My story...

As a South African that moved to Plymouth in 2001, I first didn't have a clue WHAT the moor was, let alone WHERE it was.
As my kids got older, I spent much time driving around with them, exploring. When possible I like to turn down a little side road to see where it goes, as opposed to looking at a map.
During these trips I finally managed to get out on to Dartmoor, even if only driving to Princetown and back!

Being one of those people that need wide open spaces around them (the wilder the better) as much as I need air to breathe, I kept going back to Dartmoor. I'm also always overawed by old and ancient things and to this day I find it an amazing experience when I stand in the remains of a bronze age hut.

Walking in the Burrator region during the summer holidays this year, my kids and I met two lovely older people who told us they were doing letterboxing. They were very enthusiastic (and if I recall, on a charity walk) but one box frustrated them. It was according to their clues very near to where we met, so we offered to help them look for it.

And that's when the bug bit us! My kids asked me if I could take them letterboxing, which I was quite happy about. A bit of research on the Net suggested that Kings Tor's "littered" with boxes, so soon we were at the Four Winds car park and found several boxes.

Hopefully one day I will end up knowing half as much about the moor as Tim Sandles, whose rather excellent web site has inspired me even more.

And hopefully this coming Sunday, while attending my 1st ever meet, I might even get to meet some of you guys that know the moor so well.

William

Being one of those people that need wide open spaces around them (the wilder the better) as much as I need air to breathe, I kept going back to Dartmoor. I'm also always overawed by old and ancient things and to this day I find it an amazing experience when I stand in the remains of a bronze age hut.

Did it hurt? - that bite of the moor grabbing you and giving you the energy to make you want to come back time and time again.
Like me - I need wide open spaces the air to breathe and constantly going back.
During the meet weekend I went out on the moor after an absence of months and months. I ached, physically, before I got out there once I had my rucksack on and started to walk the pain left me. the energy that the moor gave I cannot explain here.
Dartmoor is an amazing place so full of energy and history, and until it is experienced, you have no reference point to explain how this works.

I am so glad you have experienced the magic of the moor and you will know what I am writing about.
As for the "letterboxing bug" well I had a similar type of thing a friend took me and my ex out there to look for a few boxes we didn't find any... lol and I didn't reconise the energy being given to me but I knew I felt better than I had at any time and wanted more and to this day I still want more Moor.
My dad is the same with the moors - he loves them so much but when he dragged us down to Plymouth (to live) I never understood why... until a few years ago he used to drive out there all the time (without anyone else) - when he gave up driving he used to walk out to Yelverton and back but now sadly due to ill health he cannot go out there anymore. This is only something I have realised recently, because he is too damn proud to admit this.

In London I live on a day to day basis on Dartmoor I live for the day whatever it may bring.

Which has just given me an idea... if only Freecycle will let me do it

Hi Nik,

I've travelled quite a bit in Africa and I've seen some amazing things, from the mighty Zambezi to where the Okovango Delta disappears and the landscape changes from marsh to dry desert in the space of a football pitch, to Xai Xai where the beach sand makes sparks underfoot when you run on it at night.

Dartmoor is NOT the most beautiful landscape I've seen, nor is it the wildest and it's certainly not unspoilt. And in terms of size it's a postage stamp!

However, there is something intensely mystical about the moor, something that makes me want to believe the often obviously unrealistic stories that are passed along - stories of strange creatures and little folk. There is a sense of something far, far greater than mere mortal beings on Dartmoor and sometimes I feel like it's so close, so real that I can almost reach out and touch it.

The moor has an intense sadness about it, like a young mother mourning the death of a newborn child, while at the same time offering a bubbling joy like playful lambs seem to have and wisdom from a deeply lined face.

It experiences seasons, and the harshness of seasons, but seems beyond the touch of something as simple as seasons.

I know the pain you feel when you talk of the moor, and I live right next to it. Unfortunately work commitments means I have far fewer opportunities to get out on the moor than what I'd like - I have a full-time job and a part-time company.

If Dartmoor does indeed have spirits wandering, I think they're blessed. There can be few places in the world better suited to spirits than the moor.