Please Note: This is a Military Training Area on which live firing and other pyrotechnics may be used. The area is generally open public access. One of the safety rules for public access is:- Do not, (and ensure that children do not) approach, touch or pick up any metal objects lying on the ground. Please obey all bylaws and locally posted information concerning times when the area may be closed. These may be physical barriers, marker posts, flags, lights or manned control posts.
Human activity on Dartmoor has a long history, with the first irrefutable evidence from the Neolithic period 4000-2500 BCE. More recently human activity is clear to see on any walk, including farming, industry, leisure and of course military. As well as the military camp near Okehampton, the three current firing ranges (Merrivale, Willsworthy and Okehampton) and existing facilities for military exercises, evidence for the MOD on Dartmoor can also be found in the numerous historic features of past military ventures.
The earliest of these date back to the early 1800s and coincide with the HMP Dartmoor in 1809. The battalion of soldiers manning the prison set up a firing range at Hart Tor to practise firing their muskets. Since then there are many phases of developing facilities for the MOD. These have occurred both for contemporary conflicts as well as changes in weapon technologies. Examples of both can be seen in the Rowtor area. To the north of the tor there is an area of later industrial activities, to the west of the road, that cuts through practise trenches for the Boer War in the late 1800s/early 1900s. To the south of the tor is the impressive target railway, and the associated anti tank emplacement for the range that were obviously developed for the new trials of tank warfare.
This cache is located just south of Rowtor, overlooking the very interesting anti tank emplacements, which have a reference waypoint should you want to check them out (although they should be pretty obvious). This range was originally built to accommodate the 84mm MAW. However, the observation post (the one between the front two) was re-positioned to allow a better view of the then new 94mm MAW. These projectiles would have been fired down the range towards either the moving target, on the track downrange, or at a stationary target. This type of range was state of the art in training anti tank crews to use their weapons, in the correct type of emplacements, against a moving target. Apart from that target shooting back it was as realistic as could feasible be achieved at the time.