Is Letterboxing in Decline

I raise this question after spending a week on the moor around Sourton Tor/Great Links Tor. We were finding boxes that had last been stamped in 2009 and others with only one or two stamp enteries for this year. As this is a popular area for boxing and not that far onto the moor I would have expected more stamps in the books.
P.S. We did find an old ammunition box ,always gives a thrill over finding pill pots
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Not every one leaves an impression of their stamp. I've seen that even when we find box only minutes after someone else has clearly "found it"- we watched them but stayed back to they had some space and we still had a hunt- they haven't left a stamp so we don;t know who they were. I guess plenty of people who buy charity walk sheets don't own a stamp , they just want a treasure hunt and to support said charity.

Dartmoor letterboxing is not in decline if anything it is gaining in popularity .If certain boxes are not visited on a more regular basis its because there is so much else to collect .Some areas are very popular wheras others like Black Hill and Black Ridge brook are now hardly visited partly because of the ring road closure . Only the intreid few are able to get to these now quite remote parts of Dartmoor .I last visited the area 3 years ago and many boxes are still on site , some had not been visited for 5 years . One I found on Black Hill had its last visitor 18 years ago due to the fact that the clue had been lost in the mists of time . A lage portion of Central Northern Dartmoor is now permanently out of reach for many older boxers ,inpart due to the uncaring and short sighted way in which the ring road was closed ,for me it felt like losing a reliable and well loved friend and things will NEVER now be the same again .Six years ago ,I did what was to me was one of the most memorable walks I have ever done from OP15 to East Dart Head to Postbridge on a quiet warm spring day .To me it was like a walk in heaven and Shadow my dog loved every minute as we expolored this unspoilt wilderness that has probably not changed for a thousand years .
Regarding the future, It is up to letterboxers to ensure our great hobby continues so others too can enjoy letterboxing, and above all ensure its done in harmony with Dartmoors unique environment .

I don't believe for one second that letterboxing is in decline but in some areas it certainly is!
These areas are the ones being swept by the letterbox theif and farmers who don't want their livestock upset by irresponsible walkers. A lot more of the boxes are going WOM to thwart the theif.
Events like the Ten Post Box Walk have declined since the tragic death of one of the walkers, which I personally think is a shame Giving the catalogue letterbox a five year lifespan has definitely reduced the number of boxes, making the area around Wistmans Wood a Newtake (which was one of my favourite places to go boxing) certainly reduced the number of boxes.
Having said all that boxing is still alive and well - it is just that bit harder to find the boxes or requiring a bit more effort

hope not, i have about 100 boxes to put out when i get back to the UK at christmas, with help from a few boxers, saying that, i have put email addresses on boxes and clues sent out, asking for a simple "boxes are all there" but not had nothing in a while.

I am new to this forum but I have read this "farmers removing boxes because they don't like walkers" issue a few times already.

Are you sure that this is the reason they collect boxes? Letterboxers are usually seen to be the more considerate people out on the moor aren't they? And in numbers they don't compare with sunday trippers and tourists either so removing boxes wouldn't actually take a lot of people away from the area.(especially in areas around King's tor where the old railway attracts a lot of traffic).

On a sidenote, if I look at they way a lot of these so called "farmers" here look after their property, their livestock and the land that they let I think we should have issues with them instead of them having issues with walkers.

I dont think letterboxing is in decline, well at least i hope not. I have come back to it, having done it in the early nineties as a teenager. I remember going to the meet at princetown and it seemed more crowded then than now but that may be a reflection on the size of the venue more than anything else i guess. It's interesting though that many of those i see at the meet are much older than me, i'm 36. Perhaps encouraging the younger generations is the best way to make it go from strength to strength. I now tend to go out with my family which includes 2 kids, one 6 and one 3. The 6 year old particulary enjoys it and will recite the names of the tors he has visited. We also go out with other families with children of a similar age. I'm sure there are many that do the same. It gets them out in the fresh air rather than playing on the 'Wii' ! I think that this is the key to keeping it growing, passing the knowledge and experience down the family generations , get the kids interested now so as they can learn about the maps, clues, compass bearings etc and enjoy and respect the moors . Charity walks are a great way to generate new interest and the boxes do seem to be of a good quality.

anyway, just a few thoughts,, happy letterboxing!

Following on from my original question " Is Letterboxing in Decline" .
I would be interested to know what happend on 20th November 2007 to make 67 users of this site go on line at 9.40pm.
Have looked back at postings for this date but can see no reason for this large number of viewings.
Most nights now there would be around 10 members viewing the site at any one time, so what has happend?.

was it raining???

