Forest Inn - Centre of South Dartmoor

The Forest Inn at Hexworthy is a great place to explore the moors. Just spent 3 nights in the Forest Inn, and 3 great days hiking on the moors.

Found Merripits, Yar Tor, Hexworthy Cross and Hartland Tor LetterBoxes. All found without any clues, just a bit of rummaging around.

Also stumbled accross a LetterBox called "Shropshire Bee Visits". This one was in the middle of the path, not far away from "Merripits", not sure if it was in the right place, so I moved into the claws of a small Gorse bush.

Covered over 60k over the 3 days.

Also went to Henroost Mine, and Henroost Cross. There is another Cross, approx 400metres away from Henroost Cross, does anyone know what this one is called. Approx Grid Ref SX655 715

I'd highly recommend the Forest Inn, especially the Breakfast, also, there's a great LetterBox in the Inn itself, "look for the Piano". Some poor Germans, have actually put in Postcards, with Stamps and AirMail stickers, with the LetterBoxing stamps, etc. I think they think it's a proper Letter Box.

The stepping stones, a stones throw from Hexworthy, were an interesting challenge!!!.

Great weekend, but work tomorrow!

Hi Magicharry,

Could be Horse Ford Cross?

Paul

Sounds like you had a great time. Let's hope the owner posts the Germans' postcards for them.

Hi The cross at the grid ref you give is actually Down Ridge Cross, not Horse Ford. Horse Ford cross is a little further over towards its named ford.

It is not the first time postcards have been posted in letterboxes not that I ever did it but I believe it used to be more common 25 years ago

Nik - KOTM wrote:It is not the first time postcards have been posted in letterboxes not that I ever did it but I believe it used to be more common 25 years ago

Quite often back then, the next letterboxer would pick it up and post it from their home town. The only postcards these days seem to be first person to have found a box and returning the postcard to the owner.

Yes it used to be quite a common practice - One boxer always took a few out each trip, left them in boxes and asked the next person to visit to stamp up and post it back tohim. Bet ha has a lovely collection of personal stamps.

Sowerby Streaker wrote:Yes it used to be quite a common practice - One boxer always took a few out each trip, left them in boxes and asked the next person to visit to stamp up and post it back tohim. Bet ha has a lovely collection of personal stamps.

Yes remember it well, not seen often these days, well not by us anyway.!! Shame was nice to get your postcard back.

we could try and re-start it??

According to Google Earth, it appears to be Skir Ford Cross. Is this right? curious now.. Thanks

This is an extract from a book 'Dartmoor Crosses & some ancient tracks' by F.H.Starkey describing the 'Monk's Path' :-
...From Horns Cross (669 711) we continue in a NW'ly direction....to the banks of a brook. This is the O'brook which we must cross... at the ford(Horse Ford). ..Near the spot where the two tracks join we shall find another cross,(660 713) standing in a cleft in a boulder into which it has been cemented to keep it upright. The shaft of this cross is very short and part of it is obviously missing. The shaft has been broken at some time and repaired by means of an iron clamp. The cross has no regular name but is usually refered to as 'the cross near Skir Ford' (most letterboxers call this smaller cross - Horse Ford Cross). He then goes on to say 'From the cross we make our way almost due west for about a quarter of a mile and soon see another cross ahead of us on Down Ridge (654 714), which is how it is usually described. This is a substantial granite cross standing about six feet high' From Down Ridge Cross the Monk's path then goes up to the Ter Hill Crosses.
Hope this helps, but I expect you will find different authors call both crosses by different names.

From Tim Sandles book'A Pilgrimage to Dartmoor Crosses - cross on Down Ridge is Skir and the one above O Brook being Horse Ford. That is what I called them on my Crosses series put out in 1996 (both are still on site.)

TWA

Sowerby Streaker wrote:Hope this helps, but I expect you will find different authors call both crosses by different names.

There you are then - 2 different authors - 2 different names for the crosses!

Thanks all. Quite interesting.