Placing a box

I'm part of a morris side named Dartmoor Border.
While trying to come up with interesting things to do, I thought about letterboxing.
Does anyone have any tips on putting out a letterbox?
I know the rough locality of where it will be, but haven't yet rummaged around to find the right place.
Also, would it be acceptable/ok, to use a grid reference to indicate the rough area of the box, and then riddle-like clues to lead the boxer to the location?

Thankee!

Lara

Hello Lara - We are also quite new to this so may not be the source of best advice but I did come across this site that gives some clear guidance about placing boxes

http://www.plympton.info/dartmoor/dartrule.html

Here is another good link that will help

http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/lettboxmain.htm

Lara
Just to help you on your way, there are clues in the catalogue that give you no grid ref, 4 digits (57,74), 6 digits (578,742), 8 digits (5780,7420) and some of the 8 digits are followed by the 10 digit GPS REFs (57801,74201)

Make it as hard or as difficult as you wish but make it findable, There was a set that gave you cryptic clues to the locations of finger post road signs around the moor which was good fun to do an the box location was local to these signs.

You can also pick up a brochure from the National park Info centres which outlines the dos and donts ie maintaining your box and the location do not locate it in a wall or archeology ie hut circles old ruins etc as they will be removed but also it stops people pulling rocks out of the features to find your box

My suggestion would be to find a suitable hole in the area you want to place the box in and hide it well, take at least 3 bearings from the box location, make one a distant bearing, a popular one would be at the grid ref above (if you can see it) and write them down for inclusion in the catalogue or for use as a word of mouth box (WOM)

WOM Clues are not usually published in the catalogue, these clues are swapped with other letterboxers for there clues to find other boxes. Some WOM clues do eventually find it to the catalogue.

one last tip register it and leave contact details in the box so we know how to contact you if the box gets damaged

Regards

Number 70

That sums it up nicely - though I would probably have a couple of more bearings (for your own sake).

However I would suggest you do not put it on top of any tors but to the side or further away, as there are a lot of tourists who would waltz off with your box!

And dont take a bearing off a sheep or a cow - it has been known!

Nik - KOTM wrote: And dont take a bearing off a sheep or a cow - it has been known!

LMAO ... you are kidding Nik? Right?

I've walked on a compass bearing before now and realised that what I had used as a sighting point had got up and walked away

I have walked on a bearing using a cow quite recently (heading for Crebers rock). It was the only thing I could pick out that was on the bearing. I knew it was a cow, but it seemed quite intent on eating the grass so I hoped it wouldn't move. It didn't


John.

There is another one to watch out for - and that is takingbearings off of range poles - these are bloomin great chunks of steel and have been known to upset bearings by as much as 30 degrees.
I have also known a few magnetic anomalies on a few areas of the moor which affect the cheaper types of compass - one that comes to mind is the area south of the mast at Princetown by the woods as you go up the hill from the track

As for bearings off of a cow - it is true it appeared in one of the updates about 15 years ago as a correction from the cow to something a little more substantial

Due to the fog on the moors, it is better taking a variaty of bearings more the better, close ones of trees, odd shaped rocks, and further away bearings as farm buildings, lines of trees on the horizion and other tors, it makes it better when the fog is coming down.

Thanks for that invaluable advice Dorset Knob!
How did you come about your very interesting letterbox `handle`?

origionally from Dorset, and this is one thing its famous for!!!!

Not to mention Thomas Hardy!

oh look the other half, get me a drink!!!! please

I loved Thomas Hardy`s books, and once had a boyfriend who lived near the Cerne Abbas Giant, to which I might surmise you are referring to?

Can I be a Moorland Wizard then??

monkey's on the moor wrote:oh look the other half, get me a drink!!!! please

LMAO

Su,

It could be, but it's not. In a small village called Morecombelake there is a place that makes biscuits, and they make a biscuit called the Dorset Knob. Not a nice biscuit but a funny name to box by.

Thank you everyone!
I've now got a much better idea of where to put the box and how to sort out the bearings , clues etc. Luckily for me, my boyfriend was a scout and is very good with a compass (I'm still learning). I'll post a new topic when the box is hidden, and pass on clues if people are interested.
Thanks again - I don't know where I'd be without you!