BIDDERS will be lining up to buy a ?little piece of England? tomorrow (Friday) when Sheepstor and 125 acres of moorland surrounding it is auctioned off in Somerset.

The historic tor near Yelverton, which boasts a prehistoric stone circle, has created a reasonable amount of local interest, according to estate agents Symonds and Sampson, who are handling the sale.

With a guide price of £100,000, Sheepstor, a popular spot with walkers, sightseers and rock climbers, is currently owned by Captain Maxwell Hislop, a distant relative of the Bayly family, who have owned the land since 1839.

John White Hamilton of Symonds and Sampson said Captain Hislop had decided to sell the site, which has 350 acres of sporting rights, in view of his advancing years.

?We have had a reasonable amount of local interest ? everybody wants to own a bit of England and bits of England do not come up every week.

?At the moment it is producing £4,000 a year income from the Ministry of Defence, which is better than having your money in a bank, but if used for shoots it could return up to seven per cent.?

But shooting on the site would be inappropriate, said members of the Dartmoor Preservation Association, who confirmed the organisation would like to buy the beauty spot near Burrator Reservoir, but the price was too high.

Association secretary Hugh Robinson said as far as he was aware the shooting rights had never been exercised: ?It is not recognised as a profitable game shooting range ? there are no pheasant or partridge up there.

?That parcel of land is included in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 as access land anyway, so walkers could not be prevented from using it.?

Mr Robinson said DPA, which owns three areas of land on Dartmoor, were interested in Sheepstor 12 years ago when it came up for sale but even then, at £25,000 less, the price was too high.

The auction of Sheepstor takes place at the Manor Hotel, Yeovil at 3pm tomorrow.