More Post-Trip Information

There really isn't much to report about the Dartmoor trip since I have taken care of quite a bit of stuff since we have returned. But there were still a few loose ends I wanted to handle and I also had made a plan to blog at the end of each month until the end of the year. So here is an update for November.


I went through my journal and decided to take it apart and then put it back together in a better order. I arranged the stamp images according to type and then I added some papers and pictures I had. By the time I finished adding and arranging everything the book was thicker. So I rebound it with bigger wire rings. I also added a pixie charm that I had bought in Widecombe-in-the-Moor. I have also done a little more work on my pictures. But I am still not done. I need to go through about two more days worth of pictures and then sort through them and make some slideshows. One other thing I did was to go through all the literature and brochures I collected. They are now in a folder and I still am not sure what I want to do with them. They may just get filed but I was thinking of trying to bind them somehow. I will let you know what I end up doing and hopefully everything will be complete by the end of next month.

Updating Post Trip Information

Another month has passed since we returned from England. I still have a few things to do to finish up the trip. Things have been put on hold the last month so that I could take care of other things and really nothing mattered that much. I still need to finish sorting out some of the pictures and I need do a few things with my logbook. I also have some papers and information that I am going to bind at the end of the year. I have gotten some things stored and organized and I am happy about that.


Unfortunately we are still dealing with the rental van issue. The charge was taken off our bill but the credit card company has issued a statement to the rental van company and they have 45 days to either let it go or recharge us. It is really annoying and I hope it all ends well. The charge is bogus and I feel that the rental van company is trying to get extra money out of us.

Anyway that is where we are at for now. By the end of the year I want to have everything regarding this trip organized and put away. I shouldn't have a problem with getting that done. I will make one last post at the end of the year to sum up this trip.

Getting Back into a Normal Routine

We have been home a couple of weeks now and our normal routine has kicked in. I am still working on things from the trip and trying to organize stuff. I have spent quite a few hours going through all the photos I took on the trip but I am still not totally finished with that project. I do want to organize all the photos and then pick out a good representation of the trip and create a slideshow. I also finished going through my logbook and I got all the stamp images I received logged in. I also updated my counts and spreadsheets with my finds. I have a pile of items that I need to decide how I want to store or save them. There are postcards, patches, pins, brochures, pictures, stamp images, receipts and other papers that are just sitting there waiting to be dealt with. I also have some ideas and things I want to do with my logbook. There are things I want to add and I would like to rearrange it so it is in a better order.

We paid for most of the trip before we left so we didn't have that much to worry about when we got home. But I am happy to say that the entire trip is now paid for and we did well. It was even a little less than we had expected. I am glad to have all of the financial things done. The only real thing that we are working on is the problem with the van. When we returned the vans they noticed a dent on the front left bumper of the van that hadn't been noted on the pick up form. So the company decided to charge Thomas £1500. We immediately called our credit card company to file a dispute. The only problem was that it was a Saturday and they couldn't really do anything then and also the charge hadn't actually been posted to our account. They told us to call when we got home. And that is what we did. They gave us lots of instructions and they told us they would work on it and get back to us. In the meantime they told us not to pay that charge until everything was handled. So far we haven't heard anything and we are still waiting. Our credit card company has always been good with handling these things so I think it will all work out.

The other thing I have done since we have been home is keep up with the Yahoo! Talk List. I don't post much but I have made sure to read what is being posted. And I have kept Mark P. informed about the van situation. I really enjoyed the trip and I am glad I have kept up with this blog - it will be a great reminder of our visit to the Moors.

