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The Rockworm

Holes in granite are seen in many places around Dartmoor and it is said that not all of them are caused by the use of men with feathers and tares, as used in the traditional method of splitting granite.

It is reported that some wise men have trained special worms to do the hard work for them, after all, most types of worm are very good at boring holes in all sorts of materials, from earth worms in the ground to the Emme valley worms that make the holes in Emmental cheese. This photo shows a trained worm, amusingly named by his owner as "Rocky" and known to all who see him as "Rocky the Rockworm". It is unusual to see these worms in daylight as they are normally nocturnal, preferring to work in the dark and in private.

Here, the rockworm is demonstrating how the long holes are made without using any mane-made equipment.

The holes made by the rockworm are usually a constant diameter.

This worm is tidying up the slots in a slotted gatepost - this requires special training compared to simply making uniform diameter holes to a uniform depth in the granite.

This is Rocky as he appears when his work is finished, very tired!