Our journey begins on Friday afternoon, September 14 with the early arrival at our house of Butterfly & Lobsta, who ate their lunch on our porch. Sue & I had previously enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and spent the time talking excitedly to Butterfly & Lobsta as they ate their "to go" lunches. Shortly afterwards, Bookworm showed up and we loaded our vehicle and headed off to meet up with Connie & Joe at their home in Coventry.This trip was quite different than our last group in that several of this year's participants arrived in the UK before the core group. Our last trip with the Baker's Dozen featured the entire ensemble traveling en masse - a real challenge at times! This time Silent Doug & Clueless, CSCM & Rusty Puff and RTRW were already in the UK as the rest of us made our way to Boston's Logan Airport, where we would meet Sewsobizzy & Irene of Hikers & Hounds who were visiting friends in NH.
Arriving in Coventry, our little group was greeted by Joe while we waited for Connie to come home from a half day's work. The group was very animated with that pre-vacation excitement that I wish you could bottle and sell! Butterfly, the perennial kid of the group, found a tire swing in the back yard and made good use of it as we awaited Connie's arrival from work.After Connie arrived, a group shot was taken of our little group by Lobsta, who once again had the duty of the official trip photographer. Lobsta is always there; it's amazing the shots she manages to obtain that preserve some very special moments for the rest of the group and our readers. Most of the photos are Lobsta's with a few taken by yours truly.
We arrived at Logan to learn that our trip would be delayed by 3 hours! Something about the plane being grounded at Heathrow while a part was being flown in from France. That led to some dismay but luckily this happened at the beginning of the trip when we were fresh and our journey lay ahead. I asked if the airlines was giving food vouchers and we were told that each passenger would be given $10 to use for food.After the 3 hour delay, we had an uneventful trip to Heathrow. Flying overnight, we arrived at shortly after 11am Saturday in London. We were finally back! Butterfly & I both said that when we left the Moor in 2004 we had left a piece of ourselves somewhere in Dartmoor. All week, Sue had been teasing me that I would finally be reunited with my heart that was left not in San Fransisco, but somewhere on the Moor.
Weary, we arrived through the arrival hallway in Heathrow to a myriad of signs with drivers looking for their proper passengers. We all noticed a smiling RTRW who held up a welcoming sign that said "Crazy Americans." After a brief hug, we proceeded to call our car rental people at Sixt on the courtesy phone so they could send the shuttle bus. RTRW had been here a week already where she and her husband, Scott (The Antiboxer) spent a great week in Scotland. And yes, they did try the haggis!Waiting at the Sixt car rental office were Doug & Jen, Kim & Christopher who we hoped had contacted the airlines and realized that our flight had been delayed by 3 hours. It was a little ironic that before we left, I warned those that arrived ahead of the core group to be on time and here it was us - the core - that was late by some 3 hours plus!
It was great to have the Moor Tor-ists reunited at the Sixt car rental, office. Doug & Jen and Kim & Christopher, like us, had waiting patiently for our arrival. After registration for the minivans with 2 drivers on each vehicle, we packed the 3 VW 7 seater minivans with our gear. We folded down the back 2 seats in each of the 3 vans, crammed our luggage and backpacks inside and closed the doors. We had done it! Packed all three vans with gear from all 16 of us!Sue had worried for almost a year that the luggage from 16 people would not fit in 3 vans. Confident (and not wanting to admit defeat,) I promised and assured Sue that "it will work" and now it appeared it had. Sue breathed a sigh of relief and I wore that I-told-you-so look that I so enjoy wearing when it's appropriate!! We even had brought bungee cords just in case we had to place some of the luggage on the roof racks but it appeared that we didn't even need that!
Then - reality set in! There were 16 of us but we had left seating for only 5 passengers per van and even though we were in a foreign country 5 times 3 still was only 15! We quickly unfolded 1 seat and rearranged some of the luggage and we were off.
The day was only partly cloudy and we enjoyed the 4 hour ride to Dartmoor. After about 45 minutes travel time, we stopped at a rest area on the M5 for lunch as we headed the 245 miles from Heathrow to Blackadon Barn Cottages - our final destination and new home for the week. It was Doug's idea to place one of his "LB" stickers on the front and back windshield of each of the 3 vans so that we could keep track of one another. I think he just wanted to advertise his website but those "LB" stickers saved us more than once.