Home Again, Home Again Jiggety-Jig

It is Friday morning and we are home. We left London early yesterday morning to begin our journey home. I guess we were both ready to come home because we were awake at 4:15am. So we showered, dressed, finished packing and were ready by 5:00am. [Note: We were up at 4:15am on Thursday morning London time which put us up at 9:15pm Santa Fe time on Wednesday night.] We had scheduled our taxi for 5:30am so we went down to the hotel lobby with our luggage and soon after the taxi showed up. The drive to Heathrow was quick and quiet. There was no traffic and the city seemed quite different than it does during the day. We arrived at Heathrow and made our way to the Virgin Atlantic desks. We checked in our bags and we were ready to go since we already had our boarding passes. There wasn't a gate assignment yet so we went through security - which was extremely quick and painfree, we didn't even have to take off our shoes - then we went and found a place to get coffee and some breakfast and wait for a gate assignment. It took about 40 minutes before a gate appeared on the screen and at that time we made our way to Gate 17. Here we had to have our passports and boarding passes checked - again it was very quick. At this point we only had about 30 minutes to wait for boarding. We were happy to have two seats by the window by ourselves - it is just nicer not to have to worry about anyone else. We got settled and were ready for takeoff but for some reason things were moving slow - so our 9:05am takeoff turned into a 9:40am takeoff. When things got settled I decided to watch a movie - Maleficent and then they came around with beverages. After my movie finished they brought us lunch - salad, chili, bun, passionfruit yougurt, coke and coffee. While eating I watched Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Later they brought us a strawberry popsicle type thingy for a snack and I also had more coffee. When this movie finished I took a break and filled out the customs forms for me and Thomas and then closed my eyes and rested for a bit. Then I decided to watch another movie - Noah. During this movie they brought us another small meal - cheese and sundried tomato sandwiches, chips, cookie and mints. Thankfully when the last movie finished we were close to landing, by this time I was getting really bored and was ready to get out of the plane. After landing we went through customs which went really fast and then we went to claim our bags. Once we had our bags we made our way to Terminal 5 where our next flight was leaving from but not until 8:30pm. The time at this point was just after noon NYC time. They told us it was too early to check-in so we had to find a place to sit and wait for a couple of hours. There was only one place to get anything to eat and that was a Dunkin' Donuts. So we had iced coffees and a doughnut and sat there and talked and read until we could check-in and get through security. Around 3:00pm we finally got bags checked in and our boarding passes and then headed for security. Again we got through security quickly - I really thought that security would be more involved since we were flying on 9/11, but it wasn't bad. We made our way to Gate 23 and settled in as we still had a few hours to wait. We spent the time reading, playing on our iPads, walking around, getting a few snacks and even taking a couple of cat naps. I really thought we would go stir crazy as time just seemed to drag - I guess we just wanted to get home. We finally boarded and began our non stop flight from New York City to Albuquerque. We ended up sleeping the entire flight which made it seem quick. The plane landed in Albuquerque about 11:00pm and by the time we got our bags, took the shuttle to our car and got out of the parking lot it was almost midnight. It was 1:00am when we got in bed - that means we had been up for almost 28 hours. We were so happy to home and in our own bed and I have to say we slept like babies and didn't wake up until 10:30 this morning.

So that is our trip to Dartmoor and London - we had a great time but as usual we are very happy to be home. This was a great experience and I loved Dartmoor. Maybe one day we can make another trip to the area and see more of the moors. At the end of this month I will write another post about what I took care of post trip - just to keep a full record.

London [Day 3]

Well today is our last day in England - early tomorrow morning we begin our journey home.We woke up this morning, got dressed and decided to get most things packed. We put aside the clothes we want to wear tomorrow and then packed our suitcases with what we didn't need. We also started putting our carry-ons together. Once this was organized we went down for some breakfast and made final plans for the day. Then I spent a few minutes getting our boarding passes for the first flight tomorrow. I put these in my carry-on and then we headed out for the day.

It was about a 15 minute walk from the hotel to the London Eye where we had a 10:00 time set up. I brought the confirmation to the ticket counter where we received our tickets and the we joined the queue for our ride. We didn't have to wait long before we were put into one of the capsules. The ride around takes about a half hour and we loved it. BEAUTIFUL-INCREDIBLE-FUN-AMAZING! These are the words we used to describe the ride, what amazing views of London. Well worth the time and money. I took lots of pictures and really was glad we did this. After our ride we went and got tickets for an all day hop-on, hop-off ride on the City Cruises boats along the Thames. Then we waited about 15 minutes for the next boat so that we could take a ride to the Tower of London. I enjoyed the ride and loved the different view of the city. During the ride we had a live commentary of the sites along the way. One of the things I liked was that there are these lion heads along the sea wall and there is a saying that goes with these lions when the river rises . . .

"If the lions are drinking, then London is sinking."

These days they have better ways of controlling floods but I like this insight to the history of the river. We arrived at the Tower pier and made our way to the Tower of London ticket booth. We used our London Pass to get tickets and the we walked to the entrance. From here we first saw the hundreds of thousands of poppies placed in the dry moat around the Tower. I had read about this before we left for this trip and I had marked this as a 'must see' for the trip. So I took a few pictures and then we went in to tour the tower, making a mental note to take a walk around the outside of the Tower to see all the poppies. In the Tower we did and saw the following . . . Traitors Gate, Medieval Palace & Wall Walk, Ravens, Crown Jewels and Bloody Tower. The history of the place and the architecture are both amazing. We really liked our visit here. We then exited and did the walk around the Tower and were moved by the poppies everywhere. Each poppy represents a fallen British soldier from World War I and was done to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the war. It really is a must see exhibition that is there from August 5 - November 11, 2014. Here are a few links about the poppies.


