NEW! Added more pictures of the Dewestone Rock and found the inscription carved in the rock for the poet N T Carrington.

On the land made by the V where the two rivers join is the Dewerstone, which is a large hill or Tor. The term Tor is most commonly used in the South West of England,  particularly with reference to the high points of  Dartmoor in Devon and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. At the top is the Dewerstone Rock and the Devils Face or Rocks. To get to the summit you can either follow the old miner’s track which zigzags its way to the top, or you can scramble and climb your way, following one of the numerous tracks that have developed over the years. When I was a child I thought the Dewerstone was the name of the huge rock at the very top. Having done some research on the Internet, it would appear that the whole area, including the cliffs and rocks to the right of the summit, are also called the Dewerstone rocks. However, on their own these are called the Devils Rocks. There are three distinct pillars which, for climbers, range from easy to very difficult.  The highest is said to be around 150 feet tall. The Royal Marines used them for training in rock climbing. They are also used by civilian climbers. They can be quite dangerous and a number of people over the years have fallen to their deaths from them. When I was young we used to clamber up the rocks without any climbing gear at all, although we never climbed the sheer faces. One of my most shocking memories is of a Royal Marine falling from the rocks and injuring himself very badly. I must have been in my early teens at the time. I was near the Bridge straddling the rivers when they brought him back from the rocks. He was being carried on stretcher and he was moaning “Oh my God! Oh my God!” I asked if there was anything I could do to help and one of the marines suggested I went back to the base of the cliff from which he had fallen and collect his boots which they had taken off. I went back along the river Plym to the spot where they had been climbing and found the boots. By this time it was dusk and as I reached down and picked up the boots they felt quite sticky. I looked closely at them and too my horror found they were covered in blood. I don't know what thoughts were going through my mind as I ran back. I only know I was very, very scared. We did learn a few days later that the climber had died. 

Whether it was a result of that experience, or just getting older and wiser, I don't know, but there was an occasion when my sister Justine and I walked up the Dewerstone using the normal route, which was steep but not dangerous. I must have been in my early teens at the time. When we got to the top we walked over to the Devils Rocks.  Justine walked to the very edge of the cliff and was peering over. I, on the other hand, would not and stayed over 2 feet from the edge. Justine, being six years younger had not yet learnt to fear danger and still had the impetuosity of youth. Justine remembers me saying "Come back from the edge Justine! If you fall mum will kill me".  

The legend of the Dewerstone Rocks

The first occasion I was told the legend of Dewer nearly frightened  me out of my life. I don’t remember how it came about but I had to walk back from Wotter on my own, just as it was getting dark. I must have been aged about nine years old at the time. Brian Pundsack who was a year older than me and a bit of a lad, told me the story before I left to walk back home. It was the Dartmoor legend of Dewar the huntsman, also called the horned man, and his pack of fearsome ghostly dogs known as the Whist Hounds. The legend goes that when a storms rage across the moors the Wild Huntsman is riding again.  Some say he hungers for human blood, or for the souls of unbaptized babies. Dewer would also drive unwary travellers to their deaths over the highest cliff on the Dewerstone: the 150' high Devil’s Rock.  To catch sight of his terrible hounds would cause you to sicken and die within the year.  The hounds are white, enormous, and have eyes and ears the colour of flame. In other versions of the legend, the huntsman is the ghost of Sir Francis Drake. Although Drake became a hero, he started off as a pirate and had a reputation for being very cruel. Another story goes that a farmer riding home from the Warren Inn, an ale house high on the moor, once saw a hunter with a strange pack of dogs, glowing eerily in the mist.  Drawing on all his courage, he asked the man if he'd had good sport that day.  The hunter laughed and threw the farmer a bundle, making a gift of the kill.  The farmer shuddered and hurried home, the stranger's gift under his arm.  When he reached his door he unwrapped the bundle, and found his own child, dead! As you can imagine after hearing Brian’s version of this story I was terrified walking home on my own in the dark and started to cry. I had walked about a mile when I saw a figure coming towards me. I didn’t know whether to run or hide. Luckily for me the figure shouted out. It was Mr Pundsack walking home from Shaugh. He could see how distressed I was and walked me almost the whole way home.

To view photographs of the Dewerstone click here.

For a history of Dewerstone Cottage shown in the photographs click here

To find out more about the legends of Dartmoor click here

To find out more about Dartmoor click here

The Dartmoor Preservation Association was founded in 1883, and campaigns against inappropriate developments which threaten Dartmoor and its immediate surroundings.  It also lobbies for increased access for all and it does active conservation work and educational projects in cooperation with the National Park Authority. to learn more  click here 

If your interested in walking on Dartmoor visit Peter Thomson's excellent walking pages click here

If you fancy a nice walk up the Dewerstone click here

Some very nice pictures of a walk up the Dewerstone taken by Keith Ryan click here