How do we get started

we are excited as we found our first letter box on the moor yesterday. Is the task to find the first 100 without any clues or maps? We just have to keep our eyes open for them?

Or there some clues for the beginner?

We had a great walk yesterday which ended at sunset at the giants basin getting our boots full of water crossing the stream. that had made a massiva bog. mmm... won't do that again.

hope to hear from someone soon

From Nick and Sarra

best thing to do is search the internet for clues for areas of dartmoor and you might be surprised on how many there are, or the other way is to buy charity walks with clues on..

Hi Nick welcome to the forum you were brave out on the moors in this terrible weather hope you find some more letterboxes soon.I must admit it is very addictive, but a great hobby

Hi Nick and Sarra

Yes, traditionally, you would find the first 100 without any help. If you take a look through some of the threads you should pick up lots of hints. You never know, if you get out and about a few times over the next few weeks, in the more popular areas, you might reach your first 100 before clock change, when there is a meet at Lee Moor and you will pick up loads of stamps and clues.

Well done on finding your first box. Which one was it?

Well done Nick,

I used to live just down the road from you in Dorking, and the travel problems put a serious crimp in gathering my first 100; in fact it took me two years! Ten years on, I'm on the doorstep but I'm still strugglig! Best luck with your endeavours!

Duckpool

Hi Nick, welcome to the site and welcome to the huge world of Dartmoor Letterboxing...
I find one of the best ways to try to go out boxing is to find someone who knows what they are doing and let them guide you through the pitfalls and tips for letterboxing. You will find a plethora of information on these pages to help you along your way.

Traditionally it is "the way to go" to get your first hundred boxes by looking for them without clues.... I admit back in my early days finding boxes was very easy as there were tens of thousands of them out there, but with the 5 year limit for boxes it seems the number has dropped by upto 75% which is a lot! The Dartmoor Letterbox theif doesn't help either.

Most of the boxes out there these days seem to be charity walks but they aren't.

A useful tip is to make a note of what the box is when you find it and make a note of who the owner is especially if they have an email address!
Email them, tellng them you have found their box and it is in good condition or broken or whatever... it is appreciated, and ask if they have any clues for any other boxes out there. Dont be knocked back if they say No but if you dont ask you wont get... Then there is the asking other people out there if they have travellers....

I promise you will learn, and it is fun as well

Hello all, my wife and I are just starting out with letterboxing. We found our first one at Bellever Torr on Sunday the 12th of October, the stamp depicted three horses in a row which was very apt, as there were about five ponies dashing around the Tor obviously making the most of the excellent sunny day we were all having.

The book was slightly damp in the tupperware container but I managed to soak up the damp in there with a cloth we had with us. There was a contact number in the book, but we thought it best not to disturb the people. We felt a bit weird about it!:) Maybe we should have. needless to say I made sure that the book was returned in its plastic bag as well as was possible.

My question is, (although its early days yet and 100 stamps seems like a very tall order for us!) to acheive the 100 stamps and to have the opportunity to buy the clue book; Is it only the stamps themselves with a general location on where we found them which is required to apply for the 100 club? I would hate for us to start amassing the stamps and finding out we didn't get enough information about where thay come from!

Also, do the holiday stamps count in the total?

Maybe I'm thinking that you're quite strict on certain rules, I might be completely wrong! But its best to ask.

Thanks!

If you find a box anywhere on the moors, make a note of the stamp name/number (or a description) and the date you found it. Some people also put the name of the Tor or Pub/Public Building that they found it at. You can also count travellers. It's not quite as strict as many years ago, when travellers and pub boxes didn't count.

Good luck with achieving your first 100 and maybe we will see you at the meet some time.

Welcome to the site Mr and Mrs B
You sort of sneaked in under the radar there... but you cant hide forever from us.