I have been concerned about the decline of letterboxing for a long time. I believe that this hobby has peaks and troughs, and it had a long peak in the 1990s and its had a long trough during the 2000s.

The 1980's were a time when there were a few boxes searched for by a dedicated few individuals. Maybe we are returning to a time like this...

Personally I don't want letterboxing to be mainstream. I like its obscure quirkiness. I would prefer to see more youngsters letterboxing and a return to the good old days of the meet.

Tamerton Chocolates wrote:I am new to this forum but I have read this "farmers removing boxes because they don't like walkers" issue a few times already.

Are you sure that this is the reason they collect boxes? Letterboxers are usually seen to be the more considerate people out on the moor aren't they? And in numbers they don't compare with sunday trippers and tourists either so removing boxes wouldn't actually take a lot of people away from the area.(especially in areas around King's tor where the old railway attracts a lot of traffic).

On a sidenote, if I look at they way a lot of these so called "farmers" here look after their property, their livestock and the land that they let I think we should have issues with them instead of them having issues with walkers.

Sadly it is nothing to do with the majority of letterboxers but more to do with the really small minority who dont observe the country code - they leave litter everywhere some things have never ceased to amaze me as the size of the rubbish and its location. Also is the issue of dogs will come into the equation too

The Ghost Returns wrote:Following on from my original question " Is Letterboxing in Decline" .
I would be interested to know what happend on 20th November 2007 to make 67 users of this site go on line at 9.40pm.
Have looked back at postings for this date but can see no reason for this large number of viewings.
Most nights now there would be around 10 members viewing the site at any one time, so what has happend?.

It was Tuesday ... that will be why then!!!!

67 users must have been bored

Sadly the answer is quite simple at the time there were about 10 users on here the rest were company autobots looking at sites - every now and then one breaks through and posts junk on the forum - usually selling something.

[quote="whoisthechallenger"]I have been concerned about the decline of letterboxing for a long time. I believe that this hobby has peaks and troughs, and it had a long peak in the 1990s and its had a long trough during the 2000s.

The 1980's were a time when there were a few boxes searched for by a dedicated few individuals. Maybe we are returning to a time like this...

Personally I don't want letterboxing to be mainstream. I like its obscure quirkiness. I would prefer to see more youngsters letterboxing and a return to the good old days of the meet.[I have to agree I personally liked the hobby in the early 80s, you just about knew everyone involved, the meets at Hexworthy were very friendly, of course there were rivals and tricks played, but this all added to the fun. With there only being hundreds of boxes you were almost guaranteed to meet boxers aiming for the newly released sites, and you would regularly cross paths on walks, you could even identify who the fellow walkers were from a real distance!!! I have bumped into several boxers this year and to me the personal chatty side of the hobby seems to be missing, buts thats just my impression. I hope it continues but I would like to see it return to a slightly more exclusive passtime with time effort and thought going into locating future boxes.

I believe there currently is a decline but how long it will last and whether or not it is serious I don't know. In the area where I usually box (the one that mustn't be mentioned in public) there has been a gradual decline in the number of boxes over several years. To start with it was almost imperceptable just a few less in total after every update. Since one of the more dedicated planters has had to give up due to ill health numbers of boxes have dropped significantly as their plants have been brought in. I have not kept a record of the total number of "live" boxes on any date but I would estimate there are 20-25% fewer than five years ago. Still a healthy number but not what it could be.

Could it be that the recession has had an effect on letterboxing? I know that I think twice now before using the car. It is a round trip of five hours for me to visit The Moor so it something I do very rarely now.

I wish I had the luxury of a 5 hour round trip - but I agree with you that the recession has bitten deep into the activities of a lot of people - transport being perhaps the biggest factor.
A coupl eof years ago I popped down to Dartmoor I only had time for an afternoons boxing and I worked it out the stamps came out at £31 each!

Being fairly new to this hobby from what I have worked out there are fewer people submitting clues into the catalogue due to boxes being stolen. However saying this there may be even more boxes out on the moor which are Word of Mouth. This is probably mainly because the owners want to minimise the chance of their boxes being stolen due to them being advertised within the letterboxing catalogue.

I haven't as yet purchased a catalogue but may attend the next meet at Princetown, once I've achieved the first 100 boxes anyway!

I think you are correct with your assumption with less people putting clues in the catalogue for that very reason.
Having said that the powers that be are trying to encourage the old six figure references like it used to be in the old days.