Bowerman's Nose

A stack of granite that's inspired legends

Despite there being more than 160 tors on Dartmoor, few are as distinctive or instantly recognisable as Bowerman’s Nose, a tall stack of rock about a mile from Hound Tor and close to the village of Manaton. With its passing resemblance to a capped man or a man with a large nose, the stack has inspired one of Dartmoor’s most well-known legends: Bowerman the Hunter.

The story goes that a huntsman named Bowerman lived on the moor and while out chasing a hare, he and his dogs disrupted a coven of witches during a ceremony. The witches decided to punish Bowerman the next time he was hunting, turning him into a stack of granite and his dogs into the clitter (scattered granite rocks) that are on nearby Hound Tor.

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