New exhibition explores the “Secret Lives” of Dartmoor’s Tors

A fascinating new exhibition exploring Dartmoor’s iconic tors and their hidden histories is set to open at the Dartmoor National Park Visitor Centre in Princetown this April.

Titled “Rock Idols: The Secret Lives of Dartmoor’s Tors”, the exhibition runs from April 1 to June 15, 2025, offering visitors a fresh perspective on the rugged granite formations that have shaped the landscape and inspired legends for centuries.

The exhibition showcases the artwork of Dartmoor-based artist Alex Murdin, whose striking illustrations feature in a new guidebook, Rock Idols, co-written with his wife, writer Sophie Pierce. The couple, who have lived locally for 25 years, aim to rekindle public fascination with Dartmoor’s tors, exploring their geology, folklore, and cultural significance.

Murdin’s work challenges the common perception of tors as static, unchanging landmarks.
"People think tors are cold and still, but they are very lively – just on a vastly different timescale to ours," he explains. "They are certainly alive in our imaginations and feature in many of Dartmoor’s myths and legends, from the Devil at Dewerstone to Old Crockern at Crockern Tor and Vixiana at Vixen Tor.”

His illustrations bring these stories to life, depicting 28 of Dartmoor’s most remarkable tors - from the grand Victorian staircase at Blackingstone Rock to the towering granite columns of Fur Tor, known as the Queen of the Moor.

The exhibition’s title references an old Victorian term for tors, which 19th-century writers believed were once worshipped by Druids. Many ancient cultures, including Aboriginal and Sami communities, have long revered rocks as sacred objects, and Dartmoor’s megalithic monuments - stone circles and rows - are thought to align with these natural formations.

By reviving the term Rock Idols, Murdin and Pierce hope to reignite appreciation for these ancient monoliths, much like the classic illustrated guidebooks of Dartmoor’s past, written by figures such as Samuel Rowe and William Crossing.

The exhibition is just part of Murdin’s ongoing artistic exploration of Dartmoor’s rock formations. He is currently working on A Thousand Stones, an ambitious project to draw every stone of the Erme Valley Stone Row, the longest Bronze Age stone row in the world. Additionally, he is collaborating with archaeologist Alan Endacott to illustrate newly discovered prehistoric sites in northeast Dartmoor.

Murdin and Pierce will discuss their work in a special talk at Princetown Visitor Centre on Sunday, April 6, at 11:30am.

Meanwhile, their book, Rock Idols: A Guide to Dartmoor in 28 Tors, will be published on April 1 by Wild Things Publishing.

For more information, visit www.dartmoor.gov.uk