Tower of London Remembers
Row on row, the poppies flow at the Tower of London
Poppies in the Moat
Remembrance and the Poppy
800,000 Red Poppies Pour Like Blood From The Tower of London
Stunning Photos of the Tower of London's Poppies

From the Tower we walked to Tower Bridge to go to The Tower Bridge Exhibition. Again we used our London Pass for this. The exhibition takes you up to the top where you can walk across the bridge on walkways with nice views of the River Thames. Then you go back down and get a tour of the engine rooms. It was a fascinating history of the bridge and great information on how it works. And we got to walk across the bridge twice - once on top and the again on the bottom. Next we made our way back to the pier so that we could take the boat over to the Westminster pier. As we walked we got to see the drawbridge being raised. Arriving at the pier we walked past Parliament and over to Westminster Abbey. We had planned to go in but there was a line and the wait was around 30 minutes so we just decided to walk around the area. We found a pub (Westminster Arms) and went in for some fish and chips and some sticky toffee pudding. I also decided to have a guinness. After eating we continued our walk and we ended up walking through St. James Park and over to Buckingham Palace. We took a few pictures and then walked through Green Park to the Green Park Station so that we could get back to the hotel. Now that we were done for the day we got last minute things packed and then relaxed. It is now time for bed - we have and early and long day ahead of us tomorrow.

[Note: I have mentioned the London Pass a few times in the last three posts. When I got them I wondered if we would actually save any money. Well I kept track of all the things we used the card for and how much they cost. In the end we saved about $125 and for some of the attractions we didn't have to wait in the ticket line to enter so it made things move a little faster. I am glad we got the passes and would do it again.]

London [Day 2]

Once we were up and dressed this morning Thomas took a short walk to a dry cleaners to have our laundry done. When he got back to the hotel we went down for some breakfast. While eating we finalized our plans for the day. After we finished eating we went back up to the room and got our things for the day. Before leaving the hotel I got online and booked us tickets for tomorrow for the London Eye. Today our plan was to visit Hampton Court Palace. Over the summer we watched The Tudors and a documentary on Henry VIII and a documentary on Hampton Court Palace. This peaked our interest and before we even left Santa Fe we knew we needed to visit this palace. So this morning we walked to Waterloo Station and took a train out to Hampton Court Palace. It was about a 30 minute ride to the station just over the river from the palace. Then we walked the short distance to the palace. We checked in at the ticket counter with our London Pass and got our tickets and then walked to the entrance of the palace. Before we entered the palace I got a mangled penny (this is what the British call the elongated pennies you get from machines) and then we started our tour. We picked up free audio guides and continued on our self guided tour. The palace is huge and there is lots to see so we just started with the beginning of the audio tour. The tour started with the kitchens of Henry VIII. There are multiple rooms with some of the being very large with fireplaces that you could actually live in. I guess you need these if you are cooking for thousands of people at a time. When the tour of the kitchens was done we continued on to the apartments of Henry VIII. This area was incredible. The workmanship of the woodwork and the art and tapestries were beautiful. Also the history of the rooms was fascinating. One of the things I enjoyed was the characters that walked the grounds and building. It was like you stepped back in time where these people were interacting with each other with issues of the day. They would even discuss what was happening with visitors. You could follow them from room to room and continue with the discussion. It was amazing how they stayed in character even when walking from room to room without any visitors around them. When we completed the apartment tour we went to a scheduled tour that you had to sign up for when you first arrived. It was a guided tour called Secrets of the Royal Bedchamber. Usually this area of the palace isn't open to the public. After our guided tour we continued on the self guided tour of William & Mary's part of the palace. The palace was originally built in a medieval/tudor style and that is how it was when Henry was in residence. When William & Mary came to power and moved in they began changing the palace to a more baroque style. They were able to tear down and rebuild only half of the building before they ran out of money so the palace has two distinct architectures. I much rather the medieval/tudor design. Then we decided to see the gardens. We took a short ride in a horse drawn cart and got a little history of the gardens. Then we walked around the gardens and visited the maze. After walking through the maze we looked for a letterbox but we were unsuccessful. Most of the day was gone by now so we decided to head back to the train station.

We had to wait about a half hour for the train back to Waterloo so we got a snack and some water and relaxed on a bench. The ride back was another half hour and once we exited Waterloo Station we walked to the dry cleaners to pick up our laundry. We brought this back to the hotel then freshened up before heading out for more sightseeing. We went back to Waterloo Station and took the tube to Leicester Square and then walked to Covent Garden. Here we did window shopping and watched street performers and just wandered. Eventually we found a restaurant and stopped for dinner. We ate at Joe's Southern Kitchen. It was delicious and we liked the atmosphere but we were confused about what the thought was southern. They had a slideshow of images from Baltimore, New Orleans, Route 66 and California - so we weren't sure if these were just random pictures of the USA or if this is what they thought of as southern. Anyway, the food was good and we had a nice time there.

