Where is the highest point in devon?
The Roof of Devon stands at an altitude of 621 metres which makes it not only Dartmoor’s highest peak it is also the highest peak in England and Wales south of the Brecon Beacons. The place in question is ‘High Willhays’ and today it proudly wears its crown as ‘king of the hills’. However, that has not always been the case as prior to the skills of the Ordnance Survey surveyors the neighbouring outcrop of Yes tor was always been considered to be Dartmoor’s highest point. For such an eminent pile the topographical writers are less than complimentary. Hemery, 1983, pp.883 describes the tor thus: “the rock plies are intrinsically unremarkable when compared with many others in north Dartmoor.” The earliest mention of the place name is in 1532 when it was Hight Wyll where Gover et al, 1992 p.203, suggest it may be simply a compound of ‘high’ and ‘well’ (spring). William Crossing, 1990, p.201, uses the old Dartmoor name of ‘High Willies’ and in later documents the name High Willows also appe
