Summer 2013, and a 3-generation expedition to Dartmoor for a few days. I had vaguely heard about the – hobby? healthy outdoor activity? sport? – of GEOCACHING, the search for a concealed container in a (usually) remote place using clues. Or in some cases, coming across one by accident. However DARTMOOR LETTERBOXING was a variant new to me… Much the same principle, but on a smaller scale. Letterboxing originated on Dartmoor but has spread widely to many other places. As the official website puts it, “Letterboxing is an outdoor pursuit with similarities to orienteering. A small pot (the letterbox) containing a stamp and visitors’ book is hidden on the moor, and a clue is written to lead others to its position. Clues may be as simple as a map reference and list of compass bearings, or may be more cryptic. When a letterbox is found, the letterboxer takes a copy of the stamp, as well as leaving their own personal print in the visitors’ book. Letterboxing began on Dartmoor but is now popular in areas all over the world.”

The quest originally began when Berry (then 7) was having a riding lesson on the moor. They reached a gateway and Adele said there was something interesting close by it. She was a bit mysterious about it, so at Berry’s suggestion we decided to investigate the next day…

This is the same gateway, set in a long dry stone wall (see header image). It looked a promising place to start the search

Berry is something of an expert at this sort of task, and worked her way methodically along the wall towards the gateway checking the crannies (avoiding a barbed wire fence). And there, almost entirely concealed in the stones at the side of the gate, was a Letterbox. It is shown here after discovery and retrieval – originally it was almost invisible. Inside was a small notebook to sign and date, and some tiny mementos that previous finders had left in the container. Then Berry replaced the Letterbox in its original position for someone else to discover…

The sun broke through the clouds, and after a major paddling session in a pool formed by a stone dam in a small stream, it was time for sustenance…. 

Chocolate Brownie Heaven… 

I wouldn’t dream of giving away this location, but I think I can leave a broad clue: “Hound of the Baskervilles”. Part 2 will feature a rather more adventurous and fortuitous (i.e. no clues) Letterbox find at the top of a Tor on Dartmoor last summer.