old farm called Foxtor Farm. This farm has a special place in literature! A famous writer named Eden Phillpotts used it as a main setting for his 1904 novel, The American Prisoner. Later, in 1929, the book was even made into an early "talkie" movie. The farm was only lived in for about fifty years, but its story lives on through the book and film.
Other Tors Nearby
Not far from Fox Tor, about 500 meters to the east, is another smaller tor. It's known as Little Fox Tor, or sometimes Yonder Tor. It's a good example of how many tors you can find scattered across the Dartmoor landscape.
Fox Tor Mires: A Famous Mire
About a kilometer northeast of Fox Tor, you'll find a very boggy area known as Fox Tor Mires. This swampy land is quite famous because it's believed to have inspired the scary "Grimpen Mire" in the classic novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. This book was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and features the famous detective Sherlock Holmes.
Staying Safe at Fox Tor Mires
Fox Tor Mires is a wide area of peat bog. Peat bogs are wetlands where dead plants build up over thousands of years. They can be very dangerous for walkers, especially after heavy rain, as the ground can be soft and easy to sink into. It's important to stick to marked paths and be careful if you visit this area.
Other Fox Tors
It might be a bit confusing, but there's actually another tor also called Fox Tor on Dartmoor! This one is located on the western bank of the River Tavy, north of a village called Peter Tavy. There are five rock outcrops in that area, and one of them shares the name. You can also find another Fox Tor on Bodmin Moor, which is a different moorland area not far from Dartmoor, near a place called Lewannick.