Then we decided to end our day with an evening walk. So we headed over to Trafalgar Square. The area was busy. There were people everywhere and it was filled with energy. We walked around, took pictures and enjoyed the people mulling around. After about an hour and a half we took the tube from Charing Cross back to Waterloo and then walked the short distance to our hotel. We had a great day and I really enjoyed the visit to Hampton Court Palace. Tomorrow is our last day in England and there is still so much we want to do. Time to get some rest for our busy day tomorrow.

London [Day 1]

Even without an alarm set we were both awake by 7:00am so we got up and dressed and then packed our things. It was still early so we left our bags in the room and then went down to have a little breakfast. We relaxed and had a leisurely morning over coffee and eggs. Around 9:00am we went back up to the room and got our bags and then checked out of the hotel. Once the car was loaded we started our drive back to London. All the morning traffic was gone and the drive was really easy and stress free. As we made our way back to the car rental place we were remembering all the traffic we encountered on Saturday. But this morning it was totally clear and we arrived to turn in the car about an hour early. Luckily this time we didn't have any problems and we were done with the rental place quickly. Next we went into the hotel near the car rental place and they called us a taxi to take us to our hotel in the city. The taxi arrived in less than five minutes and we were on our way to start our visit to London.

The taxi ride to the hotel (Hampton by Hilton London Waterloo) took about 50 minutes and there was all kinds of traffic but since we weren't the ones driving it didn't matter. Before the taxi left we scheduled him to pick us up on Thursday morning around 5:30am to take us back to Heathrow for our flight back to the USA. It was right around noon when we walked into the hotel and we figured we couldn't check in but we hoped they would at least store our luggage so we could go out and explore London. Surprisingly our room was ready so we got checked in, went up to the room and got settled and freshened up and made a plan for the afternoon.

We left the hotel and walked less that five minutes to the Waterloo Station to take the Tube to Leicester Square. A friend had given us some Oyster cards to use on the trains and subway but we needed to add some money to it. So we stopped at the information desk and loaded the card and then went down to catch the subway. It was a quick ride with only one stop before the one we needed. At Leicester Square we walked toward Trafalgar Square and stopped at a kiosk to pick up our London Pass cards. With the cards we got a guide book so we found a place to sit and looked through it to decide what we wanted to do. We noticed we were just behind the National Gallery so we decided to go in and have a quick look. Thomas enjoys the Impressionist so we headed to those galleries and spent about 35 minutes looking around. Then we decided we didn't want to be in a museum so we left there and walked to the Charing Cross Station and took a train to London Bridge. From the station we walked to The London Bridge Experience. Here is a little description from their website . . .

War, Fire, Murder, London Bridge has seen it all. From Boudicca’s bloody vengeance against the Romans through the incarnation of John Rennie bridge, the display of traitors heads on the bridge and a recap of the Ripper, The London Bridge Experience really is a fully integrated character led journey through history.

We actually enjoyed the whole thing. When the experience was done we sat down and I asked Thomas to describe it with single words - here are the words we came up to describe it . . . hoaxy, fun, weird, scary, silly and interesting. It was worth seeing! 

Outside we found a bench and sat down to look at our guide book and map to figure out a plan. We looked at where we were and where our hotel was and decided to take a walk and stop along the way to do things. The first thing we did was to visit Southwark Cathedral. This is a beautiful building in that it is very simply done. There isn't a lot of gilding or mosaic tile or glitz. I really loved the stark beauty and I loved the history of the church. I am glad we stopped here on our walk. We also got a free guide book with our London Pass. Leaving the church we walked by Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hinde II. We decided not to go in to see it and just looked at it from the outside. Then we continued walking to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. With our London Pass we got a free guided tour and entry into the exhibitions. We had a great tour guide named Hannah - she was very animated and entertaining. During the tour we got to watch rehearsals for Doctor Scroggy's War. It was interesting to see them at work. I really enjoyed this tour and learning the history surrounding the Globe.

As we left the Globe I noticed the Millennium Bridge and Thomas and I decided to talk a walk across the Thames. I always like being at places I see in movies and this bridge was used in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We had a nice walk across the bridge and back and got some roasted/candied nuts along the way for a snack. After making the return trip over the bridge we found a bench and just sat for a while and people watched and enjoyed the late afternoon. By this time we were getting hungry for dinner and we had seen a place close to the hotel that we wanted to go to. So we started our walk to the restaurant. We made it in 15 minutes to Gourmet Burger Kitchen. We both had avocado and bacon burgers with skinny fries. It was delicious.

