(UPDATE – Uh-oh, TARDIS Malfunction. One of my readers told me that I actually landed at Haytor, not Hound Tor. Looks like I visited the wrong bit of Dartmoor, guess I will have to go back again one day. )

Surrender to the glory of the Sontaran Empire!

Help! There’s a Sontaran in my house whilst I write this. ‘Take that!’ A bosh on the head. Phew, it’s just disappeared through the floor. It must have followed me back from Hound Tor in Dartmoor where The Sontaran Experiment (1975) was filmed….

Hound Tor was the filming location for Picadilly Circus in the year 16087! In this episode the Sontarans were experimenting on humans. The Fourth Doctor, Sarah and Harry teamed up with some GalSec colonists who were stranded on Earth to defeat the Sontaran, Styre. Luckily when I went there was no sign of any Sontarans taking people away to experiment on!

When I went on my adventure I left my TARDIS at the bottom of the hill and walked up to take a look at Hound Tor. No Sontarans about but plenty of Dartmoor ponies! The ponies were dark and majestic and were not frightened of the humans all around. The hill was very steep and the ground was very slanted and bumpy. Luckily when I got to the top I was as fit as a fiddle, but my companions were out of puff.

At the top of the hill is the rock pile that is said  to have been the inspiration for Conan Doyle’s book ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ and in fact that episode of Sherlock was filmed here too! Sherlock Holmes was the detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle and The Sontaran Experiment’s Script Editor was Robert Holmes! Spot the difference! What a coincidence.

The area was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ‘Hundatora’ and is believed to have taken its name from the word ‘hound’. There was a rumour that ‘The Hound’ was a dog that had been changed to stone by some witches! Lots of people think it is a place of mystery and some people are scared of it and believe they have seen ghosts. I didn’t see any ghosts of any description when I was there.

 

I felt as if it was deserted as there was hardly anyone to be seen for miles. There were some climbers who had a lot of gear and were climbing the hard side. They could have just walked up the back! The views were amazing and it gave me a burst of joyfulness to be there.

 

 

I explored all around before I climbed to the top of the rock! I found it really easy climbing up the rock and soon reached the tip-top. It was as windy as an air tunnel and the air rushed around my nose and ears turning them into the colour of a Violet. It was a great view, I could see a lot of horses and the moor which was gigantic and stretched out as far as the eye could see. The people in the distance looked like ants. I felt like Superman at the top.

I really didn’t want to come down as I was having a great time at the top. I almost wanted to jump down but it was too high. I started to walk down but the rock was jagged and bumpy under my feet and I felt as if I would slip down. I had to be slow and steady.

Then it was back to back to my TARDIS and on to another adventure. I can’t wait to go back to Dartmoor and explore there another time – maybe then I will get a glimpse of the Beast of Dartmoor?

Thanks for reading and see you very soon. Right, I’m going off to play with my grenades.

Bye!