Sight · Dartmoor National Park
A narrow granite avenue with wide moorland views.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Dartmoor Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Dartmoor National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Great Staple Tor and the Granite Avenue“You're approaching the B3357 access for Great Staple Tor.”
Plays as you drive up to Great Staple Tor in the Parkwolf Dartmoor Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Great Staple Tor is a 455 m granite tor just west of Merrivale. Several large stacks form its skyline, with a distinctive avenue between its two main piles. The visit is a gentle climb from parking near Merrivale, followed by room to wander among the boulders and short turf. Come for the close-up granite as much as the view; you can link the nearby Little, Middle and Roos Tors into a longer outing.
From the open summit, views run across western Dartmoor toward Great Mis Tor and North Hessary Tor, with Plymouth Sound to the south. The southeast slopes hold traces of 19th-century granite working: granite was cut for paving setts in Tavistock and Plymouth, and low sett-makers’ banks remain. For a photo, frame the avenue between the two main stacks, then turn around for the wide moorland view.
The tor is near the B3357 just west of Merrivale, reached on foot from nearby parking. The Merrivale military range lies about a mile north and east; check Dartmoor’s range access information if extending your walk, and stay out of marked danger areas when red flags or lamps are showing.
Wildlife
32 sightingsWestern Roe DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
10 sightingsRed FoxMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
37 sightingsEuropean RabbitMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
19 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
34 sightingsGreat Spotted WoodpeckerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
20 sightingsCommon RavenMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Dartmoor. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateWhite Tor Walk10.3 km · 3.5 hr · 1.2 km awayA rough moorland loop across three Staple tors to White Tor’s hillfort.
ModerateLittle Mis Tor and Great Mis Tor Walk4.8 km · 1.8 hr · 2.1 km awayTwo tors, a stone track, and a rocky summit above open moor.
EasyFoggintor Quarry Walk2.9 km · 1 hr · 2.7 km awayMoorland track leads to still water beneath towering quarry walls.
EasyPrincetown Walk to South Hessary Tor3 km · 1 hr · 5.3 km awayA gentle moorland walk to a granite tor above Princetown.
ModeratePrincetown to Nun’s Cross Walk8 km · 2.3 hr · 5.3 km awayA gravel track across open moor to a wayside cross.
ModerateTavy Cleave and Hare Tor Circular7.1 km · 3 hr · 6.4 km awayA boulder-filled river gorge, boggy moor and two tors in one loop.
EasyWistman's Wood Walk4 km · 1.3 hr · 6.7 km awayA 4 km return to a gnarled oak wood by the valley.
EasyNorsworthy Bridge to Deancombe2.6 km · 1.5 hr · 7.2 km awayA short gravel walk to a ruined farmstead above Narrator Brook.
Sight · 1.7 km awayMerrivale Prehistoric SettlementLong stone rows and dozens of Bronze Age house sites to explore.
Campground · 2.9 km awayLangstone Manor Holiday ParkForty touring pitches and a manor-house restaurant on Dartmoor’s edge.
Sight · 3.3 km awayFoggintor QuarryA flooded granite pit wrapped in towering cut-stone walls.
Campground · 3.9 km awayHarford Bridge Holiday ParkStay by the Tavy, from pitches to Tipis and pods.
Sight · 4.6 km awayDartmoor Prison MuseumObjects and cell displays bring Dartmoor’s prison history close.
Lodging · 6.7 km awayTwo Bridges HotelA historic riverside inn and useful base for Wistman's Wood.
Sight · 7 km awayWistman’s WoodTwisted, lichen-covered oaks meet mossy granite boulders.
Sight · 7.5 km awayBurrator ReservoirA gentle circuit below moorland tors and wooded shores.Parkwolf’s Dartmoor ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