Back at the hotel we decided to get some clothes together to take to the laundry in the morning. We only needed a few thing washed to get us through the next three days. We also packed things we didn't need anymore so that we wouldn't have as much to do Wednesday night. Then we made a decision for what we wanted to do tomorrow. We spent the rest of the evening reading and relaxing. Now it is time to get some rest for our first full day in London tomorrow.

A Day in Brighton with Friends

I was awake around 6:00am this morning and I just stayed in bed and read until Thomas woke up. Then we got up and ready for the day. Today we were meeting our friends again and just hanging out. We really didn't have any plans, just decided to play it by ear.  Around 9:00am we left the hotel to drive and meet Amy and Julie and then go for breakfast. We drove to Julie's and visited for a few minutes and then Amy navigated while Thomas drove us to breakfast at LangeLee's. We had coffee and something to eat and just visited. It was a nice relaxing way to start a Sunday in Brighton. After breakfast we went to visit Pat & Ted (Julie's parents). We had tea with them and visited for about an hour. We also got to see Tracey (Julie's sister) and her family.

After pictures were taken and goodbyes said we headed back to the hotel to park the car. Here we met Alex, Lousha and Lola and then we walked through the Lanes as we headed for the waterfront. We walked, talked, shopped, took pictures, and visited as we strolled along the waterfront. Every now and then we would stop and rest and talk and then continue on. Around 2:00pm we stopped at OhSo for a late lunch. We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. After eating we continued on our walk to the Brighton Pier. We walked along the pier and people watched and talked while Lola played on a few of the attractions. About an hour and a half later we left the pier and walked over to the Brighton Pavilion. At this point we said goodbye to everyone as they needed to get home for the night and prepare for work tomorrow. Thomas and I ended up walking around the Pavilion for a little while before heading back to the hotel. We stopped along the way for a little snack of ice cream and then finished our walk to the hotel.

Most of our things are packed as we are heading up to London in the morning so we are just watching a bit of TV before calling it a night. The rental car needs to be back by noon so we aren't in a real hurry to get up early and drive back. We will just see what time we wake up and then get ready and head out.

Leaving Dartmoor & Continuing On

This morning we left Dartmoor which ended the first part of our trip. We were all up early trying to get things packed and loaded into the van. We also had our last breakfast from Mark & Jackie and thanked them profusely for all they did for us this past week. At 9:30am we were off as we waved goodbye to Blackadon Cottages. The drive to London was pretty uneventful - we only made a couple of bathroom stops and had some lunch along the way. As we got closer to Heathrow the traffic started to back up and it took us a while to reach the car rental return place. When we finally reached the office we parked and unloaded the vans and the car rental guys inspected the vans. Unfortunately they found a dent on the van Thomas was driving that wasn't marked on the check out sheet. We know Thomas didn't hit anything so we probably just missed it when we picked up the vans - there were damages and scratches all along the side where they found the dent.  The group needed to get to the airport to make their flight home so Thomas and I dealt with the issue. We told everyone goodbye and we told Mark P. that we would deal with this and get back to him. The employees were adamant that we had to pay for the damages and unfortunately there was no insurance taken out on the vans. The vans were paid for under Mark P.'s credit card but Thomas had to put a security deposit on the van he was driving, so now he is liable. We decided to dispute the charge and Thomas marked all pages with "Dispute" on them and asked for copies. We finished with this issue and then moved on to the rental car we had reserved for the next two days. We almost decided to skip the car and take a train to Brighton but we decided since we were here to just take the car. This time we inspected the car with a fine tooth comb and marked every little thing. We ended up with a yellow, four door Fiat with manual transmission. Before leaving the car rental place we pulled into a parking spot and called our credit card company. We reported everything that had happened and they marked it on our record. They couldn't actually do anything since it was the weekend and the charge was only pending at this time. They told us to call on Friday when we return home and they would help us out.

So we put this incident behind us and headed out to Brighton. We had gotten a GPS for the trip just to make it easier to get to where we wanted to be. So I entered the address for our hotel in Brighton and we were on our way. Thomas did great driving the car (even though it was a stick shift) since it was a lot smaller and easier to maneuver than the large van he had been driving all week. The drive was about an hour and a half but it wasn't until after 5:00pm when we arrived in Brighton. Dealing with the car rental place ended up taking a lot of time. After parking the car we checked into our hotel (Premier Inn) in the city center of Brighton. Once we were settled we called our friends and they came to the hotel to see us and we headed out for dinner. We (Julie, Amy, Alex, Lousha & Lola and Thomas & I) walked a few blocks to Preto. This is one of those Brazilian grills where they bring meat to the table and they have a large salad bar. It was really good and it gave us a chance to talk and catch up with everyone. By the time we ate, talked and walked back to the hotel it was around 10:00pm and Thomas and I were very tired. So we made plans to meet up again tomorrow morning and then said goodnight.