When we arrived in Bittaford, the village where Blackadon is located, we just couldn't find the proper location. We stopped at The Horse & Groom Pub for directions. Polite and helpful, the locals, who had been enjoying the sun in the front of the pub on picnic tables, scurried to get maps to show us the proper location. When one of them pulled out one of the OS Survey maps that all letterboxers carry, I stuck my head out the window and asked, "Are you letterboxers?" "Not me," was his answer "but this group is." They came closer to the car and I explained that we had just arrived from the US to spend a week letterboxing on the Moor. After wishes of good luck and a great holiday, we set off for Blackadon, armed with proper directions from letterboxers!
At Blackadon finally and after parking the minivans, we were greeted by Mark Walker, who with his lovely wife, Jacky, owned this fine establishment. It seems that Mark is a little vague in the directions since Blackadon is located behind
a former insane asylum and it's not something he wished to use in his marketing! As it turned out, it was the proper place for The Moor Tor-ists!!! As we made our way into the courtyard, our old friend and guide for the week, Andy Wilkes, was sitting at a courtyard table enjoying a spot of tea. After greetings, introductions and hugs, we entered our respective cottages. It was great to see Andy, who first approached Sue back in 2004 on our last trip and entered our lives by asking her the question, "Are you part of the Baker's Dozen?" That statement was the beginning of a strong friendship that endured over the 3 years that we were apart.This was the first time I noticed the politeness of the English. In "Notes from a Small Island," Bill Bryson talks about the politeness of the Brits. I really noticed it when Jacky, our hostess, replied "Sorry!" repeatedly about our flight delay and resulting late arrival at Blackadon as if she was directly responsible for the delay! The people of Dartmoor and the surrounding area were the nicest you could meet whether it was Jacky or Mark, or one of the many British letterboxers that quickly became friends.
These converted horse barns at Blackadon were all located off of a quaint, cobble-stoned courtyard that featured a central area with beautiful flowers and with nice, old ironwork gates when we entered. After apologizing for our tardiness, the group set about gathering our belongings. A car pulled up while I was bringing a few of our suitcases to our room and a woman rolled down the window and asked me, "Are you Mark?" My immediate reaction was this was someone who worked here. Who else would know me?
It turned out to be Judy, The Yorkshire Tortoise, our first of what was to be a swinging door of pre-arranged guests to surprise and delight the group. YT is very active on Atlas Quest and this diminutive and perky boxer had traveled from central England to meet the group for the evening! She had left her home at 7:30 am and arrived at 2:30 in the afternoon only to spend the evening with us and head back home early Sunday morning. This is something that, once again, according to Bill Bryson, is not done in England. Repeatedly, letterboxers from all over England drove to meet us, help us in some way and experience a small part of our vacation - and many after traveling hours and hours. It was most gratifying and very touching. This all speaks to the kindness of letterboxers from all over the world. There's plenty more about that kindness as this story unfolds - kindnesses that choked us up more than once during this special week!I had planned this little meeting with YT since January, I believe. Over a year ago, we cooked up a scheme to carve a clapper bridge stamp that we could cut in half and she would plant her half in the UK and I would plant my half somewhere in the US. The finder would have to find both halves to complete the full image. One of the biggest problems was finding a suitable image to carve. After mentioning it to Deanne, the Lazy Letterboxer, while she and Dave were visiting our VT home a week or two before, we worked up a crudely drawn idea and the following week I received the 2 piece stamp that I presented to Judy once she was introduced to the group and we settled a little. "Brilliant," was her answer. And the carving certainly was. Thanks to Deanne for a fine job and the fonts are just perfect! Look for YT's clues and mine in a month or so. I might even consider a special first finder prize when proof of the complete image is emailed!
Our friends from the Baker's Dozen trip, Spannerman/Steve & Ali arrived shortly after YT and the swinging door had been set in motion! It got to be that we never had a full dinner without someone stopping by which was great! Steve had cut some "thumb sticks" for the group to use as walking sticks for the week. I tried to get Sue to bring her collapsible metal walking stick but she refused. "I want to use one of Spannerman's!" was her reply. As it turned out, Spannerman told us to leave them at Blackadon, which pleased Mark. If any of our readers make it to Blackadon, we hope you'll find those thumb sticks for you to use that were made by Spannerman.Spannerman gave me a gift that he had told me about in a previous email - William Crossing's "Guide to Dartmoor." Published in 1906, this book is still considered the ultimate authority on Dartmoor history, stories, advice and legends. Crossing also authored several other Dartmoor tomes but this, by far, is his most well known. What an appropriate gift as tomorrow (Sunday) we planned to visit Ducks Pool, one of the oldest boxes in Dartmoor and the only other box contained within a stone memorial like Cranmere Pool. Ducks Pool is also a memorial to William Crossing and this gift couldn't have been more appropriate! Steve's rational was to give me the book since he knew of my love for the Moor and now I could really receive an education by the expert - William Crossing. Like Cranmere and several of the early letterboxes, these were no drivebys! Ducks Pool would be a 4 mile walk one way!
