Lost on cut hill

Hi, Just back from Cut Hill and my friend lost his Silva sighting Compass possibly near the guide stones on August 9th. Anyone finding it could they contact adrianchojnowski@msn.com
Cut Hill may not be quite the Letterbox City it was but we did manage to find quite a few that weren't in the present catalogue so if your up there take a look.

Just had a long trip to Cut Hill myself. Went many years ago and it was always very productive on the letterbox front. However, several friends have recently been up there and said how green it had become, so thought I had better try it one more time. It was exactly as I remember, except a lot greener. So many peat banks to look in - took time to look around the Jew Stone, Rain Gauge, The Blocks, Outcrop and of course the inevitable trip up the North West Passage. kept pulling out boxes I had had way back in the 80's/90's. Beautiful hand cut stamps that have stood the test of time, still intact. Not one of them shop bought and still there after all this time. On Sunday I ventured there and came back with a tally of 56 boxes which I had to whittle down to 47 as some I had had before. A great day out up there if you can make it. 12 miles in total.

Is it just cut hill that is full of boxes? The other day I walked via Ockerton & Cranmere to the peat pass on Black Ridge and found a grand total of 1 (not counting the cranmere box itself)

There are not that many boulders to hide them and in the walls of the peat pass was nothing either (but what are those stacks of stones every 100 yrds for??). Did I just look in the wrong places?

Oh dear, those stacks of stones are the peat pass marker cairns to guide you through the pass. There are also loads of boxes in that pass and on the way to Cranmere. Quite a few around the basin of Cranmere Pool as well. You just have to be patient and poke in the tops of the peat banks as well as the sides. This is completely different letterboxing than on or around the tors. You will not find a nice rock with a hole underneath with the obvious stones in front. All boxes in the middle of the moors, away from tors, are usually 'plugged'. This means a hole is dug to accommodate the pot, then the plug is placed back on top. A lot of the plugs then grow back in. To find them you need a good clue, or a gentle prod, that is all that is needed to unearth them.
By the way, did you walk to Ockerton Court from OP22???

I was going to park up at Fernworthy - but I wasn't sure if I could get from Hangingstone to Cranmere with dry feet as it had been raining a lot. So unfortunately I decided to park at OP22 and had a really boring walk up - not going there again.

Mind you I didn't set out to find letterboxes otherwise I would have searched harder. I am just used to finding them all the time as most places are so obvious that they catch your eye as you walk past.

Seems a bit pointless to go out and search for these plugged boxes by the looks of it.

Sadly it is now a very long walk along the road all thanks to the DNP for closing the road. If you want boxes that 'catch the eye' as you go past then the best place for those is close to the road or the tors. The middle of the North or South moors is for the 'serious' boxer, who likes a nice long walk and at the end of it, some lovely hand cut stamps. There are so many variations to this letterboxing game that I am sure you will find what best suits you. Good luck and enjoy.

The walk isn't actually that long - its only about 45 minutes along a tarmac road. Even the potholes are all nicely filled in! It is just boring. I was so tempted to keep driving to OP15 - it really is only a very small sign saying you shouldn't.

I am not looking for easy finds, but these plugged boxes really sound like a needle in a haystack without the clues. And I'd rather use that time to wander around instead of poking in peatbanks

Its tempting to drive to OP15 still as several did the Sunday before last but if Ian (The ranger for that area ) catches you and reports you its a £400 fine .I tried to persuade him to let me go there one more time but to no avail . He did however say that the West Mill road has been given the go ahead to be repaired at the bad step ,so that is a good thing .Personally I park at op22 and walk across to Newbridge to get to OP15 and out to Cranmere its not that bad just get to OP22 an hour earlier . I am hoping to go to East Dart Head again this Sunday and on to Black Hill .