It was a long day today and we are both exhausted. We did a lot of driving and dealt with some traffic and issues but it was wonderful to see Julie and her family. Hopefully we will sleep well so that we can have a great day tomorrow with our friends.

Cranmere Pool and Plymouth

The main reason I wanted to make this trip to Dartmoor was to visit Cranmere Pool. At the beginning of the week it looked as though we wouldn't make it because it was a pretty far walk since the military road is now closed. But then things worked out and we got special permission to take the road and park closer to Cranmere Pool - this would make the walk about three miles roundtrip. So needless to say when I woke up this morning I was very excited. I was up really early, around 6:30am and I got everything ready for the day and then went and made our lunches. Then I put our things in the van and went back into the cottages for breakfast. We had the usual eggs, beans, toast, sausage and bacon. Finally around 9:30am we were all in the vans and headed out to Okehampton. On the way to the parking area for Cranmere Pool we stopped to pick up Noddy then drove a little further and met up with Stephanie Paul. She gave us papers that showed permission for us to park on the military road and then directed us to the parking area. In the end it took us about two hours to get to the parking area.

We parked and everyone got their things ready for the roughly one and a half miles to the letterbox. Diane and Andy stayed with the vans - neither of them felt up to making the walk. So the rest of us headed down a graveled path/road for a short distance and then veered off to a smaller path for another little while. So far the walk hadn't been bad. The smaller path eventually became only a faint trail and there were some areas of wet and boggy ground but we were able to maneuver past them without getting too wet. Noddy and Stephanie had us walking in single file and following the steps of the person in front of us - that seemed to work incredibly well. After about a 45 minute walk we crested a small hill and the Cranmere Pool structure came into view. I have to admit that I was a little emotional and was extremely happy to be at this point. Arriving at the box we met up with a group of men who were sitting around talking. I think our large, rowdy group may have interrupted their relaxing time out on the moor. They were very cordial and graciously took our group picture around the stone box. Not long after we arrived they set out on their return trip.

 

There was a small discussion about who would actually open the door to the box and in the end they picked Thomas - kind of a little thank you for his driving all week. As he approached the door he made the following comment - "Seems a little weird that the non-boxer is opening the door.". Once the door was open we took the stamp and logbook out and a stamping frenzy ensued. I ended up stamping several images just to have some extras and I stamped my personal signature stamp into the logbook. I wanted a record of me being there. (Note: We had been using a group signature stamp for the trip.) I made sure to go to Mark P. and thank him for arranging the trip and for making the walk to Cranmere Pool come to fruition. I also took lots of picture. After everyone had the stamp image we sat around and had our lunch. Once we had all eaten we started looking for other letterboxes in the area. Noddy and Stephanie had clues to the boxes and they shared them with us. We found a few other boxes in the near vicinity of the structure then we started our walk back and found a few more along the way. Arriving back at the vans was a very happy group to have gotten this very special stamp into our logbooks and once we were all settled we headed out. We dropped Stephanie back at her car and thanked her profusely for guiding us out to Cranmere Pool.

Next we headed to Plymouth. We arrived into town and Noddy directed us to the train station - we were dropping Diane and John off here so they could make their way to Salisbury. They got out of the vans in a hurry so that they could make the next train and then we headed for a parking garage so that we could go get something to eat. We parked and then Toni noticed that Diane had forgotten her purse hanging on the back of the seat. She told Mark P. and he, Amy, Lisa and Noddy got back in a van and drove back to the train station to find Diane and give her the purse. While they were gone the rest of the group walked into Plymouth to the Mayflower Steps to wait for their return. It didn't take them too long since Diane was actually standing outside the train station where we had dropped them off. Not sure if she was just hoping we would return or if she was trying to figure out what to do. In the end it all worked out. With us all back together we walked down the street to The Barbican Fish Bar for some fish and chips. This was a place that Noddy recommended and it was delicious. After dinner some folks wanted ice cream but all the places were closed so we just walked back to the vans to begin the drive back to the cottages. Before we left Plymouth we had to drop Noddy off at his home. We said our goodbyes to Noddy and thanked for everything he did for us this week - he was a joy to letterbox with. Then we made our way to a store as some people needed a few things before we got back to the cottages.

We arrived at the cottages to find that Jackie and Mark had left us cupcakes and apple cake for a snack. A few of us visited for a short time but in the end we were all tired and tomorrow we have drive back to London.