The group headed to the dining room, where many a meal would be shared in the week to come. As we squeezed in and prepared for our first taste of Mark's food, I decided to sneak away and check with Mark to see if the anniversary flowers I had pre-ordered for Sue to celebrate our 33rd anniversary that coming Thursday had arrived. Mark got the flowers and I presented them to Sue. He and Jacky also gifted us with a bottle of champagne, which was all poured in glasses and we celebrated our anniversary early with a toast, some flowers and the excitement of a whole week on the moor ahead!
Our first night's dinner consisted of homemade tomato and basil soup, Devon Cottage Pie and mixed vegetables with dessert and coffee. Someone remarked that in the US, Cottage Pie is called Shepherd's Pie. Mark corrected us that while Cottage Pie is made with beef; Shepherd's Pie is made with lamb. I guess we've been eating Cottage Pie all along and never realized!
During dinner, Mark announced that we had company and a couple came to the door of the dining room and introduced themselves as the Dartmoor Bounders - Ian & Caroline. Their website had served as a guide for both of our Dartmoor trips as well as Doug & Jen's. Ian and Caroline waited in the living room (lounge) while the group finished their meal. I brought out some of the boxes we had brought along with us and allowed the Dartmoor Bounders to stamp into them and shared some of the bananaffe pie and tea for dessert.
We were told that the bananafee pie was made in our honor since it was an "American dessert." Feeling a little silly, I asked what it was! It was bananas sliced in a pie crust covered with toffee. None of the rest of the Americans had heard about it but it's funny that the perception was that this was an American concoction. Regardless of where this dessert originated, it was a wonderful way to end our first meal on the moor!
After dinner, the group grabbed our stamping gear and joined Ian & Caroline in the living room. The Dartmoor Bounders have been letterboxing for over 30 years, they told us. Retired early and spending their time now "working at letterboxing for a living," was the way the described their present jobs. It was great to see, after over 30 years of hunting Tupperware, that recognizable excitement as Caroline explained the workings of a weekly WOM boxes that are emailed to them. Once the receiver of the picture identifies the location of that week's picture correctly, they email the placer with the info and via return email comes the clue to that week's box. A very clever twist and one that truly delighted Caroline despite their many years at this hobby.
I had pre-arranged the visit with the Dartmoor Bounders so that they could invite and talk to the group about attending the Wednesday monthly meeting of the Plymouth letterboxing group that meets the third Wednesday of the month. When planning the trip, I was pleased to see that our visit would encompass that third week and would allow us the opportunity to attend. My first inclination was to just show up at the meeting but after giving thought to 16 noisy Americans and one Brit (Andy) arriving unannounced, I thought better of that idea! Ian & Caroline told the group we would be attending and as you will read later, I'm truly glad that I took that course!Ian and Caroline were helpful with directions to the Plymouth library, where we would view the early Cranmere Pool visitors books that were kept there before we headed to their meeting on Wednesday. Directions were also given for the location of the meeting which we would visit after the library stop and an early dinner. "I will be waiting outside looking for you," said Caroline as the meeting location - an old fort - was a little tricky to find. "You have to go past the location and turn back on yourself," was the way Caroline described the approach to the old fort that served as their meeting location.
We enjoyed discussing the commonalities and differences of our beloved hobby with Yorkshire Tortoise, Andy and the Dartmoor Bounders. One of the most common features was the obsession of all of us - a common feature that made life-long friends of people who were only strangers a few hours before! As our guests, Yorkshire Tortoise and the Dartmoor Bounders left, some of the group left for bed while a few remained to talk about the end of a 48 hour day for those of us that didn't sleep on the plane but as time went on - we all decided to go to bed about 10pm. There was an 8:00 breakfast call and we would meet Steve and Ali in Princetown in the morning at the parking lot (car park) in the center of town in preparation for the trek to Duck's Pool - home of one of Dartmoor's earliest letterboxes and our destination for Sunday.