Marazion and St. Michael's Mount

Today was an earlier day than we have had because we drove to Marazion in Cornwall to visit a castle. Thomas and I were up around 6:30m and we had to get things ready before breakfast. We had breakfast from 7:45am to 8:15am and we were supposed to be in the vans and leaving by 8:30am. As usual we ended up leaving around 15 minutes late - I guess 17 people can't be on time. Anyway we took the drive to Cornwall (which took about 2 hours) and parked the vans. Then we stopped at a little building near the car park to get pasties. Thomas and I got beef and potato with some chips. We ended up eating as we walked to the boats to get to St. Michael's Mount. The original plan was to walk on a sandbar out to the island but when we arrived the tide was still too high. So we ended up taking a boat ride over to the castle. Once there we got our tickets and then we had time to explore the castle on our own. Thomas and I ended up spending the time with Deanne and Dave. We walked the path up and saw the giant's heart along the way (just a heart shaped stone in the path) and then took the tour of the castle. The place was beautiful and the views were incredible. I am not sure how long it took us but when we were done we headed back down and ended up visiting two gift shops - Thomas and I bought some snacks and found a place to sit until the rest of the group showed up. Once everyone was there we took the boat back to the mainland and then we had about an hour to explore the town. The town is pretty small and there wasn't much to do except go into gift shops. Thomas and I didn't really feel like shopping and we bumped into Dave and Deanne so we all ended up in a pub. We each had a drink (except Thomas since he was driving) and just visited. At the appointed time we walked back to the vans to meet everyone for the drive back to Blackdon.

Once back at the cottages we took showers to get ready for dinner.  Dinner tonight was baked potatoes with chicken chili, salad and carrot cake. It was a simple and delicious meal. After eating some of us sat up in the living room and visited and did some stamping. It was a long day of driving and walking and I was getting tired so I made my way to bed. Tomorrow we go to Cranmere Pool - I am so excited.

Widecombe-in-the-Moor and Bonehill Rocks

I was awake around 6:30am but stayed in bed until 7:00am. After showering and dressing I straightened up the room and then went into breakfast. Had the usual - scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, beans and toast. I also had two cups of coffee so that I was good and awake for the day. Once I had eaten I went down and made our lunches for the day. Finally at around 9:30am everyone was ready and we were on our way. Today we headed for Widecombe-in-the-Moor. The drive seemed to take forever but we finally arrived at the town and we parked. We were given a certain amount of time to explore the town and then meet back at the vans. Thomas and I stopped first thing and had ice cream cones with clotted cream. We ate these while walking around and window shopping. After the ice cream was gone we went in to see the church and then walked around the small cemetery. We also bought a few postcards and some pixie pins (these are suppose to protect you on the moor). The town is small and we were done so we found a bench under a tree and had our lunch then waited for everyone else so we could head out and scavenge some letterboxes. Thankfully everyone was on time and we piled into the vans and headed for Bonehill Rocks.

It only took us about 10 minutes to arrive at Bonehill Rocks and we were all ready to look for boxes. We were only on the moor for a few minutes when someone blew their whistle - a box had been found. We all headed there to stamp in and then there was another whistle, and another. It was amazing and fun. We were finding boxes like crazy. Then towards the end we were finding boxes but the stamps were gone. When 4:00pm rolled around we all headed back to the vans to make our way back to the cottages for dinner. We figured we had found about 18 boxes today and we had loads of fun.

Back at the cottages Thomas and I took showers and changed before dinner. Once dressed we went out to dinner. Tonight Mark from Blackadon cooked us salmon, broccoli, potatoes, carrots and peas. For dessert there was apple & cinnamon cake. When dinner was done we all piled back into the vans to drive to Bovey Tracey to meet some local letterboxers. We met at the Dolphin Hotel and had drinks and just visited. At first it was a little slow but then stamps began making the rounds and then everyone started mingling and talking. The local boxers had great stories of the moor and letterboxing and they all had interesting ways that they stored their stamp images. One of the one I liked was a man who scrapbooked his. It was a typical scrapbook but it was nice. He would put the names of boxes and some information on the sheets and if it was a series he would put the whole series one after another. Then when he found the boxes he would stamp on a card then cut it out and put it with the name and info in the scrapbook. I also liked the way some of them stamped while out letterboxing. They had a box that held cards (4x6 index cards) on the top and the bottom part was closed with a slit. After they stamped the card they would put it in the box to hold until they got home. We all had a good time and it was a great way to end the day. We also got our Catalogue of Dartmoor Letterboxes. The drive back to the cottages seemed long - I think we were all tired. But we did manage to visit a little when we got back to the cottages. But as they say - 'all good things must come to an end' and it is now time for bed. We have a long drive tomorrow to visit a castle.

Letterboxing on Arms Tor

This morning I woke up around 6:00am and couldn't get back to sleep so I got up and got ready for the day. At 6:45am I was ready - not sure why I was up so early because I didn't get to sleep until almost 1:00am. I ended up doing a little reading and playing on the computer until it was time for breakfast. At 7:45am breakfast was ready - had the usual - yogurt, toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and coffee. After eating I went and made our lunches for the day and then returned to the room to get last minute things packed into the backpack.

We ended up leaving the cottages around 9:30am to drive to Lydford. Somehow we ended up getting lost and were on a very narrow little road that barely allowed to vans to pass. On each side of the road were rock walls covered in plants. When we realized that we were on the wrong road we had to turn around which was no easy task. Once a spot was found we got the vans headed back down the road and then encountered other cars coming toward us - and there was no way two cars could pass side by side on that road. The other cars ended up having to back up to a side road and then we could pass. There was a police car at that side road and they helped to get us off that narrow road and back on the right road. We picked up Noddy and then headed for our destination of Arms Tor.

We parked and Noddy handed out maps and when everyone was ready we headed for the tor. We spent about four hours scavenging for boxes and we also used Noddy's GPS to narrow in on areas where there were boxes. We spent the day going up and down hill looking for boxes and when one was found we would head there to stamp in. At days end we had walked around four and a half miles and had found 20 boxes. Noddy was a big help in getting us to areas of the tor where there were multiple boxes to be found. In order to get back to the cottages for dinner we had to leave Lydford by a certain time and that included dropping off Noddy. When we arrived back at the car park from our walk we had about a half hour to kill. So We stopped off at the Dartmoor Inn and had a beer.

On the way back to the cottages we all realized how tired we were. I guess while we were climbing the tor and hunting boxes we didn't notice it but now that we were relaxed and not moving it set in that we were worn out. The menu for tonight was Indian food - curry to be more specific. This isn't something I like so Thomas had picked up something for me while we were out letterboxing. (Oops! - I forgot to mention that Thomas, Andy and Mel stayed behind. They didn't want to hike and they ended up visiting St. Michael de Rupe in Brentor. They also stopped at a pub for lunch and that is where Thomas got me something for dinner.) We got home just in time for dinner so there wasn't time to shower before eating but immediately after dinner I took my shower so that when I got in bed I would feel better. Now that all that is done I am really feeling worn out and I hope this all makes sense. Tomorrow it is just the group - no British letterboxers - for more scavenging on the moor.

A Foggy and Rainy Day

This morning we woke up to a heavy fog and a light drizzle. We moved slowly as we showered and got dressed since we didn't need to be ready until 10:30am. After getting dressed I spent some time on the computer until it was time for breakfast. Today I had toast, scrambled eggs, sausage and beans. And my usual coffee. Once Thomas and I were done eating we went and got our lunches made and then it was just waiting for the day to begin. Thomas decided to go back to the room and read while I sat on the couch and looked at a couple of Dartmoor magazines that the letterboxers brought over last night. While I was reading Mark P. came over and told me that he had talked to Roger last night and he got us permission to drive on the military road and park so that we can do the walk to Cranmere Pool on Friday. I am excited about this but with that I also have some trepidation. Most of the group had decided that they didn't want to do this walk because of the bogs and how hard it was to get to Duck's Pool. I also feel like Mark P. has worked very hard to arrange this trip and I just added a lot of stress on him to arrange this. I have to say that I am happy that we are going out there and I really hope the rest of the group is as well.


As the morning progressed so did the rain - it didn't pour but the drizzle got more intense. Our plan this morning was to walk with Mark from Blackadon and get some letterboxes and learn some history of the moor. Thomas and I decided that we didn't want to get that wet and opted (with about six other people) to stay back at the cottages. We ended up napping, reading and playing on the computer. I am glad we didn't go on the hike as everyone who did came back soaked. They were out there for over two hours. Once everyone had dried off we all sat and had lunch and decided on a plan for the afternoon. Originally Mark from Blackadon was going to take us on a coastal walk but with the fog it wouldn't be prudent. So instead we ended up visiting the Dartmoor Prison Museum in Princetown. We walked around the musuem and then got a few letterbox stamps before heading into town. I walked the short distance so I could stop at the church (Church of St. Michael) for another letterbox while Thomas drove one of the vans. At the church I stamped the stamp into my logbook and the looked around the church. They just installed a new stain glass window that is beautiful. Afterwards I walked around the cemetery outside the church and took a few pictures before heading into town.

I made my way to the Dartmoor Visitor Center to pick up a few things and then went to find Thomas and the rest of the group. Then we all headed over to the Plume of Feathers for dinner. I ended up with fish and chips and a Jail Ale pint. Thomas had a beef and stilton cheese pot pie. We also got a few letterbox stamps here as well. Once everyone was done with dinner we headed back to the cottages. I think the cold, damp, rainy, foggy day took its toll on everyone because as soon as we got back to the cottages everyone made tracks straight for their rooms. Again I am not sure what we are doing tomorrow but I know we have to be up and ready by 8:30am.